When legendary jazz pianist Joe Sample joined forces with vocalist Lalah Hathaway, the result was The Song Lives On—a soulful and emotionally rich collaboration that bridges generations and genres. The recording was released on April 20, 1999.

Sample, a founding member of The Crusaders, had already established himself as a composer with a gift for crafting expressive, sophisticated melodies. Hathaway—blessed with a husky, resonant voice and the musical DNA of her father, R&B great Donny Hathaway—brought her own powerful instincts as a vocalist. Their partnership began with a U.S. tour in 1992 and continued with a run through Japan  later.

“Working so closely with Lalah has helped me to better appreciate her ability to convey powerful emotions in subtle ways which is not typical of so many of today’s pop singers,” Sample explained.

“I’ve never been a formulaic Top 40 songwriter, and usually the singers like Crawford or Al Jarreau who have done well with my tunes are great interpreters. Lalah has those same instincts. Aside from being an incredibly positive person, she and I really seem to understand where each of us is coming from musically.”

During their time in Japan, Hathaway and Sample performed timeless standards like “Fever” and “For All We Know,” with Hathaway bringing new depth to each track.

“She took very easily to the songs Randy had sung,” said Sample, “and gave a lift to timeworn favorites like Fever, which we performed in Japan, and For All We Know.”

On The Song Lives On, Hathaway breathes new life into several Sample/Jennings classics familiar to longtime fans, including:

• the brassy energy of “Street Life” (originally a Top 40 hit in 1979),

• the poignant “When Your Life Was Low”,

• the hopeful “One Day I’ll Fly Away”, and

• the bittersweet “When the World Turns Blue.”

The album also features “Come Along With Me,” a new take on Sample’s “All God’s Children” with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel, showcasing Hathaway’s upbeat spirit.

Sample composed four new instrumental pieces for the album:

• the smoky and elegant “The Song Lives On”,

• the softly textured “Living in Blue”,

• the reflective “A Long Way From Home”, and

• the percussion-driven bonus track “Bittersweet.”
  

Reflecting on the album’s deeper meaning, Sample shared:

“I grew up in a time and place where segregation was an acceptable way of life, and for me the piano was the only place I could run for an act of healing. I still feel that expressing myself this way is my great sanctuary.

I would like my legacy to be not only that I reflected the times in which I lived, but also that my music had the power to help heal people’s pain the way it has healed mine.”

With The Song Lives On, Joe Sample didn’t just craft an album—he shared a sanctuary. And with Lalah Hathaway’s voice carrying the message forward, the legacy lives on.

From the liner notes of the album:

THE SONG LIVES ON

“The gift of artistic senses is given by the Almighty to many. Some develop those senses to high levels of professional ability. The professionals take different journeys, whether by choice or instinct. The path they take can lead them to the spirit and soul of classical, opera, latin, jazz, blues, gospel, pop, rock or combinations thereof. The majority of the gifted embrace popular forms of music. Some of those are innovators who utilize the essence of a culture’s musical soul to define their concept of reaching heights of popular taste. Most others choose to imitate the innovators. Consequently, the concept of formula is born, and flourishes in a manner which seems to indicate the natural order of things.

There are those gifted whose artistic senses are the natural order of things. They are carriers and bearers who represent the DNA of a culture’s musical soul and spirit. Through their artistic senses, the spirit of a culture will survive, and the song will live on.”

– Joe Sample

Content adapted from the label press release sent with the CD in 1999!