One Way is an American R&B and funk band that was popular in the late 1970s, and throughout most of the 1980s, led by singer Al Hudson. The group's most successful record was "Cutie Pie", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart and number 61 on the pop chart in 1982. The band also gained popularity for ballads; most of which were not released as singles, but received airplay on urban radio stations. These included "Don't Stop" (1984), "You" (1982), "Something in the Past" (1980), "Guess You Didn't Know" (1979), and "Lost Inside of You" (1978).

Al Hudson and the (Soul) Partners Detroit vocalist Al Hudson, guitarist Dave Roberson and bassist Kevin McCord (b. Kevin Duane McCord, 1954, Detroit, Michigan) founded Al Hudson and the Soul Partners in the mid 1970s. Other members included keyboardists Jack Hall and Jonathan "Corky" Meadows, drummers Theodore Dudley and Gregory Greene, Gary Andrews and guitarist Cortez Harris.

They recorded several singles for Atco Records before joining ABC Records and made their debut with the LP Especially for You in 1977. They recorded their second album, Cherish, that same year and released their third album Spreading Love in 1978 from which the single "Spread Love" was released. Although not charting in the UK, it became a big hit in the clubs. By that time ABC Records was in the process of being bought by MCA Records and vocalist Alicia Myers joined the group. They released the album Happy Feet as Al Hudson and the Partners in 1979 which contains the R&B hit "You Can Do It", which was co-penned by Myers. The single also peaked at number 10 on Billboard’s Disco Action Top 80 Chart in June 1979, as well as a top 15 hit in the UK.

One Way When ABC merged with MCA Records, they subsequently changed their name to One Way featuring Al Hudson. Their next album was simply called One Way Featuring Al Hudson and was also released in 1979. The album included the long 12" version of "You Can Do It". Their 1980 album was also confusingly called One Way featuring Al Hudson. By 1981, the band was simply called One Way.

In 1981, frontwoman Alicia Myers left the band to pursue a solo career. She was replaced by Candyce Edwards, who served as female lead of the group from 1981 until 1985. Edwards' debut was on the Fancy Dancer album and she remained with the group throughout their major success. After Edwards left the group in 1985, Jeanette Mack-Jackson replaced Edwards as lead singer.

They were on MCA’s roster until 1988. They scored five top 10 U.S. R&B chart hits, with the biggest being "Cutie Pie", which reached number four in 1982. One Way had R&B hit "Mr. Groove", about James Brown, in 1984.

They had two more minor hits on the UK Singles Chart with "Music" (1979) and "Let's Talk" (1985). They gained US R&B hits such as "Don't Think About It" and "You Better Quit" in 1987.

They moved to Capitol Records in 1988, where they released the album A New Beginning later that same year. By this time, only Hudson, Roberson, and Meadows remained from the original line-up.

In 2019, after a 31-year hiatus, One Way featuring Al Hudson released their 12th album, New Old School.

Discography Albums Year Album Peak chart positions US US R&B As Al Hudson and the Soul Partners 1976 Especially for You — — 1977 Cherish — — 1978 Spreading Love — — As Al Hudson and the Partners 1979 Happy Feet — 30 As One Way featuring Al Hudson 1979 One Way featuring Al Hudson 128 25 1980 One Way featuring Al Hudson — — As One Way 1981 Love Is...One Way 157 18 Fancy Dancer 79 11 1982 Who's Foolin' Who 51 8 Wild Night — 16 1983 Shine on Me 164 27 1984 Lady 58 1 1985 Wrap Your Body 156 28 1986 IX — 27 1988 A New Beginning — — 2019 #NewOldSchool — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums 1993: Cutie Pie 1995: Push 1996: The Best of One Way: Featuring Al Hudson and Alicia Myers 2005: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

Singles Al Hudson and the Soul Partners Year Single Chart positions US Pop US R&B US Dance UK 1976 "I Got a Notion" — 64 — — 1977 "Feelings" — — — — "Why Must We Say Goodbye" — 83 — — "If You Feel Like Dancin'" — 78 — — "Real Love" — — — — 1978 "Dance Get Down (Feel the Groove)" — — — 57 "Spread Love" — 75 — — "How Do You Do" — 51 — — 1979 "You Can Do It"(credited as Al Hudson & the Partners) 101 52 10 15 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

One Way Year Single Chart positions US Pop US R&B US Dance UK 1980 "Music" — 36 30 56 "Do Your Thang" — 36 32 — "Pop It" — 20 — — "Something in the Past" — 76 — — 1981 "My Lady" — 52 — — "Push" — 12 — — "Pull Fancy Dancer Pull - Part 1" — 12 — — 1982 "Who's Foolin' Who" — 34 — — "Cutie Pie" 61 4 29 — "Runnin' Away" — 83 — — "Wild Night" — 36 — — 1983 "Can I" — 43 — — "Shine on Me" — 24 42 88 "Let's Get Together" — 44 — — 1984 "Lady You Are" — 5 — — "Mr. Groove" — 8 — 84 "Don't Stop" — 51 — — 1985 "Serving It" — 66 — — "Let's Talk" — — — 64 "More than Friends, Less than Lovers" — 52 — — 1986 "Don't Think About It" — 5 44 97 1987 "You Better Quit" — 6 29 100 "Whammy" — 25 — — 1988 "Driving Me Crazy" — 75 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also R. J.'s Latest Arrival – Soul/R&B group from Detroit Bar-Kays Con Funk Shun

References

External links

Soul and Funk Music database