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Photo Courtesy of the Rrazz Room

If only the world were as perfect as Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s glorious vocals!

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with the R&B legend, who propelled the original Stylistics to stardom in the 1970s with gold and platinum recordings such as "You Make Me Feel Brand New," "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)," "People Make the World Go Round," "You Are Everything, "Break Up to Make Up," "Hurry Up this Way Again" and their signature song, "Betcha By Golly Wow," via telephone from his Philadelphia home.

Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the New Stylistics headline through Sunday, April 1 at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco as part of the Sounds of Soul Music Series, presented by KBLX and Shelly Tatum.

Thompkins, who was musically nurtured by jazz greats Billy Eckstine and Dinah Washington and came of age during the Motown era, has influenced a generation of vocalists including Phyllis Hyman, reggae harmony trio, the Mighty Diamonds, who had their first hit with their version of the Stylistics' "Country Living," and Alicia Keys, who performed with Thompkins five years ago at Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. (See video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbPXUfE-gyQ)

Thompkins' departure from the original members of the Stylistics, who formed in 1968, is a sensitive and complex subject that would take more than a blog to get into.

In 2004, Thompkins formed the New Stylistics, which includes vocalists Raymond Johnson and Jonathan Buckson, with musical director Kenneth R. Thompson.

Thompkins is gearing up for the release of his second solo album this summer, which will include a rare cover of "Sunny Weather Lover," (see video http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Official-Dionne-Warwick/164873656950146 ) one of his favorite Dionne Warwick songs, as well as some of his favorite songs from the sixties and seventies penned by Thom Bell, Burt Bacharach and others.

Here are few interesting facts about Russell Thompkins, Jr:

• Thompkins loves singing at intimate venues like the Rrazz Room. One of his fondest memories of performing in the Bay Area is singing karaoke with his friends and fans at a local bar after headlining with the Stylistics at Kimball's East in Emeryville, Ca.

• As a purveyor of classic love songs, Thompkins puts his words into action; he and his wife have been married for 43 years.

• His beloved mother, Julia Thompkins, passed away last week at 81, and yet, Thompkins continues to tour and perform. On losing his mother, he said he'd never thought he would feel pain like this.

Shelah Moody: Going back in time, what was going on musically when you were growing up in Philadelphia and who inspired you?

Russell Thompkins, Jr.: In my home, my father listened to jazz. I grew up listening to all the greats- Billy Eckstine Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, you name it. My father was teaching me at the time to sing from listening to that music. When I became a teenager, Motown entered my life, and I head Eddie Kendricks from the Temptations. I wanted to be Eddie Kendricks. He changed my life. I think that's what started me singing the falsetto more so than my natural voice. We had great tenors here in Philadelphia that I was listening to-William Hart of the Delfonics, Ron Tyson of the Ethics, who is with the Temptations now. I listened to a lot of harmony groups. I guess my all time favorite as a teenager was Dionne Warwick; I love Dionne Warwick! When I used to listen to other people sing, I was usually listening to the technique in how they sang, how high they sang and how they put a phrase together. When I listened to Dionne, I was feeling what she was singing and what she was saying. I've done a Burt Bacharach song and a Dionne Warwick song on almost every album I've ever done. I had a gold record with Tommy Bell on "You'll Never Get to Heaven." I'll always do a Dionne Warwick song on my album, I don't care.

SM: The late Linda Creed, who died of breast cancer at 36, wrote so many of your hits, "Stop, Look, Listen," "People Make the World Go Round" and Betcha by Golly Wow." Can you speak on her impact on the music world as a songwriter and share some of your personal memories?

RTJ: When I first met Linda Creed, it was long before we worked together as songwriter and singer. We did a cabaret together in west Philadelphia. I was about 16 or 17. This girl came in and she was beautiful! She was supposed to be singing on the same show and her manager introduced us to her. It must have been another four or five years later when the record company told me to go downtown to a certain floor in this building and meet this guy named Tommy Bell. Tommy Bell sat me down and we started playing and he was teaching me some of the songs that he had written for me on the piano and this lady burst through the door. Tommy was listening and singing and Linda was saying 'no no, no, go back, I want you to change this part and that part.' She was a writing machine! Another thing I remember is that she had her own office, and when you would go into her office, it was like a kindergarten, because she had all her kids there when she was writing-kids on the floor and running all over the place.

SM: What was it like singing "People Make the World Go Round" with Alicia Keys?

RTJ: That was a very fortunate thing. She's fantastic, too. I had never met her before. I remember hearing her songs and I'm thinking that she was another singer who'd had success with some songs. But she's more than that! When I came in, she was sitting at the piano and she was teaching everybody their parts; she was leading the band. She was singing off on the grand piano then playing the electric piano. She really blew my mind. We were getting ready to do "Betcha by Golly Wow" or "People Make the World Go Round." On electric piano, you can shift the keys; you can change the keys and still play it in the same position that you would play in the key of C. She sat down and stopped playing and said 'wait a minute, something's wrong.' That just showed me her ear. She knew that it was just off, that it was not the right one when we started singing. She's very, very good!

SM: So, we've lost two legends this year who have perhaps also been influential in your life-Don Cornelius and Whitney Houston. Can you comment on their legacies?

RTJ: I didn't know Whitney Houston personally; I've never met her, but she was an incredible singer--one of the greatest I've ever heard in my life. And Don Cornelius, I had a chance to work with him in Chicago when "Soul Train" was a local program. When I put my first record out, "You're a Big Girl Now," we used to work Chicago a whole lot, so I had a chance to do the local "Soul Train" with Don Cornelius. Another reason why I remember it so well was because David Ruffin was on the show also, and I'm a Temptations man. I did not know that (Don Cornelius) had the problems he had. It was a complete shock.

SM: Ok, let's get it straight, in terms of vocals, are you a tenor or a falsetto?

RTJ: I'm both. I'm a combination of a natural tenor and a falsetto. I hook them both together.

SM: Your voice is just as pure and strong as it was when you first started. Do you do anything special to preserve your voice?

RTJ: Everything is but a blessing. Everything comes from God; there's no special anything. Because I can see my voice from the time I first started, when I had that young kid's voice. When I was in my twenties, I could feel maturity coming into my voice, but I've never had to change keys.

SM: You've told me before that "Betcha by Golly Wow" was your favorite Stylistics song. Is this still true?

RTJ: Still true. It's everything I feel about love and what it should be. It's funny, because my wife and I got together at the same time that I met Tommy Bell and all of the songs were speaking to the feeling that was going on inside of me. People tell the same story, that "Betcha by Golly Wow" was the one. I like it when anyone else sings it. My favorite version of it is Phyllis Hyman's.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuimQ7DmeCE) I knew Phyllis. We'd see each other and talk about things. I was a big Phyllis fan before that, but after she did 'Betcha by Golly Wow,' it was like, Whew! I've been around people who've told me they like the way I do it, but Phyllis really did it! They thought I was gonna get angry, but I said no, I agree!

SM: I'm not a singer, but "Betcha by Golly Wow" sounds like a difficult song to sing.

RTJ: I don't think so, because it can be sung in any voice in any style. Have you ever heard of Johnny Hartman? He did it in his low baritone and it sounds beautiful. ( )

Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the New Stylistics perform:

When: Wed. March 28-Sunday April 1.

Where: The Rrazz Room, 222 Mason St, San Francisco

Info: (800) 380-3095, www.therazzroom.com