What Have You Done, My Brother ?

Like many gospel and R&B singers, Naomi Davis Shelton learned to sing at an early age in the church where she was baptized in Alabama. She began her professional career with a gig as the house singer at a little club called the Night Cap in Brooklyn, NY. It was there where she would meet the man who would become her producer, mentor, and friend for life. Cliff Driver and his band were just off the road backing Baby Washington as part of the James Brown Revue, and had taken a job as the house band at the Night Cap. It would be a number of years before they would meet up again, but Cliff took an instant liking to Naomi's voice. ''I liked her 'cause she had a different type voice - a raspy sound like Mavis Staples.'' In 1999, Cliff and Naomi were doing a club set with legendary James Brown bassist Fred Thomas at Flannery's in Manhattan, when then Desco Records label man Gabriel Roth approached them about doing a recording. Naomi and Cliff cut ''41st Street Breakdown.'' The record made some noise on the then budding deep funk scene, getting heavy rotation at overseas funk parties. Over the next few years, Roth formed and developed Daptone Records with partner and saxophonist Neal Sugarman. It took three sets of sessions over three years before Roth and Driver finally found the right combination of singers, songs, and musicians to cut Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens' full length. The final result, 'What Have You Done, My Brother?', is a testament to the singular sound of gospel and soul music.