Wiki
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Release Date
26 February 2021
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Length
10 tracks
Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 a.k.a. I'm Every Woman: The Best of Chaka Khan is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan first released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1996. Although the compilation, which reached #22 on Billboard's R&B chart and #51 on Pop, was given the "Vol. 1" tag, it remains without a sequel to date. Vol. 1 was however re-issued by Warner's sublabel Reprise Records in 1999, then with alternate cover art and under the title I'm Every Woman - The Best of Chaka Khan. The collection was again re-issued as Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 in 2005, then also on the Reprise label.
After an at the time twenty-three year long career in the music business which spanned over seventeen studio albums (nine solo, eight with the band Rufus) and a combined total of some fifty entries on Billboard's R&B singles chart, Epiphany was the first best of retrospective to be released, then summarising her recorded output in ten tracks; eight solo hits such as "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel for You", "I Know You, I Live You" and "Through The Fire", combined with two recordings from the Rufus era, "Ain't Nobody" and "Tell Me Something Good".
The Epiphany compilation is however mainly notable for including six tracks from what was originally intended to be Khan's tenth solo album, Dare You To Love Me, recorded between the years 1993 and 1995. Titles from the postponed and eventually cancelled album featured on the Epiphany compilation include "Love Me Still" (co-written by Bruce Hornsby, first released on the soundtrack to the 1995 Spike Lee movie Clockers), Khan's reggae-tinged cover version of Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere", the duet "Never Miss the Water" with Me'shell Ndegéocello, "Somethin' Deep", "Your Love Is All I Know" and "Every Little Thing". A seventh title, "It Ain't Easy Lovin' Me", was released as an exclusive bonus track on the Japanese edition of Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan: Vol. 1.
Another seven recordings from the Dare You To Love Me sessions have surfaced on movie soundtracks, compilations or other artists' albums; "Miles Blowin'" (a tribute to the late Miles Davis, included on the Sugar Hill soundtrack, 1994), "Free Yourself" (on the To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar soundtrack, 1995), "Don't Take Back Your Love" (on Gerry DeVeaux's album Devoted Songs, 1996), Khan's recording of the jazz standard "My Funny Valentine" (on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, 1996), "Pain" (co-written by Prince, on the soundtrack to TV sitcom Living Single, 1997), "You And I Are One" and "Power" (both on the 1998 Zebra Records compilation A Song A Day). Three further recordings from the Dare You To Love Me sessions, including the title track, officially remain unreleased.
The Epiphany compilation was promoted by the single release "Never Miss The Water" which included house and drum & bass remixes by Frankie Knuckles, Stylus Production and Candy Station. The single, issued on the Reprise Records label, became a #1 hit on Billboard's Dance Chart and also reached #36 on R&B. "Your Love Is All I Know", "Every Little Thing" and "Everywhere" were also released as singles in certain territories, such as the U.K., Germany and Japan.
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