It's Been a Long Time - New Birth - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Louisville, Kentucky funk and R&B troupe New Birth was assembled by former Motown songwriter/producer Vernon Bullock and music industry veterans Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, which gave them a head start on the scene. Under their original moniker the Nite-Liters, they scored a trio of R&B hits in the early '70s, "K-Jee," "Afro-Strut," and "Pull Together" and tried out another name, Love, Peace & Happiness, before eventually settling on New Birth (which later morphed into New Birth, Inc). "It's Been a Long Time" was the title track and opener of their 1973 album of their fifth album as New Birth, and embodies that seamless mix of funk and smooth soul that kept the group inside the Billboard R&B top 10, with "It's Been a Long Time" reaching number nine on the R&B chart. It also made the way for their subsequent chart-topping 1975 album, Dream Merchant, released on Buddah Records.