Linda inked a contract with Warner in 1971, signing to the company's Reprise imprint. Unsurprisingly, Ian Samwell produced Linda's first recording sessions for the label, which were released as the album "Say No More" the same year.

By the time of her second outing for Reprise, 1972's "Lark," Linda had accrued sufficient confidence and experience to produce her own records (she was assisted by her then boyfriend and future husband, guitarist Jim Cregan, erstwhile member of the group Blossom Toes).

Despite the fact that they were both inexperienced as far as producing records was concerned, the duo discovered a potent creative chemistry and delivered an acclaimed album. Linda concurs that "Lark" represents one of her best pieces of work. "I think the vibe of that album is fantastic," she enthuses. "It has a happy, joyful vibe because I was in love with Jim and it was summertime. It was all magical and I was full of creativity."

Perhaps the most significant aspect of "Lark" was the fact that it heralded Linda's transformation into a fully-fledged composer. As a songwriter, she drew almost exclusively on autobiographical experience as the source of her material, distilling her own sound from musical influences as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Harry Nilsson, Billie Holiday and Smokey Robinson.

A year later, in 1973, Linda released "Fathoms Deep." It was an album that not only consolidated her status as one of Britain's most promising young female singer/songwriters but also evidenced her singularity as a recording artist. Her seamless synthesis of pop, folk, rock, funk and soul resulted in a refreshingly original sound that found favour with the critics but experienced a disappointing public response. Key tracks from "Fathoms Deep" include the dreamy title track with its shimmering orchestration (a rare co-write between Linda and Jim Cregan), the poignant "Guffer," "Wise Eyes," the funky Marvin Gaye-esque soul of "On The Stage," "Goodbye Joanna," "Red Light Ladies" and the whimsical "Moles." To support the album - which was released, incidentally, on a short-lived UK-only Warner imprint called Raft Records - Linda embarked on an extensive American tour with Cat Stevens.

Linda's growing band of admirers included Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton. During this period, she contributed vocals to albums by David Bowie ("Aladdin Sane"), Cat Stevens ("Catch Bull At Four"), Al Kooper, Chris Spedding, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rick Wakeman.

In 1974, Reprise issued a compilation entitled "Heartstrings," which comprised tracks from Linda's previous two albums, "Lark" and "Fathoms Deep." Significantly, it was enhanced by the inclusion of two songs previously unissued on album: "Rock-A-Doodle-Doo" and "Sideway Shuffle." The former, in which Linda utilises her five-octave vocal range to the full, is characterised by an infectious chorus and became the singer's first UK hit when it reached Number 15 in the singles chart in the summer of 1973. As a result of her newfound chart status, she also appeared several times on Britain's premier pop music TV show, "Top Of The Pops."

"Heartstrings" turned out to be Linda Lewis's final album for Reprise. Still under contract to the label, in 1975 she had been recording a Cat Stevens' song, "The Old School Yard," with Jim Cregan producing. As Linda recollects, the song came to the attention of Arista Records' supremo, Clive Davis:

Linda signed to Arista in 1975 and released her debut album for the company, "Not A Little Girl Anymore," later that year. The album yielded a massive international hit in the form of a disco-fied version of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" originally recorded by soul singer Betty Everett in 1964. Linda's rendition peaked at Number Six in the UK singles chart. Aiming to cash in on her newfound success, Linda released another disco-oriented album, "Woman Overboard," in 1977. However, during that period, Linda became profoundly disenchanted with the way her career was developing. Furthermore, Linda's own creativity and confidence was being undermined by the insipid, anonymous kind of pop-tinged material her record company wanted her to sing.

Despondent, Linda joined her then husband Jim Cregan on a tour of America with Rod Stewart. The couple moved to LA and after much soul searching, Linda went back home to England in 1979. She made one album for the Ariola label entitled "Hacienda View," which was largely written and produced by Mike Batt. At the beginning of the 1980s, Linda moved back to Los Angeles. She cut an album for Epic Records, "A Tear And A Smile," in 1983, but by her own admission, lost interest in music for a long period, preferring to devote her time to bringing up her young son.

<< back || more>>