After a conversation with a colleague where he shared he had never done a cover of a Phyllis Hyman song, he decided to do one. An accomplished composer in his own right, he explains, “I covered Phyllis Hyman’s ‘Meet me on the Moon,’ It was so awesome I thought, why not do some songs by other fabulous singers and turn it into an Album?—since they would be all Black women, and I consider our talented women pearls—hence the name Black Pearl.”
His first release in 6 years the album covers some of the greatest female voices in R&B and includes, Chaka Khan, Denise Williams, and Randy Crawford to name a few.
In early 2007, Downing’s career was sidelined when he was stricken with a rare muscular disease, Polymyositis, relegated to a wheel chair and experiencing a weight loss of 100 pounds, this devastating disease kept him down for a year. He was, however, determined to complete the album he was working on at the time. “After Tonight” for Peak Records. Coming through that challenging time served as a definite wake up call to him. He candidly shared that he like most men was very cavalier about his health and didn’t feel that he had to go running to the doctor every time there seemed to be something wrong.
“I was on the fast track with the music career, I was so absorbed in touring and recording that I was not paying attention to the signs. That is until I had no choice; the next thing I knew I was dealing with this disease and facing the prospect of never walking again,” he said.
Coming through it he saw that as bad and as sad as it was to be this ill, it served as a blessing, because he came face to face with life’s real priorities and gained an understanding of the importance of balancing work, family and leisure. And he will never take any of it for granted again
Fully recovered now he has an entirely different approach to the work, he is still committed to his craft, touring and recording but is fully mindful of the journey he has traveled. He and Najee will be performing in Pittsburgh, on November 30 at the Bynum Theater. The Hill House sees these concerts as viable demonstrations of the power that music has within our community
Of his career and the years of acclaim and making music; Downing said “19 albums and 28 years of recording later and I’m still blessed.”
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