The Winans, “Special Lady” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

On the 18^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “Special Lady” by The Winans. 

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he vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! On the 18^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Special Lady”, performed by 🎙 The Winans.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

In black gospel music, the Winans name carries tremendous weight – an understatement.  Honestly, they’re some of the most gifted group of musicians you’ll find regardless of genre.  Gospel is their calling card, though, in 1985, on 🎙 The Winans’ 💿 Let My People Go, they contrast with an inspirational, contemporary R&B tribute to their grandmother, 🎵 “Special Lady”.  In all honesty, “Special Lady” has a case as the best song from Let My People Go given the smooth vocals, the vocal harmonies, and the touching sentiment.

“She was a very special lady

One who really shared

She was a very special woman who cared about

The things in life that only count

Truly, can’t you see

She was a very special lady to me.”

Oh, the feels, the feels, the feels! Furthermore, I love the smoothness of the sound and production work, as well as the harmonic progression.  Throughout, 🎙 Carvin Winans, 🎙 Marvin Winans, 🎙 Michael Winans, and 🎙 Ron Winans paint their grandmother as a marvelous woman.  “One to let us know / That true holiness was the only way to go,” they sing later, adding, “To live right / So that we could gain eternal life.” Special indeed!

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Final Thoughts 💭 

Watching jeen-yuhs made me remember this gem – it appears early in the second episode before a young 🎙 Kanye West begins rapping in 1990. Perhaps it’s ‘dated’ by some people’s standards approach 40 years of age, I continue to find this The Winans joint – wait for it – special.  “Special Lady” is a lovely ode to granny, period.

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🎙 The Winans • 💿 Let My People Go • 🏷 Word Entertainment • 🗓 1985

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The Winans, “Special Lady”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 18 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, cotton bro,  The Musical Hype, Word Entertainment]

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