WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

It was 1979. I was amongst the over 20,000 fans partying with the opening act for The Jacksons’ Destiny Tour. The band had the crowd dancing in the aisles to their 1978 number one hit, “Holdin’ On When Love Is Gone,” and then hit us with their 1976 number one slow jam classic, “Love Ballad.” Jeffery Osborne’s silky-smooth voice had the ladies melting in their seats. The band closed their non-stop 30-minute set with an electrifying performance of the 1977 number one dance classic, “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again.” They were a hard act to follow. 

Before the legendary Jeffery Osborne took us “On The Wings of Love” and had women singing, “And you, woo, woo, woo. You should be mine,” he was the dynamic front man for the band L.T.D. After a string of chart-topping singles and albums during the ‘70s, Osborne decided he wanted to go solo. That didn’t go over well with the rest of the band. The results were devastating for the R&B crooner, and it nearly cost Osborne his life. 

I caught up with the man who hired the “Stay With Me Tonight” singer. His name is Tracy Lightford, the original drummer for L.T.D, “I was only 15, so I couldn’t do a lot of the gigs at nightclubs and other places, so I hired other drummers.” The band originated out of Greensboro. “We were the 13 Screaming N—as and then the Dukes of Rhythms. After we signed to a record label, we had to clean up our image, so we changed our name to L.T.D. (Love, Togetherness and Devotion),” shared Tracy. 

During a sound check before the band’s show at a clubhouse called Eddie’s Place in Providence, Rhode Island, Tracy was told he couldn’t play due to his age. “It was my birthday, and I had just turned 15. Earlier that day, I played with the band at an outdoor concert, but I was too young to play at Eddie’s Place. During the sound check, this guy came up to us and said, man, I saw you earlier at the outdoor concert, you were excellent. He said, I play and sing. My name is Jeff. I said, let’s see what you got. He started playing and singing. I said, wow! You’re hired!” said Tracy. Jeffrey’s brother, Billy Osborne, told Tracy that he can sing and play the keyboard. “He was good as well, so my uncle and I hired him too. They fit perfectly,” said the Greensboro native. 

The Osborne brothers drove from Providence to Los Angeles, California, to meet up with the rest of the band. “My uncle and I drove back to Greensboro, and then we flew to Los Angeles to sign the record deal with A&M records,” said Tracy. The band’s keyboardist and music director, Jimmy “J.D.” Davis, who passed away on May 1,  2008, gave L.T.D their signature sound, and that was the beginning of one of the greatest bands of all time. 

While touring, Tracy was wearing many hats. He was also signed to Philadelphia International Records and a student at North Carolina A&T State University. “I’ll try to catch flights in and out of Greensboro, and that was hectic. I finally got out of my contract, I finished school and then went full time with L.T.D.,”  said Tracy. 

During the ‘70s and ‘80s the band was on fire! Although Jeffery Osborne was the voice and face of L.T.D,, it was the band’s tight choreography and theatrical stage show that built them a reputation as one of the hottest live shows. They became a must-see act, which made it intimidating for the headliners to follow.

Unfortunately, the honeymoon came to an end “because Jeff wanted to do a solo project. We had a meeting in the studio. One of the band members said,’It’s a no, and it ain’t happening.’ Jeff said,  ’If y’all won’t let me do my solo project, I’m gonna leave the band.’ Busta! The whole band jumped on Jeffrey. He was stumped and beat repeatedly. It was really ugly,” shared Tracy, with a somber expression. It was obvious he wasn’t happy about the incident. 

After Jeffery left L.T.D, they hired Leslie Wilson from New Birth. “It’s a different feel when you change your lead singer that was known for singing love ballads and New Birth was a funky band. So, Leslie had a hard drive,” said Tracy. In 1981 the ballad “April love” and in 1983 the funky groove “Kicking Back” were both certified Gold. After their contract ended, Tracy bought rights to the name L.T.D, so he’s now the owner of the band. 

I asked if he had spoken with Jeffery Osborne after the incident and is there a possibility of a reunion? “No. But we talked about it. Jeff said he don’t think it would happen because of what happened. But we’re pretty close, because he remembered I was trying to pull the guys off of him,” said Tracy. 

Lightford and original members, John McGhee (guitar), Abraham “Onion” Miller (tenor sax, vocals), Carl Vickers (trumpet), and Arthur “Lorenzo” Carnegie (alto, tenor saxes, flute, guitar) are currently on tour. But on Aug. 16 the tour had to take an unexpected break. “August 16 was my birthday. I was driving to the airport and I began experiencing some chest pains, so I went to the hospital  and they couldn’t find anything wrong. They took some blood and gave me an IV, and then I was knocked out. I woke up the next morning and I heard someone say, ‘Tracy, what’s up, cuz?’ And that was my cousin, Harold Lightford.” The two hadn’t seen each other in over 30 years. Harold is a cardiologist and by the grace of God, he was able to save his cousin’s life. 

Tracy continued, “Harold said, ‘You had a heart attack. You had three blockages, so I took your heart out and unblocked your arteries. So, you’re gonna be good to go.’ He said nobody has ever got out of the hospital that quickly. But we have some strong genes in our family,” joked Tracy. 

He and L.T.D are working on new music and are back on the road again. When the Aggie alum isn’t touring, he attends United Institutional Baptist Church in Greensboro. “My father started the church with Lester Weathers, who is the grandfather of Barbra Weathers,” Tracy said with pride and a smile. Barbara is one of the former lead singers of the band Atlantic Star. She leads on hits such as “Always,” “Secret Lovers,” “Send For Me,” just to name a few. 

I pray three times a day, every day. I give the Lord the highest praises, which is Hallelujah.”

My Phenomenal Person of the Week is Tracy Lightford. For more info or to book L.T.D,, you can follow Tracy on Facebook.