Uvee Hayes
Uvee Hayes
       
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Uvee Hayes
A psychological examiner in the St. Louis Public Schools and a recording artist Uvee has released various albums filled with Blues, Jazz and Soul. Hayes has straddled the lines between Blues, Soul, Jazz and later Southern Soul throughout her career. She is one of precious few artists that have been able to make a mark in mainstream Blues as well as the Southern Soul markets. Hayes was born in Mississippi but relocated to Missouri after marrying St. Louis Radio Hall Of Famer Bernie Hayes, who started his independent record label Mission Park in order to issue Uvee's recordings. Uvee's first LP was released in 1984. The 7-track album was entitled "I.C.U.U.V." and introduced the world to a smooth, sometimes sultry singer with a unique, identifiable timbre. In 1986 an obscure imprint Bunky 7 Records released one of the tracks from the LP on a 12 inch single ("He's My Man") followed by another 12 incher entitled "B.Y.O.M (Bring Your Own Man)" coupled with "He's My Man". It would be several more years for new music to appear. Mission Park released Uvee's first CD, "On My Own" in the mid 90s. More notable was the 1998 release "Sweet & Gentle", a 14-track collection of both old and new recordings. It was at this point people started to take notice. This pattern of recycling older tracks with fresh material continued in 2001 on the 15-track "There'll Come A Time". All these early releases were aimed at the Blues and Jazz markets. In 2009 Uvee signed with the fledgling CDS Records label, which issued a 17 collection (yet again) of both new and previously-released tracks. The label chose her duet with Otis Clay, a cover of Johnnie Taylor's "Play Something Pretty" (also the album's name), as the first single but it was the follow up, "Maintenance Man", that put Uvee on the map in Southern Soul. Boosted by WDIA out of Memphis in late 2010 the song has gone on to receive extensive and consistent airplay and sales over the past seven years. Mission Park issued a new collection, "True Confessions" in 2011, which featured another duet with Otis Clay ("Steal Away (From The Hideaway)"), but it was the next album that produced her next successful song. Taken from 2014's "In The Mood", the track "Handy Man" was a sequel to "Maintenance Man" and followed a similar shuffle-bump arrangement. You'd think Uvee would ditch the Blues and Jazzy elements to her music but fortunately she has not. So that brings us to 2017 when another sequel to "Maintenance Man" makes it's appearance on "Nobody But You"
1.Born To Love You
1.Hold Me In Your Arms
1. Smooth and Gentle
1. There'll Come A
Time
1. Play Something
Pretty (Duet With Otis Clay)
1. Steal Away To The
Hideaway (with Otis Clay)
1. In The Mood
1 Your Love's Gotta Hold on Me ***1/2 Uvee Hayes has straddled the lines between Blues, Soul, Jazz and later Southern Soul throughout her career. She is one of precious few artists that have been able to make a mark in mainstream Blues as well as the Southern Soul markets. Hayes was born in Mississippi but relocated to Missouri after marrying St. Louis Radio Hall Of Famer Bernie Hayes, who started his independent record label Mission Park in order to issue Uvee's recordings. Uvee's first LP was released in 1984. The 7-track album was entitled "I.C.U.U.V." and introduced the world to a smooth, sometimes sultry singer with a unique, identifiable timbre. In 1986 an obscure imprint Bunky 7 Records released one of the tracks from the LP on a 12 inch single ("He's My Man") followed by another 12 incher entitled "B.Y.O.M (Bring Your Own Man)" coupled with "He's My Man". It would be several more years for new music to appear. Mission Park released Uvee's first CD, "On My Own" in the mid 90s. More notable was the 1998 release "Sweet & Gentle", a 14-track collection of both old and new recordings. It was at this point people started to take notice. This pattern of recycling older tracks with fresh material continued in 2001 on the 15-track "There'll Come A Time". All these early releases were aimed at the Blues and Jazz markets. In 2009 Uvee signed with the fledgling CDS Records label, which issued a 17 collection of (yet again) both new and previously-released tracks. The label chose her duet with Otis Clay, a cover of Johnnie Taylor's "Play Something Pretty" (also the album's name), as the first single but it was the follow up, "Maintenance Man", that put Uvee on the map in Southern Soul. Boosted by WDIA out of Memphis in late 2010 the song has gone on to receive extensive and consistent airplay and sales over the past seven years. Mission Park issued a new collection, "True Confessions" in 2011, which featured another duet with Otis Clay ("Steal Away (From The Hideaway)"), but it was the next album that produced her next successful song. Taken from 2014's "In The Mood", the track "Handy Man" was a sequel to "Maintenance Man" and followed a similar shuffle-bump arrangement. You'd think Uvee would ditch the Blues and Jazzy elements to her music but fortunately she has not. So that brings us to 2017 when another sequel to "Maintenance Man" makes it's appearance on "Nobody But You" The groove-heavy "Mr. Fix-It-Upper" has Uvee singing: "Met this man/Said 'I was watching you'/'I was wondering whether I can talk to you'/'I see you had a maintenance man then you had a handy man'/'I understand they were doing the best they can....'/'...allow me to introduce myself to you'/'I'm the man that's gonna give you what you need'/'I'm Mr. fix-it-upper...you tried the rest now try the best'". It remains to be seen if this is the one that gets the job done or another mechanically-inclined, jack-of-all-trades steps up. Even better is "Your Love's Gotta Hold On Me", a Tyrone-Davis-like headbobber with an especially pretty and emotive vocal from our heroine. It's wonderfully retro but doesn't sound out of place on a typical Southern Soul playlist. In fact it's a contender for the best track she's cut so far. The down home "I Wanna Hear Some Blues" should satisfy her Blues contingent. "Hold On" and "Oh Baby" are lovely, electric piano and synth-led slow jams that gives us that "smooth and gentle" Uvee we crave. "That's How You Make Me Feel" is a midtempo number fueled by programmed horns and a sing-along-worthy refrain. And finally the title track incorporates subtle guitar noodling and vocoder-ized backing vocals into a slinky, breezy slow song. And then it's over. Too soon. The seven songs on "Nobody But You" are some of the best of her career and with the addition of a couple tracks this could have been her best album to date. It's still highly recommended.
1
Practice What You Preach |
"I.C.U.U.V. (Mission Park 1984)
"On My Own" (Mission Park 199?)
"Sweet & Gentle" (Mission Park 1998)
"There'll Come A Time" (Mission Park 2001)
"Play Something Pretty" (CDS 2009)
Barbara Carr & Uvee Hayes "Southern Soul Blues Sisters" (Aviara
Music 2009) 
"True Confessions" (Mission Park 2011)
"In The Mood" (Mission Park 2014)
"Nobody But You" (Mission Park 2017)
"From A Woman's Point Of View" (Mission Park 2018)