Anthony David

Anthony David Harrington, a Savannah, Georgia native, began composing songs while serving as a paratrooper in Iraq during the Gulf War. Upon returning stateside he relocated to Atlanta to immerse himself further in music, where he soon connected with India.Arie, briefly managed her career, and contributed “Part of My Life” to her multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated 2001 debut, Acoustic Soul. Transitioning from behind-the-scenes work to performing, he issued two modest independent sets on the local Brash imprint—3 Chords & the Truth in 2004 and The Red Clay Chronicles in 2006—before those recordings were distilled into Acey Duecy, released in 2008 via Arie’s Soulbird imprint through Universal Republic. The collection climbed to number 30 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and its Arie collaboration “Words” earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Harrington’s slightly rasping baritone and plainspoken narratives, shaped equally by Bill Withers and Terry Callier, continued to define his output as he moved to eOne for As Above So Below in 2011, which included the Enchantment-inspired Top 20 R&B/Hip-Hop single “4evermore,” a duet with Algebra Blessett. By year’s end the label also issued the remix-and-rarities collection #LocationLocationLocation, spotlighting live acoustic renditions alongside unreleased material. Love Out Loud arrived in 2012, again pairing him with Blessett, and marked his third studio album to reach the charts. After shifting to Shanachie, he returned with The Powerful Now in 2016 and followed it two years later with the Withers tribute Hello Like Before: The Songs of Bill Withers.