Darondo - Let My People Go

With Darondo’s passing, the world truly lost a singular and unique talent. His “Let My People Go” album has now reached “legendary” status with tracks featured on numerous A-list shows such as Breaking Bad and CSI, gaining legions of new fans in addition to the Soul afficionados who already knew of Darondo’s music.

A mystery to most, Darondo records are high on the wants-lists of many collectors. He is spoken about in hushed-tones by other Bay Area musicians. Back in the day he was seen cruising around town in a white Rolls Royce. He opened-up for James Brown and lived a colorful lifestyle hanging with folks like the notorious Fillmore Slim.

Take a listen to these tracks, released for the first time together on an album, and you may agree that he could have been the next Al Green or Sly Stone. But about 25 years ago Darondo disappeared. Releasing three singles in the early 1970s he mixed low-rider soul with blues and r'n'b. He delivered in a variety of styles from the socially-charged "Let My People Go" to the sexually-driven funk of "Legs". All three singles were recorded in the Bay Area, and both sides of each of the singles are fantastic productions.

The six tracks from the three original singles are featured here, along with three previously unreleased songs that were recently discovered on a demo reel. Recorded in the early 1970s, tracks from the demo reel were taken into a San Francisco studio in the summer of 2005 for enhancement. Darondo over-dubbed missing background vocals and guitar parts alongside up and coming San Francisco soul man Bing Ji Ling.