Feature Song: “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong”
Mini Series: Part 2
Morgan James (1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including Motown: The Musical, Godspell, and The Addams Family. While on Broadway she moonlighted as a solo artist with a backing band. She has played at numerous New York City clubs over the years. Her first solo album was a cover album, Morgan James Live: A Celebration of Nina Simone (2012). Since that first release, she has recorded two other cover albums: Blue (2016), released on the 45th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s album of the same name, and The White Album (2018), which is her own interpretation of the Beatle’s album on the occasion of it’s 50th anniversary. She has also released seven studio albums, the first, Hunter (2014) and the latest, Nobody’s Fool (2023). Her second album, Reckless Abandon (2017), on her self-created label, Hedonist Records, was her first album to feature completely original material, which relies heavily on elements of soul and R&B.
Starting in 2014, James collaborated with PMJ, producing several cover songs for their YouTube channel, and she has also joined them on tour. James has an incredible vocal range and also a range of genres that she can easily handle. Her soul and R&B voice can go from subtle and nuanced to a crescendo quite seamlessly, and as will be evident in Part 4 of this series, is not afraid to tackle a 1970s iconic power ballad. Stay tuned.
Gladys Maria Knight (1944), known as the “Empress of Soul,” is an American singer. She is a ten-time Grammy award winner who recorded hit after hit in the 1960s,1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight and the Pips, which included her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten. They joined the Motown Records roster in 1966, and although they were initially regarded as a second-string act for the label, they went on to score several major hot singles, including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (1967), “Take Me In Your Arms and Love me” (1967), “The Nitty Gritty” (1969), “Friendship Train” (1970), “If I Were A Woman” (1970), and the featured song “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong” (1971). In their early career with Motown, they toured as the opening act for Diana Ross and the Supremes. After some backlash from that arrangement, they left Motown for a better deal with Buddah Records in 1973, and achieved even greater mainstream success that year with hits such as “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “I’ve Got To Used My Imagination,” “The Way We Were/Try To Remember,” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me.”
Gladys Knight and The Pips. “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong.” Album, If I Were Your Woman (1971).
Morgan James. “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong” cover. Accompanied by Jon Thomas on piano, 2023.
Los Angeles 2024
Wow what a powerful performance by Morgan. A name I only know by running across it because of the cover songs . I am not familiar with the original either and it’s an amazing song. You know how to pick’em North!
She is an amazing talent. I wasn’t that familiar with the original either. Thank’s Randy!
Nice song by Gladys Knight and the Pips. I didn’t know it. I also had not been aware of Morgan James. She surely did a nice job with that song – pretty soulful!
I’m a long-time fan of Gladys Knight & the Pips, and remember “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong” quite fondly. Morgan James does fine justice to the song.