Blessed with one of the most distinctive voices in modern R&B, it didn’t take Jeffrey Osborne long to establish a solo career after departing the funk band L.T.D. (Love, Togetherness and Devotion) in the early 1980s. After years of playing drums in the group known for the hits “Holding On (When Love Is Gone)” and “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again, he stepped out front with his self-titled debut in 1982, produced by George Duke.

“We got lucky with the first record,” Mr. Osborne recalls from his home in Los Angeles. “I had a couple of hits, ‘Really Don’t Need No Light,’ was the first thing and then ‘On The Wings of Love’ kind of took that over the top. I think it helped that I was a songwriter.”

The Rhode Island native and Grammy-nominated singer’s luck continued as he built a career that includes 12 albums, acting stints on soap operas and singing the national anthem at sporting events. Mr. Osborne, 75, talks about his times with L.T.D., where that voice comes from and his next projects.

Free Press: Is there anything you miss about the group dynamic?

Mr. Osborne: I miss a lot about the group. The group was a great group. It was one of the best entertaining live performing groups ever. I miss some of the relationships I had in the group and a great songwriting relationship with one person in particular. But you know, it was a grind with L.T.D. We were working sometimes for barely any money, you know, it was, it was tough back then. But ... I didn’t leave the group because of that. I left the group because they didn’t provide any outlets for the individual to grow. It was just time for me to leave.

Free Press: Why do you think we don't see any groups like that now? I mean, I can't think of a R&B band right now that has a recording contract except, perhaps, The Roots.

Mr. Osborne: I mean, even [The] Roots… I don't think Roots would have survived without Jimmy Fallon’s show. It’s tough [being in a band], because, you know, everybody's an equal member. So, when you have 10 people on a group, and you're splitting everything 10 ways, it's kind of hard, you know? And in today's day and age, you know, there's so many opportunities now with, with all the media outlets that you have … which makes it a lot easier for people to become just an individual proprietor as opposed to dealing with a group issue. It's changed a lot.

Free Press: Thinking back to the good old days, what are some crazy things people have done to get your attention?

Mr. Osborne: There’ve been so many things that people have done. I've had, you know, the normal things ….women throwing panties on stage and crazy stuff like that. I've had (hotel) maids fighting over who's going to clean my room. That was one of the funniest things. I had a little system in there, a speaker system with my music, and they were fighting over who's going to clean the room. And one of them took a speakers and threw it at the other maid, injured her and broke my speaker. It was a mess! [Laughs]

Free Press: Throughout your career, you’ve had songs with social commentary. Why do you think it’s important to sing about those issues?

Mr. Osborne: I just think it’s important to be relevant. But for whatever you believe in, I think it’s important to sing about that so that people know that this is how you feel about what you believe in. It’s tough in this industry, because you can alienate yourself from a lot of people and that was back then!

Free Press: Can you talk about how you developed your distinctive vocal style? What influenced you?

Mr. Osborne: When I was a teenager ... I tried to basically sound the way everybody did. When I got to L.T.D., I realized that I needed to have an identity. So, the one thing I did ... which I think helped me more than anything, is ... I basically stopped listening to radio and records for almost a year to develop my own stuff. I didn’t want to be influenced anymore. And I think that really helped me and that was hard to do.

Free Press: What are you working on currently?

Mr. Osborne: I’m just basically writing right now. I think I’m gonna just try to put a few songs together and, and do it the way the youths of today do it, you know, through social media. I don’t think I want to be affiliated with a record company anymore. So, I think that’s my new approach.

Free Press: My wife and I were talking about your song, “Don't Get So Mad About It.” She says that in the song, the narrator is just gaslighting the woman... that she’s upset - and she has reason to be – and her man is acting like nothing happened.

Mr. Osborne: It was an issue when it came out sometimes with radio. They would debate ‘Well, what's going on with this? What does he mean by this?’ I think that the bridge sums up the whole song. The bridge basically said “It’s all so crazy now/Somehow it's got to change/Take a look at yourself.” It basically said, “no matter what we're going through, you know, we're gonna have (tough) times, but we're gonna get mad at each other. But love is the key to keep it all together.” I think everybody goes through that.

Jeffrey Osborne performs at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday, April 22, at 7 p.m. Alex Bungnon opens. Details: www.jsaffair.com