Eric Redd is an American recording artist, songwriter and dancer. He was a regular on Soul Train before moving into music. He had a dance music hit in 2019 with "Push", "Right Time" in 2017 and "Breathe" in 2010. Redd was also lead vocalist with the classic rock band, California Transit Authority (CTA).

Early years

A self proclaimed ‘Street Dancer’ by the time he was 16, Redd had become a regular on ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

'', one of the most Popular American music-dance television shows in history. Redd and his partner, Cheryl Song, were two of the show's most popular dancers. Because of this popularity, they were invited to compete in the ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'' dance contest. Since the two programs rarely co-mingled dancers, this was a singular honor.

Career

After graduating high school, Redd won a scholarship to the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, where he studied dance. Then, after turning down a position in The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's second company, he spent a year with the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers before moving to Paris, where he joined Roland Petit's Ballet de Marseilles. After touring with the company for two years, he left to appear in the original German cast of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

''. During much of this time, he was known as "Erique" Redd, as there was already another Eric Redd in the European entertainers' union. He next appeared in another

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

production, the London production of ''Starlight Express''. It was there, in 1991, that Redd turned increasingly to singing, landing a contract on Jive Records UK and releasing a club-friendly cover of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave a Lover." After two years with Jive Records, Redd, who realized the label was concentrating only on rap, decided to head back to California, where he wrote and recorded music for television, served as a music supervisor for Black Entertainment Television (BET)'s new programming department. He also performed, toured and recorded with artists such as

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop (music), pop and country music, country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical perfor ...

, Sara Lee (then of the B-52's) and

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

. In 2008, he completed his first full-length album, ''Across the Water'', for German label White Noise. Virtually simultaneously, he was asked by

Danny Seraphine Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from F ...

, the original drummer of the band Chicago, to replace Larry Braggs as the lead vocalist in California Transit Authority (CTA), due to Braggs' heavy schedule with Tower of Power. Seraphine named his new band to mimic his first band's original name,

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

. Redd's first foray into classic rock was complemented by his return to club music. His house and electro-infused single "Breathe" (

Carrillo Music Carrillo Music is an American independent record label founded in 2008 by Rod Carrillo. Carrillo Music hosts approximately 10 sub-labels, including Leyline Records run by Julissa Veloz, Carrillo Latin Groove, Amador's House run by Eddie Amador, a ...

) reached number #32 in the ''Billboard'' dance music charts in the 2010, and featured a video directed by famed visual editor, Dustin Robertson (

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

) His follow-up to "Breathe," a six-song EP titled ''54'' for Carrillo Music, was released in 2011. In 2012, Redd had the honor of being the featured vocalist with the band The Source, opening for Stevie Wonder at the inaugural celebration for Barack Obama. In 2013, he turned to a more Electronic meets RnB sound and released the full-length CD titled ''Pure''. During that same time he was featured with his penned track "Go On" on the newly released C.T.A. full-length CD, titled ''Sacred Ground''. He ended that stellar year with his songs "54" and "How could I break (my own heart)", added to the feature film ''Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship'', released in theaters worldwide. In 2017, his single "Right Time" broke into the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Play Chart. This was Redd's second dance club hit produced by

Rod Carrillo Rod Carrillo is a Panamaian electronic dance music record producer and the CEO of Carrillo Music. Originally hailing from the Republic of Panama, Carillo specializes in dance music with a Latin influence. He founded Carrillo Music in 2007 and h ...

. In 2019, Redd released "Push" and garnished overwhelming success from the House Music community. "Push" earned positions in the Top 20 Soulful House Sales Chart and Top 100 Overall Sales Chart on the music download site Traxsource.com. "Push" was added to the Traxsource Essential House Playlist, while simultaneously entering the ''Billboard'' Dance Music Chart. During the pandemic of 2020, Redd released 6 various house music singles with different labels while beginning work on a one man show due to premiere in 2023 at the European Fringe Festivals. In 2021, he released a collaboration with US dance music producer, DJ Czezre entitled, “Maybe you want to be with me” on King Street Records “House Grooves” series. The single immediately jumped into the top of the

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be used ...

and Traxsource Soulful house charts and ended the year with the track chosen one of the Finest NY house tracks of 2021 at King Street.

Discography

*1986: ''

''; German cast album (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

) *1988: ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

'', Japan/Australia cast CD *1991: "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

) *2000:

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

, "Make it Beautiful" (Righteous Babe Records) *2001:

Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...

, "I used to Be" (Independent Release) *2008: ''Across the Water'' (White Noise Music) *2010: "Breathe" (

) *2011: ''54'' (Carrillo Music) *2012: "Don't Care" (

) *2012: "Summer Sound Compilation" (

) *2013: ''Pure'' (

)'' *2013: California Transit Authority, "Sacred Ground" (Independent Release) *2014: "Must Have Choons" (

) *2014: "All Over" (

) *2014: ''Give it Away'' (

) *2016: Liam Keegan "You Can Feel It" (Carrillo Music) *2016: Billie Williams "Billie Williams" (Independent Release) *2016: Simi Stone "Extended Play" (Independent Release) *2017: "Right Time" (

) *2019: "Push" (

) *2019: "Save Me" with

(

) *2019: "Everyday People" with James Hurr, Valiant Kings (Sirup Records/Pinkstar Disco) *2019: “Deep Inside” with Menini and Viani (Comb Records) *2020: “Rock Me” (

) *2020: “Move It, Groove it” with DJ Fenix (Say Wow Music) *2020: “What Am I Supposed To Do” (

) *2020: “Gimme That Funk” Frederick/Kusse-Fibi (Toolroom records) *2021: “Want You” (

) *2021: "Maybe you want to be with me” with DJ Czezre, House Grooves Vol.8 (King Street Records) *2021: "Finest NY house 2021 pt 2" (King Street Records) *2022: “Tears Don’t Cry" (

)

References

Eric Redd music, videos, stats, and photosCarrillo Music LLC- Independent Dance MusicConcerts in the Park to Feature ‘California Transit Authority’ SaturdayEric Redd Brings Us Color on the Dance FloorDance party with Eric Redd Movement at Bearsville this Friday

External links

*
"Breathe" YouTube Video

"54" YouTube Video

"I Don't Care" YouTube Video

"I Don't Care" Live at Radio Woodstock 100.1

Eric Redd New Year's Eve performance at Bearsville Theatre Woodstock, New York, 2015

"The Eric Redd Movement"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redd, Eric Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Inglewood, California Songwriters from California American choreographers Jive Records artists