1975 Patti Dahlstrom – Your Place Or Mine

Patti Dahlstrom is a widely respected singer/songwriter, recording artist and teacher. Born in Texas, she cut four albums in the seventies, and co-wrote the Helen Reddy hit “Emotion”, before enjoying a renaissance and renewed visibility in 2010.

After three years of struggling, Dahlstrom broke into the world of professional songwriting. She was signed to Jobete, the publishing division of Motown, where she was mentored by Berry Gordy. She also struck up a fruitful and enduring songwriting relationship with Severin Browne, brother of Jackson Browne.  Russ Regan signed her to Uni Records and, in 1972, her first album, the Toxey French-produced Patti Dahlstrom, was released. Moving to 20th Century Records, which was also headed by Regan, she followed with three more albums, The Way I Am (1973), Your Place or Mine (1975), and Livin It Thru (1976), produced by Michael J Jackson and Michael Omartian, Jack Conrad and Bill Schnee, and Larry Knechtel respectively. The albums featured an impressive cast of musicians and prominently displayed Dahlstrom’s gritty, engaging vocal style and her emotionally perspicacious songwriting.

Among the notable songs from Dahlstrom’s 20th Century tenure was ‘Sending My Good Thoughts To You’, which she co-wrote with Artie Wayne, and dedicated to her friend Jim Croce. Implicit in the song’s lyric is the notion of continuing a loving friendship with someone after that person’s death, and this consoling message has helped it endure. In one of her most plaintive and subtly heart-rending vocal performances to date, Dahlstrom included the song on Your Place or Mine in 1975.

Despite the fact that there was no break out hit single for Dahlstrom herself, her popularity as a songwriter for other recording artists was considerable. Notable among the recordings of her work are “Ain’t No Way To Rise Above (Fallin’ In Love)” by Anne Murray (1982); “Running Out of World” by Cilla Black (1976); “Emotion” by Helen Reddy and Shirley Bassey;  “What If”, “I’m Letting Go”, and “I Never Did” by Thelma Houston (1972); “Dialogue” by Michael Johnson (1979); “Feels Like More Than Dancing” by Captain and Tennille; “Over The Line” by Johnny Rivers (1973); and “Even Texas Isn’t Big Enough Now” by Riders in the Sky (1986) from the album New Trails.