Date Signed: Fall 2016
Label: S-Curve Records
Type of Music: Soul, Jazz Management: Matt Maltese, OK Rad Booking: N/A
Legal: N/A
Publicity: Shore Fire Media
Web: eliselegrow.com
A&R: Steve Greenburg, Michael Mangini
Toronto R&B chanteuse Elise LeGrow has been raising a few eyebrows lately thanks to her non-traditional version of Chuck Berry’s classic, “You Never Can Tell,” a song that is actually LeGrow’s debut single for S-Curve Records, the label founded by former Mercury exec Steve Greenberg.
After the film Pulp Fiction and the Travolta/Thurman dance, even the most casual of Berry fans was suddenly very familiar with one of his more obscure songs. It’s a melody that has passed into popular culture folklore, so it takes a brave artist to mess with it.
“Steve Greenberg, who produced the record, also wrote the melody that you hear on our recording in the 1970s,” LeGrow says. “He never recorded it, but had it floating around in his head for many years, and, when he was embarking on this project, he floated the idea of me recording it. It was beautiful so we decided to do it.”
"Everything they said they were going to do, they've done."
LeGrow is rooted in R&B but has rock & roll and jazz edges. She worked at her craft so that, when the opportunity with S-Curve came along, she was ready.
“It fell into my lap in a really amazing way,” LeGrow says. “I’d been working with some people in Toronto who had been working with Steve Greenberg for many years, and so I was very fortunate to have that introduction. I flew down with a guitar player in February of 2016, and did a little showcase at S-Curve’s office.
“Everything they said they were going to do, they’ve done,” she continues. “Any artist signing to any label is really fearful that they’re gonna get signed in name, and then not supported afterwards. That happens quite a lot––people get sidelined. Labels focus on a bigger artist at the label, or the person who signed you gets fired and then nobody else at the label cares. I’m really fortunate to be working with such a small team who have been passionate from the very beginning.”
Elise LeGrow’s debut single for S-Curve, “You Never Can Tell,” is out now. Her debut album, Playing Chess, is out in the fall.
Looking for more of Music Connection's Signing Stories? Click HERE!
