HELLO AMERICA!—Gregory Abbot who is known for hits such as “Shake You Down” and “Not The Hey Girl I’m Watchin’ You” deserves recognition and tremendous respect. I first met the singer and composer when I was Editor in Chief at Players International Publishing in Los Angeles. He was fresh out of Berkeley and Stanford, ready to conquer the world. Not only that, he had married “Band of Gold” singing star Freda Payne.
As most Hollywood stories go, being in the lime light at every turn, having tons of people smelling at your door for any sign of an advantage which might open any opportunity for their own dreams was somewhat overwhelming not only for Abbott, but for most talented new comers with a little clout. Of course, Gregory tried to help anybody and everybody who begged for help, no matter the sacrifice which affected him professionally or personally. He was a young, gifted artist with a heart, one who deeply cared about other people.
Gregory eventually came to my office and discussed his background, music and several other human interests and I was seriously impressed. Hence, asked if he would be interested in writing a column for one of our publications. He quickly agreed; he would welcome the challenge. His assignment was set in one of our three magazines “NOW,” similar to that of “Jet” published by the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago. When it hit the stands, it sold out and Gregory received a bag-full of fan mail stemming from all over the country. In other words, the female population when nuts over this guy! Naturally, this effected the distribution process of our publications and the publishers were extremely delighted as well as impressed.
Eventually, we both left the publishing house at the same time. Gregory who lived and breathed music, found a place in the music game as a composer and even wrote a few songs for his wife, Freda Payne who was still being singled out for her “Band of Gold” hit. Miami Vice star Phillip Michael Thomas and I decided to head out to San Francisco where I finally was signed to do a daily talk radio show for KDIA with my buddy from Atlanta Barry Pope. Gregory shocked everybody when he decided to record one of his own songs “Shake You Down” which, of course, became a giant hit. I was emotionally moved as well as extremely proud of his accomplishment because I understood what he had to endure, personally, to reach that ladder of success.
The rest is history, Gregory eventually founded his own production company, continues to compose and produce his albums. He has made appearances on the nation’s top television shows and been interviewed on the highest rated radio talk programs throughout the globe. Now he is completing his next album with some exciting new material. There is no doubt that it will rock with his very slick and sophisticated sounds which will, no doubt, continue to make the name Gregory Abbott very special in the music world.
