The love songs that once drifted from car radios, late‑night jukeboxes and quiet storm playlists are coming home to the stage.
On Friday, April 10, Detroit’s Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts will host a triple bill of R&B royalty when singers Jeffrey Osborne, Keith Washington and Shirley Murdock reunite generations of listeners for an evening steeped in romance, reflection and soul. The concert promises to deliver not just a run-through of familiar hits but a reminder of an era when vulnerability, melody and vocal finesse sat at the center of popular music.
Together, the three artists represent different corners of classic R&B ranging from silky funk‑soul and pop crossovers to Detroit‑bred ballads to gospel‑rooted storytelling.
Jeffrey Osborne: A voice made for romance
Few singers have built a catalog as synonymous with intimacy as Jeffrey Osborne.
First rising to prominence as the lead vocalist and drummer for the group L.T.D., Osborne helped usher in an era of lush, radio‑friendly soul with songs like “Love Ballad” and “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again.” When he stepped into a solo career in the early 1980s, his smooth tenor found an even wider audience through hits such as “On the Wings of Love,” “Stay with Me Tonight” and “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song).”
Osborne’s appeal has always been rooted in restraint — never overdoing, letting phrasing and emotion do the heavy lifting. That sensibility carried him beyond the charts to songwriting contributions such as Whitney Houston’s “All at Once” and continues to anchor his live performances. Now in the later chapters of a career spanning more than five decades, Osborne remains one of the griots of R&B while continuing to write and tour.
“I’ve been through Detroit almost every year of my career,” he told the Free Press. “Sometimes twice a year. The fans have been so warm to me and received me really well, and radio’s been great to me there, too, so I have a really fond place in my heart for Detroit. It’s a great audience. I have much respect for them because they grew up in one of the greatest music towns in the world. Not just in the U.S. – in the world! I mean, Detroit put out some incredible pieces of music that will live on forever and ever.”
Along with preparing to head back into the studio for an independent release, the singer-songwriter, now 78, is also looking ahead to September, when his Jeffrey Osborne Celebrity Classic charity golf tournament will once again take place in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island.
“I have a foundation, the Jeffrey Osborne Foundation,” he said, “and I give back to some of the local charities there in Rhode Island. I’ve been doing it now for about 15 years, and that’s one of my favorite things. I get so many great entertainers and athletes to come out and participate in the tournament. My first five years, Magic Johnson hosted it for me because we were friends. I was the Lakers’ good luck charm. I opened their season for 32 years straight and did most of the championship games, so Magic came out and got (the golf tournament) off the ground.
“Dr. J comes out. Magic comes out every now and then. You’ve got Smokey Robinson, Philip Bailey, Johnny Gill, Chris Tucker, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez. We get an array of incredible people, and we have fun. We jam, we sing. I’m really happy to have established that because everybody has a tournament out here in L.A. But to go back to your home and do it, it’s kind of special. We’ve given away close to $3 million to charities there.”
As the decades have passed, Osborne has gained new legions of young followers who grew up hearing his music played by their parents. He confessed he’s tickled by the age diversity at his concerts.
“I have to give credit to the parents,” he said, “the ones that have them listening to my music. It’s funny — people show up to my shows, moms and their kids, and their kids always tell me, ‘My mom played your music every day and I had to listen!’ It’s pretty incredible. It’s great to see youth at my concerts, and it’s great to know that music does transcend across the ages.”
Keith Washington: Detroit’s quiet storm king
For Detroit audiences, Keith Washington’s return carries hometown weight.
Born and raised in the city, Washington emerged in the early 1990s as one of R&B’s most recognizable balladeers with “Kissing You,” a slow‑burn love song that rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and earned both Grammy and Soul Train Award recognition. The track’s cinematic intensity and soaring delivery made Washington a staple of late‑night radio.
Behind the scenes, Washington also made his mark as a songwriter, co‑writing Freddie Jackson’s 1988 hit “Hey Lover” before branching out into acting with appearances in “Poetic Justice,” “Martin” and “General Hospital.” Over the years, he has remained deeply connected to Detroit through local radio and performances, positioning him as not just a product of the city’s R&B legacy but also one of its ongoing stewards.
He said that singing in Detroit is “like I’m playing for my whole entire family reunion.”
“They say if you can sell out home, you can sell out anywhere,” he said. “We’re going to have a great turnout. What it means to me … there’s a lot of love there, much love and respect both ways. I was born and raised there, so it’s bittersweet at this point in my life — losing my mom and close friends and family members. But it’s truly incredible singing in front of all of them who are still there. It’s enjoyable.”
Shirley Murdock: Gospel roots, R&B truth
Shirley Murdock’s music has always carried church in its bones.
Discovered by Dayton funk master Roger Troutman while singing gospel in her native Ohio, Murdock first gained national attention as a backing vocalist for Zapp (most notably opposite Charlie Wilson on 1985’s “Computer Love”) before stepping into the spotlight with her 1986 debut album. Anchored by the enduring ballad “As We Lay,” the album went gold and cemented her reputation as a vocalist unafraid of emotional complexity.
Her career has flowed between secular R&B and gospel ever since, with later projects leaning more explicitly into faith while she continues to perform her classic catalog onstage. Today, Murdock and her husband also helm a ministry at the 2nd Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio.
“I am coming with all the hits,” Murdock said, “all those songs that people in Detroit have made famous, like ‘Go On Without You’ and ‘Husband’ and ‘As We Lay’ and ‘Computer Love.’ We’re just going to have a really good time. And I always try to filter in something inspirational, as well. I always told God: ‘I will never leave the principles of what I learned in church. I’m not leaving gospel music to go sing mainstream — I’m taking you with me.’ It’s an opportunity to entertain people, but also leave them inspired. With the things that are going on in the world today, I tell you, people need some inspiration.”
At Music Hall, various musical threads — Osborne’s velvet smoothness, Washington’s hushed intensity and Murdock’s gospel‑honed clarity — will create a night designed for connection. Friday’s concert will be an audience‑lean‑in kind of show, where lyrics matter, memories surface and time slows just enough to let the songs breathe.
For Detroit, a city whose musical history has always prized voices with something to say, it’s a fitting homecoming.
Jeffrey Osborne, Keith Washington & Shirley Murdock
8 p.m. April 10
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
350 Madison St., Detroit
musichall.org
$74.05 & up
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 3 R&B greats to deliver a night of sweet soul memories at Music Hall
Reporting by Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
