artists' recordings. These recordings ran the gamut from country and pop to "easy listening" and contemporary Christian music. The group also performed background vocals on stage for recording artist Bob Bailey, during his live concert at Oakwood. In 1985, during a trip to California, A Special Blend performed at gospel-music legend Walter Hawkins' Love Center in Oakland. Aside from Hawkins and his brother, the equally celebrated Edwin Hawkins, the concert was attended by gospel-music legend Danniebelle Hall, who was very celebrated by Warren. In fact, A Special Blend's repertoire included a unique arrangement of a Danniebelle Hall New Orleans jazz-styled piece entitled "Theme On The Thirty-Seventh", which A Special Blend performed to Hall's delight. After the group's performance, Walter Hawkins took the stage and playfully expressed that he had not noticed A Special Blend performing any Walter Hawkins songs. From the audience, Hall replied—tongue firmly planted in cheek—"Well, if you'd write something decent, they would." In 1986, Warren traveled to Toronto, Canada to see the Manhattan Transfer in concert. Afterward, he waited at the backstage door and upon the group's exit presented them with copies of Nowhere But Up. Over the years, A Special Blend had in fact been compared to the Manhattan Transfer. Some months later, while completing his Master's degree at the University of Alabama, Warren received a surprise phone call from Janis Siegel of the Manhattan Transfer asking if he had heard from the Recording Academy.Siegel explained that members of the Manhattan Transfer had submitted Nowhere But Up for a Grammy Award nomination. Because the album was a small, independent release, it had not reached enough members of the Recording Academy to earn a Grammy nomination. However, Warren and A Special Blend would remain forever grateful for the Transfer's magnanimous gesture. Years later, perhaps in an effort to pay them back, Warren would write several arrangements for the Manhattan Transfer. Take 6 In 1980, Warren became a member of the a cappella sextet Alliance. In 1987 they signed with Warner Bros. Records, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, changed their name to Take 6, and achieved worldwide fame by 1988. Warren produced or co-produced most of their first two albums: Take 6 and So Much 2 Say. He also arranged and co-wrote many of the included songs. Along with the group he won his first of four Grammy Awards. Warren's years with Take 6 were characterized by a flurry