Heatwave is a

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

based

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

band formed in 1975. Its most popular line-up featured Americans

Johnnie Wilder Jr. Johnnie James Wilder Jr. (July 3, 1949 – May 17, 2006) was the co-founder and co-lead singing, vocalist of the Rhythm and blues, R&B/funk group Heatwave (band), Heatwave, who were popular during the late 1970s with hits such as "Boogie Nights (so ...

and Keith Wilder (vocals) of

; Englishmen

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician. Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s pop music, disco and funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "St ...

(keyboards) and Roy Carter (guitar); Swiss Mario Mantese (bass); Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger (drums); and Jamaican Eric Johns (guitar). They are known for their singles "

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

", "

The Groove Line "The Groove Line" is a 1978 single by the Dayton, Ohio/European funk- disco group Heatwave. It was written by Rod Temperton. It was included on Heatwave's second album, ''Central Heating''. History The song charted at number 12 in the UK Singles ...

", and " Always and Forever".

Biography

Heatwave's mainstream years 1976-1982

Founding member Johnnie Wilder was an American serviceman based in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

when he first began performing; upon his discharge from the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, he stayed in Germany. He sang in nightclubs and taverns with an assortment of bands while still enlisted. By mid-year, he decided to relocate to the United Kingdom and through an ad placed in a local paper he linked up with songwriter/keyboardist

. Touring the London nightclub circuit billed as ''Chicago's Heatwave'' during the mid-1970s allowed them to refine their sound, adding a funk groove to disco beats. In search of a fuller sound vocally, Johnnie Wilder called upon his brother Keith Wilder (who was performing in a local band in Dayton, Ohio) to join the band on vocals. The group signed to

GTO Records GTO Records was a British record label which released many hits during the 1970s. It ran from 1974 to 1981 and mainly concentrated on pop music and disco. The acronym represented the Gem Toby Organization. Background The record label was co-fo ...

in 1976 (

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

would handle GTO's releases in the states). They were paired in the studio with GTO house producer/session guitarist

Barry Blue Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973). Blue has also been a pro ...

and rhythm guitarist Jesse Whitten. Rhythm guitarist Roy Carter replaced Whitten after Whitten was stabbed to death. They began creating their first album '' Too Hot to Handle'' in the fall of 1976. Their third single, "Boogie Nights" from their debut album, in 1977 reached No. 2 on the British popular music charts in January and in America in November. The single was certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The group's debut album, ''Too Hot to Handle'', was released in the spring of 1977, giving Heatwave a No. 11 on the Hot 200 and No. 5 on the R&B charts, while the next single, the soul ballad "Always and Forever", reached No. 18 on the Hot 100 in April 1978 and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The single was certified platinum by the

. Continuing to use Barry Blue's production skills, Heatwave released their second album ''

Central Heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

'' in April 1977. Lead single "The Groove Line," reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 in July 1978. The single was certified platinum by the

. During the late 1970s, the band changed. At first Eric Johns quit the band and Billy Jones was his replacement as guitarist. Then Rod Temperton quit the band. Although Temperton would continue writing new songs for Heatwave, he soon became better-known for his songwriting for other artists, penning award-winning songs for some of funk's biggest names, including

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus Al ...

The Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

and

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

. He also wrote for

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, but his most famous partnership remains the one forged with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, writing three songs for each of Jackson's first two Epic albums ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

'' (1979) and '' Thriller'' (1982), including their title tracks. Despite these changes, Heatwave were about to return to the studio when Mantese attended a party at Elton John's house in London. He was with his girlfriend, who decided to go home early from the party, reason unknown. When Mantese arrived home, she was furious with him, perhaps from an incident that happened at the party and stabbed him. The knife hit him in the heart and for several minutes, he was clinically dead. When, after several months, he awoke from coma, he was blind, mute and paralysed in his entire body. To date, he has no memory of this tragic event. He decided not to press charges against his girlfriend, and moved in with her after leaving the hospital. Mantese was replaced by bassist Derek Bramble. Adding keyboardist Calvin Duke to the group, and now working with new producer

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business par ...

, Heatwave cut '' Hot Property'', released in May 1979. Around this time Heatwave performed "Keep Tomorrow for Me" used over the end credits of the action comedy ''

Escape to Athena ''Escape to Athena'' is a 1979 British adventure comedy war film directed by George P. Cosmatos. It stars Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. The film i ...

''. Composed by Barry Blue and written by Rod Temperton with some orchestrations by Christodoulous, the song is considered by some to be one of the group's best but never got a wide release due to the rights being locked up with

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...

's ITC Entertainment. The film performed poorly at the box office and the proposed soundtrack (with a score composed by

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

) was cancelled except in Japan where the song was released on the soundtrack to the film under its Japanese title "Offsides 7" and only on vinyl in that country. During the spring of 1979, Johnnie Wilder, Jr., suffered injuries in an auto accident while visiting family and friends in

. Although he survived, the accident left him

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

from the neck down and unable to continue performing live with the group, though he did continue to perform vocals in the studio. After the accident, Johnnie remained a co-producer of the group, along with Blue. During 1980, Heatwave recorded the ''

Candles A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...

'' album, with Temperton again providing the songs, except stand out track "All I Am", written by Blue's former writing partner Lynsey de Paul. The group recruited James Dean "J.D." Nicholas, who later became a member of the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

, to sing additional lead vocals in studio and perform live with them. Heatwave's November single "Gangsters of the Groove" was a popular music success, scoring number twenty-one on the US R&B chart (failing to make the Hot 100 because of the anti-disco backlash), and number 19 in the United Kingdom early in the New Year. But the album peaked at number 71 in the United States in December 1980. Heatwave's 1982 LP, ''

Current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

'', marked yet another new era for the band, as they returned to producer Blue. The album managed number 156 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, although it scored the band a number 21 success on the R&B charts, where Heatwave continued to be a strong presence. A Rod Temperton penned single, "Lettin' It Loose," proved a minor success during August. Derek Bramble quit the band at the end of 1982, like Roy Carter, for a career in production (he would go on to work with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

on 1984s ''Tonight'' LP, and later masterminded

Jaki Graham Jacqueline Graham (born 15 September 1956) is a British singer-songwriter. Following her hit version of "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" with David Grant in 1985, Graham scored a further five UK top 20 hits over a two-year period. In 1994, her ...

's breakthrough). J.D. Nicholas left to replace

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

as the lead singer of the

Break-up period

In approximately 1986, Keith Wilder and Roy Carter sought the services of Central Line guitarists/songwriters Henri Defoe and Michael Finbarr Murphy (the latter having also recently produced ''Unknown Quantity,'' consisting of the 3 backing vocalists and dancers in the "Chain Reaction" hit music video by

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 ...

, which also featured Michael on guitar). Keith and Roy wanted to enlist them for a tour of the British US Air Force Bases. Michael's distant cousin,

Alan Murphy Alan Murphy (18 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was a British rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988, he joined the jazz-funk band Level 42 as a full-time band member, and played wi ...

, the now-deceased one-time guitarist for

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

, Go West, and

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

also expressed interest in working with Heatwave as a band, though it would never materialize.

Post-1988 Heatwave

Silent as a band since early 1983, Heatwave reconvened in a new line-up to record and release the album '' The Fire'' in 1988. However, Keith Wilder was the only original member of the band present in this incarnation (although Billy Jones, who had joined the band in the late 1970s returned as well). Meanwhile, that same year, Johnnie Wilder released a solo spiritual album ''My Goals on Light''. The Wilder brothers once again teamed up the following year for the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

album, ''Sound of Soul''. None of these late 1980s albums sold well, but Heatwave's recognition was revitalised in 1991, when a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

version of their "Mind Blowing Decisions" charted in the UK. By the mid to late 1980s, Keith Wilder was joined by bassist Dave Williamson and vocalist Donovan Blackwood and in the 1990s had again reformed the band. Joined by keyboardists Kevin Sutherland and Byron Byrd, guitarist Bill Jones, and original drummer Ernest Berger, the reborn Heatwave launched an American tour with a live album recorded at the

Greek Theater Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...

in Hollywood, arriving in 1997.

Deaths

Johnnie Wilder died in his sleep at his home in

on 13 May 2006. On 5 October 2016, Temperton's death was announced after what was described by his music publisher as "a brief aggressive battle with cancer". Temperton had died at the age of 66 in London the previous week and his funeral had already taken place. The exact date of his death was not announced. Keith Wilder (born Keith Edward Wilder on December 20, 1951 in Dayton, Ohio) died on October 29, 2017, at the age of 65.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* *
Heatwave
at Richard de la Font Agency

at SoulTracks
Keith Wilder at Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heatwave Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from London British disco groups English dance music groups Musical groups from Dayton, Ohio English funk musical groups Epic Records artists Telstar Records artists