...    After years of faithful service to Motown, label president Berry Gordy saw no reason why songwriter Gloria Jones should be denied the opportunity to record an album. So at the urging of her manager Tom Thacker (a man from the world of rock radio with connections to the likes of Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night) and the negotiating power of his team, Gloria earned a shot at recording her one and only album for Motown Records, Share My Love. “If you’re around long enough, people begin to see your worth,” reasons Gloria. “Artists and producers like Holland Dozier Holland, The Four Tops and Gladys Knight & The Pips were leaving, but Berry still had all of these other young vibrant people working at the company in L.A. I had some ideas about new styles and arrangements that I wanted to try. I’d just come off the road with Joe Cocker leading his group of backup singers: myself, Viola Wills, Margaret Avery (not the actress) and Beverly Gardner. We called ourselves The Sanctified Sisters. When I returned to America I didn’t know whether I should just continue writing songs or start performing again on my own. Joe’s manager, Nigel Thomas, encouraged me to do my thing. And so did my manager Tom, who did my deal through the Corduroy Company.”

To get her concept across, Gloria insisted on using musicians outside of Motown’s inner circle, including bassist Willie Weeks (who’d been so integral to Donny Hathaway’s band and with Stephen Stills), New Orleans’ pioneering rock and studio drummer Earl Palmer (who by that time had recorded on literally thousands of sessions), guitarist David T. Walker (a prolific R&B journeyman and recording artist in his own right), plus Hollywood rock session perennials Jai Winding, Bill Cuomo, Don Menza and more.

The one Motown person she did want involved in her project was arranging great Paul Riser, who joined the company right out of high school in 1963 at the age of 18. His stamp of creativity embellished hundreds of classic recordings. Paul was classically trained, as was Gloria, so they had a special musical kinship.