Ismael Angel Ledesma (born October 2, 1952) professionally known as Ish Ledesma is an American, Miami-based singer, songwriter,

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, and producer. Ledesma has fronted, written for, or produced hits for the bands Foxy, Oxo, and Company B. Both Oxo and Company B were

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

s in the US, with respective hits " Whirly Girl" and " Fascinated"; Foxy released several albums and singles, including the number one R&B hit " Get Off".

Early years

Ish Ledesma was born in Cuba and migrated to Miami as a child. He was influenced by the ubiquitous Latin sounds, popular within his community. He also enjoyed the rock and roll revolution that was playing out both nationally and internationally. In the early 1970s, Ledesma was hired by

Henry Stone Henry Stone (June 3, 1921 – August 7, 2014), born Henry David Epstein, was an American record company executive and producer whose career spanned the era from R&B in the early 1950s through the disco boom of the 1970s to the 2010s. He was be ...

as a session artist. His credits include guitar on

Gwen McCrae Gwen McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943) is an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit " Rockin' Chair". Life and career 1960s–1970s Gwen was the youngest of five children, She began performing in local clubs as a teenager, and singing ...

's disco hit " Rockin' Chair".

Foxy

In 1976, Ledesma convinced Stone to record a band he was forming, resulting in the band Foxy's release of their self-titled debut album. The album, produced by

Ray Martínez Ray Martínez (born October 9, 1950) is an American dance music icon, who was a musician, songwriter, and singer in the late 1970s and 1980s, and later became a record producer, engineer, and record label owner/executive. He is known within the ...

, had two 12" singles released, "People Fall In Love While Dancing" and "Let's Love." Both songs were regional hits, but with only minor appeal nationally. However, the band's follow-up album, ''Get Off'' was a major breakthrough, featuring the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

, which went to number one on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and also cracked the top ten on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. Although the group would score another hit the following year with the tune "Hot Number," follow-up releases were less successful. Foxy disbanded early in the 1980s, as disco began to wane.

Solo career and other projects

Ish Ledesma had embarked on a solo career in 1979, releasing his own self-titled debut on

TK Records TK Records was an American independent record label founded by record distributor Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo in 1972. and based in Hialeah, Florida. The record label went bankrupt in 1981. "TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer ...

. The album featured a hit with the release of the 12" single, "Don't Stop." Ledesma would release a second solo album in 1986 called ''On This Corner'' on Geffen/Warner Bros. Records, which was produced by John Robie. Ledesma spent the years between the solo releases doing studio appearances as a session artist, and expanding his endeavors into production aspects. He is credited on

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

's '' Voulez Vous,''

Miami Sound Machine Miami Sound Machine was an American band of Latin-influenced music that had featured the vocals of Cuban-born recording artist Gloria Estefan (née Fajardo). Established in 1975 by Emilio Estefan Jr., the band was originally known as the Miami ...

's " Bad Boy," Latimore's "Goodbye Heartaches," and Fred Schneider's "Monster". He also either produced, or composed the hit songs "Something Tells Me", by Tiger Moon, "Through The Night" by Blue Moderne, and "Be Mine Tonight" by Promise Circle. In the early 1980s, Ledesma formed the band Oxo, who scored a minor hit with " Whirly Girl." Ish Ledesma is also distinguished as having written and produced two one hit wonders with the songs " Fascinated", by Company B, and the aforementioned "Whirly Girl" by Oxo. These accomplishments secured Ledesma's role in disco music as an important part of its history. As of 2013, Ish Ledesma remains an active musician, currently appearing mostly within the Florida area.

References

External links

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Ish Ledesma
Visualcv.com, Retrieved February 19, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma, Ish 1952 births American record producers American male songwriters American musicians of Cuban descent Living people Geffen Records artists