Owed To Myself is the only album by American soul singer Charles Hilton Brown and was released in Italy in 1974. To this day, very little else is known about him. No real biography, hardly any information, no further discography. Just this one record.

And the story behind it is almost even better: in the early 70s, Brown was stationed as a US soldier at an American military base in Italy, where he recorded the album. For the sessions, he brought in support from Assagai, a South African Afro-rock band. 

An American soul singer, a South African band, and a recording made in Italy. That already sounds pretty wild on its own.

Musically though, it works incredibly well. Soul covers like “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Love Train,” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” meet original funk tracks and an impressively tight Afro-funk sound.

I’ve got dozens of versions of “Ain’t No Sunshine” on my shelves, but this one, with that incredible intro, still gives me goosebumps every time.