Close To You, the latest album from singer Audley Rollen, is scheduled for release by year-end. The veteran artist is enjoying a strong run with Never Knew Love Till You, which is in its second week at number one on the Foundation Radio Network New York Chart.
The set has 10 songs including the title which was recently released as a follow-up to Never Knew Love Till You, which appealed to secular and gospel fans.
“Never Knew Love Till You explains how important it is to not have unrealistic expectations in personal relationships because we’re imperfectly perfect, it also explains how important it is to understand that God’s love is unconditional,” explained Rollen, an ordained minister of religion.
Though the song has a distinct rock steady feel, he said he was determined to be as original as possible.
According to Rollen, “Never Knew Love Till You comes at a time when it’s the norm to re-record old rhythms and put something on it. This is not the case here; Never Knew Love Till You is an original, well-produced song with no versions, that transcends borders.”
An interesting inclusion on Close to You is Hold me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, originally done by soul singer Mel Carter in 1961, two years after Rollen started his career as a pre-teen in Jamaica.
“It’s actually a song I did 20 years ago. I decided it was too good to stay on the shelf,” he said.
Rollen’s recording career started in 1968 with songs for producer Keith Hudson. He later became a member of three groups based in east Kingston — The Emotions, The Hippy Boys and Youth Professionals.
Some of his colleagues in those groups became reggae legends including bassists Aston “Familyman” Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare, drummer Carlton Barrett, guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith and keyboardist Bernard “Touter” Harvey.
As a solo act, Rollen’s biggest hits during the early 1970’s were Repatriation and Hallelujah. He migrated to the United States in the late 1970s and continued to record but with the loss of his son over 20 years ago, Audley Rollen and his wife Dawn gave their lives to God.
His latest chart-topper sums up his relationship with the Lord.
“For me Never Knew Love Till You is a personal testimony because I’ve experienced it all, but I thank God for loving me unconditionally. He gave me the insight and the foresight to do the physical necessities while He intercedes to lift me up over the hurdles,” he said. “I thank God for blessing me with my beautiful bride and a happy life, and I pray at some point everyone will have that experience, so keep at it and stay close to Him, because when you stay close to Him good things happen.”
You must log in to post a comment.