The Boys Town Gang were a

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hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

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from

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Their popularity peaked in the 1980s when the group reached No. 1 in the

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as well as No. 4 in the UK with their

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Can't Take My Eyes Off You "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded as a single by Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a week ...

History

In 1980, DJ Bill Motley saw an opportunity to form a disco group that catered to San Francisco's large

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clientele. In his search to form a group, he auditioned hundreds of vocalists, both male and female. Local cabaret singer Cynthia Manley captured the lead spot. The idea was originally for one 12" single with two tracks of high energy disco music. Motley, a

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

fan, picked two

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

songs to form a medley for the A-side track. For the B-side track, he wrote a disco drama in four acts. A private record label was founded to release the two songs. When " Remember Me"/"

Ain't No Mountain High Enough "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and ...

" was released, the song took off with Manley's vocals propelling the song to the top of the club charts. The four-act explicit "Cruisin' the Streets" was a snapshot of San Francisco's South of Market District - Ringold Alley at sundown. Manley departed after the release of these two records, and Jackson Moore took over lead-vocal responsibilities in 1981 for the group's second LP ''Disc Charge'', which contained three pop charting disco cuts: "

", "

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" is a Soul music, soul song, by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in June 1970 as a single on Motown's Tamla label. It spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Black Singles, U.S. R&B chart an ...

" (both of which were performed on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' in 1981 and 1982) and "

Come and Get Your Love "Come and Get Your Love" is a song by American rock band Redbone. The song was originally released as a promo track under the name "Hail" and was later featured on their fifth album, ''Wovoka'' (1973), under its current name. The song was rel ...

". The group's last LP, ''A Cast of Thousands'' brought in fellow disco artists such as Debbie Jacobs, Two Tons O' Fun, Sylvester, Margaret Reynolds (

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...

), and Marlena Shaw. With one more overseas hit, the group disbanded, and Jackson Moore took on a short-lived solo career until the decade came to a close.

Band members

On the records "Remember Me"/"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Cruisin' the Streets", Cynthia Manley provided lead vocals with Robin Charin, Don Wood, Phill Manganello, Tom Morley, and Keith Stewart providing back-up vocals. From the 1981 album ''Disc Charge'', Jackson Moore was lead singer with Tom Morley and Bruce Carlton as back-up.Allen Whit
Moby Dick's high energy
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Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' May 27, 1982

Discography

Albums

*1981: ''Cruisin' the Streets'' *1982: ''Disc Charge'' *1984: ''A Cast of Thousands''

Singles

References

External links

High Fashion MusicBoys Town Gang discography
{{Authority control American disco musicians American disco groups American Hi-NRG groups Fantasy Records artists