Check out Billy Valentine’s excellent cover of “We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue,” here. The vocal and instrumental arrangement sets the appropriate tone for the song’s reflective lyrics, which thematically are as relevant as the post 1960s civil rights era when Mayfield penned this polemical number. Valentine’s tenor soon follows, sweet and melancholy as it dances around a jazzy piano. Need to look in your eyes Everyday is another day To lay a name at your feet Holding on with the hopes of love Though my hearts filled with grief Cause we are the people darker than blue (Cant you see us rising higher) Hold hands in love Fight on for truth (Can't you see us rising higher) We withhold the fire Though we know we can burn it down My peace is a gift to you Dont you throw it. The version plants feet firmly in the jazz side of town with an opening that features a dance between an upright bass and saxophone. The polemical classic is a tune that Mayfield himself remade on his 1996 album New World Order, and Billy Valentine does the tune justice with his powerful reinterpretation. Billy Valentine shows that he can keep it real with on this jazz infused remake of Curtis Mayfield’s classic “We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue.” They could come with the romance, or they could get gritty and real, as their hit “Money’s Too Tight to Mention” demonstrated. (January 11, 2023) The Valentine Brothers were equal parts R&B, jazz, blues, and gospel.
