Song-and-Dance Man

“I felt like a bowling ball,” said Gregory Hines, the actor-dancer who’s now venturing into soul singing.

He was describing how producer Luther Vandross coddled him during the recording sessions for his first solo album, “Gregory Hines.”

“I was this bowling ball rolling slowly down the lane and Luther was running alongside, trying to keep me from going into the gutter. I was close to the gutter a couple of times too. This is a different kind of singing. I had to break a lot of habits that I learned singing in theater.”

Famed as a soul balladeer, Vandross turned producer and talent scout for this project. “In 1985, Luther saw me singing on a ‘Saturday Night Live’ rerun (from 1979),” Hines said. “He got in contact with me and said he wanted to produce me. I’d never even met him. He said he liked something in my voice.

“I didn’t know much about recording. I had recorded an obscure album with a jazz-rock band on a small label in the mid-’70s, but that was all. For years, I tried to get a record deal to make a solo album but nobody was interested. Then I met Luther and I had a record deal (on Epic Records, Vandross’ label) the next day.”

Since the mid-’80s, Hines has been primarily known as a film star--”The Cotton Club,” “White Nights,” “Running Scared” and “Off Limits.” But his roots are in singing and dancing. Though he established himself in a vaudeville-style act called Hines, Hines & Dad, his career didn’t really blossom until the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when he starred in Broadway musicals like “Eubie!” and “Sophisticated Ladies.” He’s been doing a Las Vegas song-and-dance act which, he admits, whetted his appetite for recording.

Hines broke into pop music last year dueting on Vandross’ “There’s Nothing Better Than Love,” a hit on the black singles chart. But the first single from Hines’ album, “That Girl Wants to Dance With Me,” has been just a mild black-chart hit.

Hines acknowledges that he’s a long way from being a polished soul singer. “I’m not putting all my eggs in this pop-singing basket just yet,” he said. “I’m no fool. Acting is still my bread and butter.” He’s starring with Sammy Davis Jr. in “Tap,” a movie due out this fall.