Edwin Starr & Blinky - Just We Two (1969) [Remastered 2004]

Duet albums have long been a staple of the Motown catalogue, with such classic pairings as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Marvin and Mary Wells, Marvin and Kim Weston, Marvin and Diana Ross, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, and Billy Preston and Syreeta. In 1969, Edwin Starr was blazing, just coming off the hit 25 Miles album, a good time to try to see if the company could capture the magic of some of the label's other pairings. Saundra "Blinky" Williams had grown up in Los Angeles the daughter of a pastor, and she had been active in curch choirs since the age of six. She debuted on Motown with the single "I Wouldn't Change The Man He Is," in 1968, and she was tapped as one of the label's future stars. Unfortunately, most of her solo work, save for a few singles, remains unreleased. Among fans Blinky is renowned for her appearance in the film and soundtrack of Lady Sings The Blues, the Billie Holiday bio-pic starring Diana Ross. The album opens up with a soulful rendition of "You've Made Me So Very Happy," a #2 hit for Blood, Sweat and Tears earlier in the year that was itself a cover of a Motown original by Brenda Holloway, and it concludes with the Smokey Robinson classic, "Ooo Baby Baby." One particular standout in between is a new version of "Oh How Happy," which was written by Starr under his given name of Charles Hatcher for the group Shades Of Blue in 1966. The cute duet grazed the lower reaches of the Hot 100 in the summer of 1969. Starr went on to record his signature hit, "War," the following year, so it's not a surprise that the pairing was so short-lived. But the reasoning behind the mass of powerhouse, unissued Blinky recordings remains one of Motown's many mysteries.