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STREAM / SHARE “I SHOULDA LOVED YA 2025” HERE
“I had put out a couple of albums that didn’t sell, and Atlantic was after me to have a hit,” Walden explains. “That’s when I came up with ‘I Don’t Want Nobody Else (to Dance with You), and I became a money-maker. I decided to continue that dance, and that’s how I came to write ‘I Shoulda Loved Ya.’”
Key to the original track’s success was the formidable bassist T.M. Stevens, who jammed with Walden on drums. “I started playing a disco drumbeat and T.M. played all sorts of lines over me. It was intuitive and organic,” Walden recalls. “Then Frank Martin jumped in on keyboards and Corrado Rustici played guitar, and we sketched it out. I started shouting into a microphone, ‘I Shoulda Loved Ya!’ – the title came to me from God. He wanted me to have another hit.”
With the music assembled, Walden turned to supreme songwriting ace Allee Willis (writer of Earth, Wind & Fire classics like “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” among others), who penned the lyrics. “Allee sat with a cassette and came up with words that captured everything I wanted to convey. She understood the funk mentality. It’s for Black and White people – it’s for everybody.”
Both T.M. Stevens and Allee Willis received songwriting credit on the song along with Walden.
“I Shoulda Loved Ya 2025” began to take shape last year when Walden’s publishing company, Warner Chappell, noticed a resurgence of the hitmaker’s earlier music. Walden stresses that his reboot doesn’t stray from a proven formula. “Funk never dies,” he says. “T.M. Stevens was ahead of his time, and what we did together was so strong. I set out to refresh that sound with new players, but the spirit will be the same.”
Recording with Angeline Saris at his Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California, Walden called upon other trusted musicians for the remake – among them are Dave Ellis on horns, Jackson Allen on guitar and Justus Dobrin on keys and programming.
Renowned singer and friend Cornell “CC” Carter went wild when he heard the new recording and suggested that famed Italian hitmaker Lino Nicolosi, a frequent collaborator with Walden, remix the track. Nicolosi added guitar and percussion, while his brother and production partner Pino added Fender Rhodes piano and Hammond B3 organ. “Everything they did fit in perfectly,” Walden raves. “And I can’t say enough about Lino’s remixing genius – he really brought out my vocal and made it shine. It’s funky and strong!”
As always, Walden’s chief engineer, Jim “Jimi Jam” Reitzel, made key contributions. “Jim makes everything come to life,” Walden enthuses. He also sends special shout-outs to Kelly Covington; his wife, Katie; her twin sister, Kristie Isaacsen; Cornell Carter and Nate’ the Soulsanger for their background vocals; and to Tarpan Studio Manager Kimrea Begley, “for everything she does, which is everything. I have the greatest people around me.”
Upon a final listen to the state-of-the-art funk-pop that is “I Shoulda Loved Ya 2025,” Walden chose to include it on Still Yours For the Summer. “It’s not a dedicated summer song like other songs on the album,” he says, “but it fit the vibe and spirit of the record so well that I just had to put it on. It’s a keeper, and I can’t wait for everybody to get into it. Let’s keep the party going!”
The full tracklisting for Still Yours For the Summer is as follows:
- “I Love My People Now”
- “Hot Fun in the Summertime”
- “Dance Till Sunrise”
- “Keep Shining”
- “Still Yours For the Summer”
- “Bougie Cherry Bomb”
- “Jump Up”
- “Aloha Aloha”
- “Last Night I Dreamed of Mahavishnu”
- “Mahavishnu”
- “I Shoulda Loved Ya 2025”
- “Cowboy Disco”
- “Cool Bounce”
- “God’s Love is Gonna Take Us There”
Pre-Save / Pre-Add the album HERE
Recently, Walden sat down for two extensive interviews to discuss some highlights from his incredible career. HERE he chats with Elmo Lovano about meeting Mahavishnu, following Billy Cobham as the drummer for the Mahavishu Orchestra, working with Aretha Franklin and Jeff Beck, and meeting Whitney Houston, among other topics. And HERE he talks to Mason Marangella about producing Whitney Houston’s iconic hits and how he works in the studio.
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