"One In a Million You" by Larry Graham

Top 10 Alert!

Gold Record Alert!

Song#:  0232
Date:  06/28/1980
Debut:  86
Peak:  9
Weeks:  20
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary, R&B



Pop Bits:  Graham was a member of Sly and the Family Stone during the group's peak years from 1968-1972. In addition to being a successful period, it was also filled with internal strife, drug use, and even accusations that Graham hired a hit-man to knock off Sly. Graham finally had had enough and left the group and went on to form Graham Central Station, a group similar in sound to the Family Stone. They achieved some success on the R&B chart in the 70s, but by 1980 Graham decided to go for a solo career and issued his "One In a Million You" album. The title track went on to be a major pop hit while also reaching #1 on the R&B chart. Graham also received a 1981 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.

ReduxReview:  I forgot what a lovely song this is. It's sentimental without going overboard into schmaltz. But besides being a really nice song, it's Graham's vocals that really make this so tasty. The tone of his voice is so warm and he just sings the song with such ease. This is definitely romantic fireplace music. If you can't just melt to this one, then I feel sorry for you.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Graham, a bass player,  is credited with creating the slap-pop technique when playing electric bass. It was a way to incorporate percussive and rhythmic sounds into the bass line. This style of playing was highly influential and many rock and R&B bass players adopted the technique.

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