Billy Valentine

BV & The Universal Truth

On Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth, Valentine reinterprets iconic protest songs, giving us his own spirited expressions of the boundless outrage, struggle, despair, and resilience contained therein. Backed by a veritable who’s who of modern jazz — Theo Croker, Pino Pallodino, Jeff Parker, Immanuel Wilkins and so many more — Valentine’s performances find new contours in these testifying renditions of message songs originally recorded and written by Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Kendricks, War, Prince — and of course, Flying Dutchman stalwarts Leon Thomas and Gil-Scott Heron.

Today, Valentine shares his powerful yet wounded take on Gil-Scott Heron’s “Home Is Where The Hatred Is,” the late artist’s rendition of a junkie’s lament. The track follow’s Billy’s prismatic and soulful version of Curtis Mayfield’s “We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue,” released last year and praised by Gilles Peterson as “incredible.”

Billy Valentine’s musical journey has been long and varied. Born and raised in Columbus, at 15-years-old he booked his first paying gig after sitting in with his brother Alvin. He spent years honing his craft at Leon’s, opening for bigger acts such as Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, who would cross the Hudson after stints at The Apollo.

After earning some on-the-road experience singing with the Young-Holt Trio and touring with the original road company of T he Wiz, Billy and his brother John were signed to a deal at A&M Records to record as The Valentine Brothers. While The Valentine Brothers never became household names, they did have some fairly successful R&B chart hits, including the Reaganomics- critiquing “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention),” and the crate digger quiet storm classic “Lonely Nights.”

Following the duo’s dissolution in 1987, Valentine linked up with Bob Thiele Jr. (now the caretaker of Flying Dutchman) and Phil Roy, who as a trio began collaborating on songs that would ultimately go on to be recorded by Ray Charles, The Neville Brothers, and both Pops and Mavis Staples.

Over the years, Valentine’s voice continued to pop up in surprising places, including television (as part of the soundtracks for shows as varied as (Boston Legal, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and Sons Of Anarchy) and in pop hits by Nas (“Legit”) and Axwell ("Nobody Else") 

released March 24, 2023