Arlene Bailey

Arlene Bailey is an 80's Funk / Soul, Boogie vocalist.

Albums: (1987) I Got My Game Plan Working Baby

I Got My Game Plan Working Baby is the debut studio album by American soul and jazz artist Arlene Bailey, released in 1987 on AGB Records. The record is a notable example of late-80s "modern soul" and boogie, featuring a mix of electronic production and classic vocal arrangements.

Key Album Details:
Artist: Arlene Bailey
Release Year: 1987 (US); a later edition was released in 1990 (Venezuela)
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Modern Soul, Boogie
Label: AGB Records (Catalog: 10-3-7517)
Production & Credits
The album was largely a family collaboration between Arlene and her brother, George Bailey.
Producers & Arrangers: Arlene Bailey and George Bailey
Primary Writers: Arlene Bailey and George Bailey (with a Cole Porter cover included on some versions)
Instrumentation: Features Mikkel Hakansson on keyboards, Lars Elswing on bass, and programming by Jorge Corante.

Tracklist:
A1 I've Got My Game Plan Working Baby (Second Version)
A2 I've Got My Game Plan Working Baby (Instrumental)
A3 You Are The One For Me
A4 Let's Stay In Love
A5 Closer To You
B1 Hey You, I Wanna Dance Tonight
B2 For Always
B3 If You Come Back
B4 I Get A Kick Out Of You
Written-By – Cole Porter
B5 Feelings
Written-By – Morris Albert


Arlene Bailey was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Before her solo debut, she performed with various jazz trios. While much of the 1987 album utilizes synthesized "of its time" production, tracks like "Let's Stay In Love" are noted for a more timeless, earlier soul sound

Back-to-back on 45 for the first time, Arlene Bailey’s ‘Let’s Stay In Love’ and ‘Closer To You’. Originally appearing on Bailey’s 1987 debut LP, these two firm favourites sound like they could have been laid down a decade earlier, whilst the rest of the album sounds very much of its time. Both songs were co-written and produced by Arlene and her brother George for A.G.B. Records.

Arlene was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Bertha Ridley, who encouraged Arlene's career as a musician. “We always had a piano at home” explains Bailey: “My mother was a self-taught pianist and played beautifully. She first started me on the piano and I just kept dibbling and dabbling with it. I started studying classical singing at the age of 10 and after graduating high school, I went to the New England Conservatory of Music. From there I started doing gigs with different jazz trios in Boston and around upstate New York, it was an exciting time.”

During a trip to New York City, Bailey gave tapes and photographs to a booking agent hoping for results. Results came sooner than expected, and within the same week Bailey was booked for an extended engagement in Australia singing at popular nightspots including the Chequers Club in Sydney: “One day my agent called and said Dusty Springfield was booked to appear in town but her voice was too hoarse and she was unable to sing, so the Chequers owner asked if I could fill in for her. Oh my lord..! ...Fill in for Dusty Springfield?! Anyhow, I had a lot of confidence. I gave my musical arrangements to the musicians and sang for one hour. The people gave me a standing ovation and when I was walking off the stage I fell over! My opening song for my encore was ’My Shining Hour’!” When Bailey returned to New York, it wasn’t long before she was back on the road, joining Sammy Davis on his USO tour alongside Roxie Roker and Lola Falana performing for the US troops overseas.

The world became Bailey’s stage where she had club and lounge residencies in the Far East, Europe, the Scandinavian Countries, Canada and South America. She also had a cameo appearance with Tony Kendall in the 1969 film, Three Golden Serpents from the Kommissar X film series pictured below.

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