1974
I'LL BE HOLDING ON * AL DOWNING * CHESS 6145 036 * UK
Although they probably weren't aware of it at the time, whenever Lets Have A Party was played, British audiences were hearing Al Downing for the first time on record, as he was playing piano on that and other records by Wanda Jackson the Country/Rockabilly star. Big Al Downing was a very versatile musician, song writer and singer who sang and played Country, Rockabilly (his Down On the Farm recorded with the Peocats is an exceptional example) Soul and MOR.
Released October 1974, in the US and in February 1975, in the UK. Chess is not generally known for the Disco sound, but I'll Be Holding On is a fine Disco Soul cut, the first of only two he had released in the 1970s for the Chicago label, although he did have an earlier outing on the label in 1962 when his The Story Of My Life came out on # 1817.
I'LL BE HOLDING ON * AL DOWNING * CHESS 2158 * USA