He now resides in Germany where he runs a publishing company that co-ordinates films, documentaries, and advertisements. (wikipedia)
Kung Fu Fighting (1974)
Dance The Kung Fu (1975)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
CARL DOUGLAS
Carl Douglas is a Jamaican-born singer, most famous for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in 1974. "Kung Fu Fighting" is acclaimed to be one of the greatest disco tracks of all time. The fame of this homage to martial arts films has overshadowed the rest of the singer's career, resulting in his appearance on cover versions of the song. However, Douglas did release two other hit singles: "Dance The Kung Fu" and "Blue Eyed Soul".
He now resides in Germany where he runs a publishing company that co-ordinates films, documentaries, and advertisements. (wikipedia)
He now resides in Germany where he runs a publishing company that co-ordinates films, documentaries, and advertisements. (wikipedia)
OTTAWAN
Ottawan were a French disco duo in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ottawan's founder Jean Patrick was born in Martinique and dreamt of becoming a successful artist. Like many singers he used to sing in the local church choir. After graduating from high-school, he moved to Paris, where he was working for Air France. In Paris he founded a group called Black Underground". Manager Daniel Vangarde saw him and signed Jean. The name of the group was changed to Ottawan. They were best known for their two hit singles "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)".
D.I.S.C.O. (1981)
Hands Up
You're OK (1982)
Help (1980)
RUFUS
Rufus was a 1970s funk band, best known for launching the career of their lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good" (penned by Stevie Wonder), "Sweet Thing", and "Ain't Nobody". (wikipedia)
Tell Me Something Good (1974)
Once You Get Started (1975)
Dance Wit Me
Stop On By
Masterjam (1979)
Do You Love What You Feel (1979)
Fool's Paradise
Any Love
Ain't Nobody (1984)
BILLY PRESTON
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, King Curtis, Sammy Davis Jr., Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, Richie Sambora, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He played the Fender Rhodes electric piano and the Hammond organ on the Get Back sessions in 1969.
Although Preston is one of several people sometimes credited as a "Fifth Beatle", he is one of two non-Beatles (the other being Tony Sheridan) to receive label performance credit on any Beatles record. (wikipedia)
Although Preston is one of several people sometimes credited as a "Fifth Beatle", he is one of two non-Beatles (the other being Tony Sheridan) to receive label performance credit on any Beatles record. (wikipedia)
Blueberry Hill w/ Nat King Cole (1957)
Little Sally Walker (1965)
Clarabella/Hoochie Coochie Man (1965)
Hey Hey Hey Hey (1965)
Short Fat Fannie
Agent Double O Soul w/ Ray Charles
Get Back w/The Beatles
Simple Song (1972)
Will It Go Round In Circles (1973)
Nothing From Nothing (1975)
Otta Space w/ Rolling Stones (1975)
Summertime
Get Back
Music I A Voice Of God
w/Eric Clapton (2001)
PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC
The seeds of Pacific Gas & Electric were sown in Los Angeles back in 1966 when self-taught guitarist Tom Marshall formed Bluesberry Jam, whose ranks included drummer Charlie Allen. Allen turned out to be such a fine vocalist that he ended up becoming the frontman. in 1968, the group changed their name to Pacific Gas & Electric.Their first album, Get It On, was released by Kent in 1968, but failed to make much of an impact. However, following their appearance at the Miami Pop Festival in late 1968, Pacific Gas & Electric signed with Columbia, who released Pacific Gas & Electric in 1969. Their next album, Are You Ready, supplied their first hit, the title track, which made it into the Top 20 in the summer of 1970. Despite this success, all the bandmembers left, forcing Charlie Allen to build a new Pacific Gas & Electric around him. Around this time, the Pacific Gas & Electric Utility Company asked the band to change their name, which was shortened to PG&E, also the title of their 1971 album. They also appeared in and provided music for the Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon starring Liza Minnelli.After 1972 or so, PG&E basically turned into a solo Charlie Allen vehicle. They released Starring Charlie Allen on Dunhill in 1973, then called it quits. (allmusic.com)
Are You Ready
Stormy Times (1969)
MAHMOUD AHMED
Mahmoud Ahmed (born May 8, 1941) is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry. Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s. He sang for the Imperial Body Guard Band until 1974, and recorded with other bands for the Amha and Kaifa record labels throughout the 1970s. He opened his own music store in Addis Ababa's Piazza district during the 1980s while he continued his singing career.
In addition to the Imperial Body Guard Band, Mahmoud has sung with the Ibex Band, the Venus Band, the Walias Band, the Idan Raichel Project, and the Roha Band over the course of his career. (wikipedia)
In addition to the Imperial Body Guard Band, Mahmoud has sung with the Ibex Band, the Venus Band, the Walias Band, the Idan Raichel Project, and the Roha Band over the course of his career. (wikipedia)
Yegeter Ioga
Bikinkin
Yasazinal
Tizita
Saturday, June 21, 2008
THE FLOATERS
The Floaters were a R&B vocal group from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in Detroit, Michigan, that formed in 1976. The band was formed by the former Detroit Emeralds' singer James Mitchell, with his brother Paul Mitchell, Larry Cunningham, Charles Clark, and the unrelated Ralph Mitchell. Most of The Floaters were from the Sojourner Truth housing project, on Detroit's Eastside.
James Mitchell apparently came up with the idea and tune for their one major hit, "Float On," in a dream. The lyrics spotlighted each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name and astrological sign. "Float On" was tracked in a garage recording studio called Pac 3. The song was written by Arnold Ingram, Marvin Willis and James Mitchell Jr., and produced by Woody Wilson. It became a world wide hit in 1977 on ABC Records, reaching #1 on the U.S. R&B chart, #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #1 in the UK Singles Chart (for a single week in August that year).
Follow-ups such as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" could not duplicate the bizarre charm of "Float On," but, with some changes in the line-up, the group remained active for several years, unable to shake off their one-hit wonder tag. The Floaters returned to Pac 3 to record a new version of "Float On" with Full Force for the Brooklyn, New York based group's summer 2001 TVT debut album, Still Standing.
In 1976 Larry Cunningham auditioned to be the lead singer of English progressive rock band Genesis but it was felt that songs like Supper's Ready were outside of his vocal range. (wikipedia)
James Mitchell apparently came up with the idea and tune for their one major hit, "Float On," in a dream. The lyrics spotlighted each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name and astrological sign. "Float On" was tracked in a garage recording studio called Pac 3. The song was written by Arnold Ingram, Marvin Willis and James Mitchell Jr., and produced by Woody Wilson. It became a world wide hit in 1977 on ABC Records, reaching #1 on the U.S. R&B chart, #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #1 in the UK Singles Chart (for a single week in August that year).
Follow-ups such as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" could not duplicate the bizarre charm of "Float On," but, with some changes in the line-up, the group remained active for several years, unable to shake off their one-hit wonder tag. The Floaters returned to Pac 3 to record a new version of "Float On" with Full Force for the Brooklyn, New York based group's summer 2001 TVT debut album, Still Standing.
In 1976 Larry Cunningham auditioned to be the lead singer of English progressive rock band Genesis but it was felt that songs like Supper's Ready were outside of his vocal range. (wikipedia)
Float On (1977)
Float On
JOE TEX
Joe Tex was an American soul singer-songwriter most popular during the 1960s and 1970s leading the Joe Tex Band. His style of speaking over music, which he called "rap", made him a predecessor of the modern style of music.
Joe Tex was born in Baytown, Texas. His professional career as a singer began onstage at the Apollo. He won first place in a 1954 talent contest and duly secured a record deal. Although his early releases on King Records (USA), Ace and the Anna Records labels were derivative and disappointing, Tex meanwhile honed his songwriting talent. James Brown's cover version of "Baby You're Right" (1962) became a U.S. number 2 hit, after which Tex was signed to Dial Records.
The singles "Hold On To What You've Got", A Woman Can Change A Man", "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)", "Show Me", "Skinny Legs And All", and "Men Are Getting Scarce" became major hits for Joe Tex, but the singer seemed unsure of his future direction. His last major hit of that time was "I Gotcha" in 1972, and it was then he decided to retire.
A convert to the Muslim faith since 1966, he changed his name to Yusuf Hazziez, and toured as a spiritual lecturer. He has two sons, Ramadan Hazziez and Jwaade Hazziez.
He returned to music in 1975, and two years later enjoyed a massive comeback hit with "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), which reached U.S. #12. By the 1980s he had withdrawn again from full-time performing. He devoted himself to Islam, his Texas ranch and the Houston Oilers American Football team.
Tex had a feud with James Brown after James Brown took his wife, Bea Ford as well as the report that James Brown took his dance moves. Similarities do exist in their dance moves. He then wrote a song called "You Keep Her." They shared a few more shows together until Tex mocked James Brown's act of throwing a cape over his shoulder and screamed "please - get me out of this cape" James Brown later fired a gun at a nightclub belonging to Joe Tex.
Joe Tex died at Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just days after his 49th birthday. (wikipedia)
Joe Tex was born in Baytown, Texas. His professional career as a singer began onstage at the Apollo. He won first place in a 1954 talent contest and duly secured a record deal. Although his early releases on King Records (USA), Ace and the Anna Records labels were derivative and disappointing, Tex meanwhile honed his songwriting talent. James Brown's cover version of "Baby You're Right" (1962) became a U.S. number 2 hit, after which Tex was signed to Dial Records.
The singles "Hold On To What You've Got", A Woman Can Change A Man", "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)", "Show Me", "Skinny Legs And All", and "Men Are Getting Scarce" became major hits for Joe Tex, but the singer seemed unsure of his future direction. His last major hit of that time was "I Gotcha" in 1972, and it was then he decided to retire.
A convert to the Muslim faith since 1966, he changed his name to Yusuf Hazziez, and toured as a spiritual lecturer. He has two sons, Ramadan Hazziez and Jwaade Hazziez.
He returned to music in 1975, and two years later enjoyed a massive comeback hit with "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), which reached U.S. #12. By the 1980s he had withdrawn again from full-time performing. He devoted himself to Islam, his Texas ranch and the Houston Oilers American Football team.
Tex had a feud with James Brown after James Brown took his wife, Bea Ford as well as the report that James Brown took his dance moves. Similarities do exist in their dance moves. He then wrote a song called "You Keep Her." They shared a few more shows together until Tex mocked James Brown's act of throwing a cape over his shoulder and screamed "please - get me out of this cape" James Brown later fired a gun at a nightclub belonging to Joe Tex.
Joe Tex died at Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just days after his 49th birthday. (wikipedia)
I Gotcha
Skinny Legs And All
Show Me
I Want To (Do Everything For You)
Skip A Rope
If Sugar Was As Sweet As You (1966)
Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) (1977)
THE MOMENTS
One of the most consistent R&B aggregations of the '70s, the Moments enjoyed a string of major hits throughout the decade. The Hackensack, NJ, trio introduced themselves and the Stang label with "Not on the Outside" in 1968, and topped the R&B charts in 1970 with the gold-plated "Love on a Two-Way Street," produced by Sylvia Robinson (one half of Mickey & Sylvia). Other major soul smashes by the Moments included "If I Didn't Care" and "All I Have" in 1970, "Sexy Mama" in 1973, and another number one R&B item, "Look at Me (I'm in Love)," in 1975. Members Harry Ray, Al Goodman, and William Brown changed their billing to Ray, Goodman & Brown in 1978 and topped the soul lists the next year with the slickly harmonized "Special Lady" on Polydor. The renamed trio remained potent soul hitmakers through the '80s. (allmusic.com)
My Thing
Just Because He Wants To Make Love
Jack In The Box
Girls (1975)
Sho'nuff Boogie w/ Sylvia
Special Lady (1980)
THE ROYALETTES
The Royalettes (also credited as Sheila Ross and her Royalettes) were a girl group of the 1960s from Baltimore, Maryland. They were originally signed with Chancellor Records and later Warner Bros. Records, but had their biggest hits under MGM. They were associated with producers Teddy Randazzo of Little Anthony & The Imperials and Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers. They were a quartet that exemplified the "sweet soul" style of the early 60s girl-groups.
The Royalettes biggest hit was "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" in 1965, but it charted just shy of the Top 40. They had another hit in 1965 with "I Want to Meet Him", but failed to chart after that and broke up shortly after in 1969.
After their breakup, Sheila worked briefly as a backup singer for The Three Degrees. (wikipedia)
The Royalettes biggest hit was "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" in 1965, but it charted just shy of the Top 40. They had another hit in 1965 with "I Want to Meet Him", but failed to chart after that and broke up shortly after in 1969.
After their breakup, Sheila worked briefly as a backup singer for The Three Degrees. (wikipedia)
It's Gonna Take A Miracle (1965)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
BILL WITHERS
West Virginia native Bill Withers joined the L.A. music scene in the late 60s after a stint in the Navy. In 1970 he was signed to the Sussex music label and hit the ground running with his first album, Just As I Am, and its instantly classic acoustic ballad, "Ain't No Sunshine." Withers' understated, rootsy style was a perfect contrast to where popular music was going at the time, from pre-disco dance music to glam rock. His second release, 1972's Still Bill, became a career disc, with top hits "Use Me" and "Lean On Me," arguably one of the greatest songs of the past half century.
Withers was fairly prolific over the next half decade, releasing +Justments, Making Music, Naked and Warm, Menagerie and 'Bout Love. And while those discs were of somewhat uneven quality, each contained enough jaw-dropping material to make the album work overall. It was these select, wonderfully melodic cuts, from "Lovely Day" to "Hello Like Before," that would make Withers' music continue to resonate nearly 30 years later through dozens of remakes by other acts. (soultracks.com)
Withers was fairly prolific over the next half decade, releasing +Justments, Making Music, Naked and Warm, Menagerie and 'Bout Love. And while those discs were of somewhat uneven quality, each contained enough jaw-dropping material to make the album work overall. It was these select, wonderfully melodic cuts, from "Lovely Day" to "Hello Like Before," that would make Withers' music continue to resonate nearly 30 years later through dozens of remakes by other acts. (soultracks.com)
Ain't No Sunshine (1972)
Lean On Me
Use Me (1972)
Grandma's Hands (1972)
Just The Two Of Us
Oh Yeah
SHIRLEY ELLIS
Shirley Ellis is a soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian origin, and is best known for her novelty hits "The Nitty Gritty" (1963), "The Name Game" (1965) and "The Clapping Song" (1965).
By 1954 she had written two songs which were recorded by The Chords. Ellis was originally in the group, The Metronomes, and she went on to marry the lead singer, Alphonso Elliston. All her solo hits were written by her and her manager, producer, and songwriting partner Lincoln Chase.
Ellis had recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary, Congress, and later Columbia and Bell Records, but retired from the music industry in 1968. (wikipedia)
By 1954 she had written two songs which were recorded by The Chords. Ellis was originally in the group, The Metronomes, and she went on to marry the lead singer, Alphonso Elliston. All her solo hits were written by her and her manager, producer, and songwriting partner Lincoln Chase.
Ellis had recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary, Congress, and later Columbia and Bell Records, but retired from the music industry in 1968. (wikipedia)
The Name Game
The Clapping Song
BOOKER T & THE MG'S
Booker T. & the MGs is an instrumental soul band popular in the 1960s and 1970s. They are most commonly associated with Stax Records and are often placed in the subgenre of Memphis soul. They were also one of the first racially-integrated bands in popular music. They are probably best known for their 1962 hit instrumental "Green Onions" and for being members of the house band for many Stax/Volt performers. As originators of the unique Stax sound, the group was one of the most prolific, respected, and imitated of their era. By the mid-1960s, bands on both sides of the Atlantic were trying to sound like Booker T. & the MGs.
Original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums). Donald "Duck" Dunn replaced Steinberg on bass in 1965, and has played with the group ever since. Carson Whitsett was the group's keyboard player during a brief 1973 reunion (when the temporarily Booker-less band was known simply as The MGs). Following the 1975 death of Al Jackson Jr., drummers Willie Hall, Anton Fig, Steve Jordan and Steve Potts have joined the group for later reunion efforts.
The exact origin of the band's name is a matter of dispute. Booker T. Jones has stated that it was Jackson who named the group after its youngest member. "M.G." is supposed by many to refer to "Memphis Group," not the sports car of the same name. However, musician and record producer Chips Moman, who was active in Stax Records when the band was formed, claims that they were named after his car, and that it was only after he left the label that Stax's publicity department declared that "M.G." stood for "Memphis Group". To lend some credibility to this story, Moman had played with Booker T. Jones in an earlier Stax backing group named the Triumphs, also after his car. (wikipedia)
Original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums). Donald "Duck" Dunn replaced Steinberg on bass in 1965, and has played with the group ever since. Carson Whitsett was the group's keyboard player during a brief 1973 reunion (when the temporarily Booker-less band was known simply as The MGs). Following the 1975 death of Al Jackson Jr., drummers Willie Hall, Anton Fig, Steve Jordan and Steve Potts have joined the group for later reunion efforts.
The exact origin of the band's name is a matter of dispute. Booker T. Jones has stated that it was Jackson who named the group after its youngest member. "M.G." is supposed by many to refer to "Memphis Group," not the sports car of the same name. However, musician and record producer Chips Moman, who was active in Stax Records when the band was formed, claims that they were named after his car, and that it was only after he left the label that Stax's publicity department declared that "M.G." stood for "Memphis Group". To lend some credibility to this story, Moman had played with Booker T. Jones in an earlier Stax backing group named the Triumphs, also after his car. (wikipedia)
Green Onions
Red Beans & Rice (1967)
Time Is Tight
Melting Pot
Hip Hug Her
Separate Ways with Neil Young (1993)
KING CURTIS & THE KINGPINS
King Curtis was an American tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist and session musician who played rhythm and blues, soul, Rock and roll, and soul jazz. He was also a Musical Director and Record Producer. He is best known for his distinctive sax riffs and solos on such hits as The Coasters' "Yakety Yak" and his own "Memphis Soul Stew".
Curtis was born in Fort Worth, Texas. During the 1950s and early to mid 1960s he both worked as a session player on such records as "Yakety Yak" and recorded his own singles. He played on the Buddy Holly song "Reminiscing," after Buddy himself personally hired him to do some studio work. His best known singles from this period are "Soul Twist" (Enjoy Records) and "Soul Serenade" (Capitol Records). In 1965 he moved to Atlantic Records, where his most successful singles were "Memphis Soul Stew" and "Ode to Billie Joe". He led Aretha Franklin's backup band, The Kingpins, and produced records, at first with Jerry Wexler and then by himself. He also recorded for Groove Records.
One of his last releases was the critically acclaimed Live At Fillmore West which boasted heavyweight live versions of "Memphis Soul Stew" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". Musicians Billy Preston (organ), Jerry Jemmott (bass), Cornell Dupree (guitar; Curtis had a long standing relationship with Dupree), Pancho Morales (percussion), Bernard Purdie (drums) and The Memphis Horns backed up Curtis. The album's live version of Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale was used as the title music in the seminal 1980s British comedy film Withnail & I. Curtis also played a rousing sax solo on "It's So Hard", a song featured on John Lennon's Imagine album, which was released just weeks after his death. (wikipedia)
Curtis was born in Fort Worth, Texas. During the 1950s and early to mid 1960s he both worked as a session player on such records as "Yakety Yak" and recorded his own singles. He played on the Buddy Holly song "Reminiscing," after Buddy himself personally hired him to do some studio work. His best known singles from this period are "Soul Twist" (Enjoy Records) and "Soul Serenade" (Capitol Records). In 1965 he moved to Atlantic Records, where his most successful singles were "Memphis Soul Stew" and "Ode to Billie Joe". He led Aretha Franklin's backup band, The Kingpins, and produced records, at first with Jerry Wexler and then by himself. He also recorded for Groove Records.
One of his last releases was the critically acclaimed Live At Fillmore West which boasted heavyweight live versions of "Memphis Soul Stew" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". Musicians Billy Preston (organ), Jerry Jemmott (bass), Cornell Dupree (guitar; Curtis had a long standing relationship with Dupree), Pancho Morales (percussion), Bernard Purdie (drums) and The Memphis Horns backed up Curtis. The album's live version of Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale was used as the title music in the seminal 1980s British comedy film Withnail & I. Curtis also played a rousing sax solo on "It's So Hard", a song featured on John Lennon's Imagine album, which was released just weeks after his death. (wikipedia)
Soul Twist (1965)
Memphis Soul Stew
Soul Serenade
Ridin' Thumb
with Champion Jack Dupree (1971)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
BO DIDDLEY
1928 - 2008
He only had a few hits in the 1950s and early '60s, but as Bo Diddley sang, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover." You can't judge an artist by his chart success, either, and Diddley produced greater and more influential music than all but a handful of the best early rockers. The Bo Diddley beat -- bomp, ba-bomp-bomp, bomp-bomp -- is one of rock & roll's bedrock rhythms, showing up in the work of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, and even pop-garage knock-offs like the Strangeloves' 1965 hit "I Want Candy." Diddley's hypnotic rhythmic attack and declamatory, boasting vocals stretched back as far as Africa for their roots, and looked as far into the future as rap. His trademark otherworldly vibrating, fuzzy guitar style did much to expand the instrument's power and range. But even more important, Bo's bounce was fun and irresistibly rocking, with a wisecracking, jiving tone that epitomized rock & roll at its most humorously outlandish and freewheeling.
As a live performer, Diddley was galvanizing, using his trademark square guitars and distorted amplification to produce new sounds that anticipated the innovations of '60s guitarists like Jimi Hendrix. In Great Britain, he was revered as a giant on the order of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. The Rolling Stones in particular borrowed a lot from Bo's rhythms and attitude in their early days, although they only officially covered a couple of his tunes, "Mona" and "I'm Alright." Other British R&B groups like the Yardbirds, Animals, and Pretty Things also covered Diddley standards in their early days. Buddy Holly covered "Bo Diddley" and used a modified Bo Diddley beat on "Not Fade Away"; when the Stones gave the song the full-on Bo treatment (complete with shaking maracas), the result was their first big British hit.
The British Invasion helped increase the public's awareness of Diddley's importance, and ever since then he's been a popular live act. Sadly, though, his career as a recording artist -- in commercial and artistic terms -- was over by the time the Beatles and Stones hit America. He'd record with ongoing and declining frequency, but after 1963, he'd never write or record any original material on par with his early classics. Whether he'd spent his muse, or just felt he could coast on his laurels, is hard to say. But he remains a vital part of the collective rock & roll consciousness, occasionally reaching wider visibility via a 1979 tour with the Clash, a cameo role in the film Trading Places, a late-'80s tour with Ronnie Wood, and a 1989 television commercial for sports shoes with star athlete Bo Jackson. (allmusic.com)
Hey Bo Diddley / Bo Diddley (1966)
Road Runner
Let The Kid Dance (1965)
Road Runner / Mona (1972)
GENERAL JOHNSON AND THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD
When Holland/Dozier/Holland left Motown in 1967 to establish their own Invictus/Hot Wax group of record labels, they teamed Johnson up with Eddie Custis, Danny Woods and Canadian born Harrison Kennedy as the new company's flagship act, under the appropriate name "Chairmen of the Board". Custis left the group after their second album.
Though they all had a turn at lead vocals, it was Johnson's quirky hiccup-laden style and his songwriting which became increasingly showcased, with the group selling a million plus copies of their single, "Give Me Just a Little More Time". Chairmen of the Board also scored with "You've Got Me Dangling On A String", "Pay To the Piper", "Everything's Tuesday", "Working On A Building Of Love", "Elmo James", "Finders Keepers", and the original version of "Patches", a memorable Grammy Award winning ballad when later covered with great success by Clarence Carter.
Kennedy, Woods and Johnson all went on to cut solo albums of varying quality, whilst Johnson wrote and produced (with Greg Perry) for other Invictus/Hot Wax acts, notably Honey Cone. Harrison having left, Johnson and Woods toured the UK in 1976 with six musicians as "Chairmen of the Board", but were not as successful as before. The act was broken up immediately afterwards, Johnson having signed for Arista Records as a solo artist.
In 1978, Johnson reformed the Chairmen of the Board. In 1980, the new Chairmen founded Surfside Records, for which the group still records. (wikipedia)
You've Got Me Dangling On A String (1970)
Give Me Just A Little More Time
CAMEO
An outlandish, in-your-face stage presence, a strange sense of humor, and a hard-driving funk sound that criss-crossed a few musical boundaries earned Cameo countless comparisons to Parliament/Funkadelic in their early days. However, Cameo eventually wore off accusations of being derivative by transcending their influences and outlasting almost every single one of them. Throughout the '70s and '80s, the group remained up with the times and occasionally crept ahead of them, such that they became influences themselves upon younger generations of R&B and hip-hop acts. By the time the group's popularity started to fizzle in the late '80s, a series of R&B chart hits -- ranging from greasy funk workouts to synthesized funk swingers to dripping ballads -- was left in their wake. Further separating Cameo from their forebears, they didn't have a diaper-clad guitarist. Instead, they had a codpiece-wearing lead vocalist. (allmusic.com)
Word Up (1986)
Candy
Be Yourself (1982)
Flirt (1982)
Alligator Woman (1982)
Shake Your Pants
On The Line (1980)
I Just Want To Be (1980)
Cameosis (1980)
On The One (1980)
We're Going Out Tonight (1980)
She's Strange / Single Life
Attack Me With Your Love / Candy
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