Paula Takes the Stand
May 17th, 1991
When members of the funk & soul trio the Family Stand were casually asked to contribute material fpr Paula Abdul’s new album, they had no idea they’d wind up writing, producing, and arranging eight of the album’s 11 songs.
“We were producing a group called Aftershock on Paula’s label, Virgin Records,” recalls Peter Lord, who with Sandra St. Victor and V. Jeffrey Smith makes up the Stand. “The people there liked it a lot and wanted us to submit songs for her. They had boxes of tapes that other writers had already sent in, but they were mostly the same kind of stuff she had done before. Ours were funkier, with a little more edge to it, and lyrically stronger.”
During a soiree at the home of a Virgin executive, Lord sat at the piano and played a ballad called “Blowing Kisses in the Wind” for Abdul; she fell in love with it. One song led to another, and before long the singer-dancer became an honorary Family member. The foursome would eat together, go to the circus (“We screamed like little teenagers,” says St. Victor), and plan late-night bowling parties (they never happened; sleepy Abdul always bagged out early).
Abdul calls the Stand, who have released two albums of their own, “the most talented musicians I’ve ever met” – which includes everyone from Prince to the Jacksons. – Jeffrey Ressner
Article courtesy of Entertainment Weekly/People Magazine