Ralph MacDonald ‎– The Path -1977 - Funk,Soul (vinyl)

Ralph MacDonald ‎– The Path -1977 - Funk,Soul (vinyl)

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Ralph MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was a Trinbagonian-American percussionist, song-writer, musical arranger, record producer, steelpan virtuoso and philanthropist.

His compositions include "Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the duet of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway; "Just the Two of Us", recorded by Bill Withers and Grover Washington, Jr.; and "Mister Magic" recorded by Grover Washington, Jr.

Growing up in Harlem, New York, United States, under the close mentorship of his Trinbagonian father, Patrick MacDonald (a calypsonian and bandleader originally from Trinidad and Tobago who went by the stage name "Macbeth the Great"), MacDonald began showing his musical talent, particularly with the steelpan, and when he was 17 years old started playing pan for the Harry Belafonte show.

He remained with the Belafonte band for a decade before deciding to strike out on his own. In 1967, together with Bill Eaton and William Salter, he formed Anisitia Music Incorporated. Anisitia is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

In 1971, Roberta Flack recorded "Where Is the Love", which MacDonald and Salter had written. The duet with Donny Hathaway won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The single was awarded gold status and sold more than one million copies.^[1] MacDonald played on the session for the song.^[2]

One of MacDonald's best-known compositions is "Just the Two of Us", a single sung by Bill Withers, with saxophone performance by Grover Washington, Jr. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and has since been covered and sampled by many artists, including Will Smith.