Eddie Chacon releases new single “Step By Step” and announces new album for the end of March

Californian singer-songwriter Eddie Chacon is probably best known to most as one half of the successful US soul duo Charles & Eddie from the early 90s. With “Pleasure, Joy and Happiness”, the “low-key R&B legend” (The Fader) celebrated a brilliant comeback in 2020 with support John Carroll Kirby. On 31 March, the long-awaited follow-up will be released, on which Chacon has once again collaborated with his soulmate John Carroll Kirby. As a foretaste of the album, his new single “Step By Step” has now been released.

“Step By Step is about how a lot of what we experience is a mirror reflection of ourselves. It’s about finally realizing that oftentimes we are the only person standing in [our] way”, says Chacon.

Meeting John Carroll Kirby in 2019 was the catalyst for Chacon’s return to music. “Pleasure, Joy and Happiness” was meant to be a swan song to a music career that began as a teenager in garage bands in the Bay Area and peaked in the 1990s when he found himself at the top of the international charts as one half of the duo Charles & Eddie with “Would I Lie To You” before eventually leaving the music business. Eddie could not imagine that his new music would find favour not only with fans but also with fellow musicians.

After the worldwide success of his comeback album, Chacon decided to record another album. Together with Kirby he wrote the first half of the new album “Sundown” during a stay in Ibiza in 2021, and the rest was completed at 64 Sound Studios in Northeast Los Angeles. Eddie (vocals) and John (production and keyboards) were joined by Logan Hone (flutes and saxophones), Elizabeth Lea (trombone), Will Logan (drums) and David Leach (percussion). “It feels like we’re building our dream house,” says Eddie. “With Pleasure, Joy, and Happiness, we poured the foundation and now we’re expanding into new rooms.”

Read our in-depth interview with Eddie Chacon about “Pleasure, Joy and Happiness” here!

Photo: Pat Martin