Raw Silk was an American

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

band, which originated in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

Raw Silk first signed to

West End Records West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder Mel Cheren, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance music's history, along with Prelude Records, Salsoul Records, and Casablanca Records. ...

, which was once a popular

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

label, where they recorded moderate hits. Their songs were

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 ...

ed by

post-disco Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to c ...

/ R&B production duo

Nick Martinelli Nicholas J. Martinelli (born 5 July 1952) is an American R&B and pop record producer. During the 1980s he worked with many R&B and pop music artists, some of them based in the UK. Acts he has worked with include Loose Ends, Phyllis Hyman, Fiv ...

and

David Todd David Todd may refer to: * David Todd (architect) (1915–2008), American architect * David Todd (producer), American record producer * David Peck Todd (1855–1939), American astronomer * David B. Todd Jr. (c. 1932-1980), American surgeon * Da ...

. Raw Silk consisted of two

Crown Heights Affair Crown Heights Affair are an American R&B / funk / disco group from Brooklyn, New York City, founded in 1967. Career Originally known as Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express on Britne Records, founded by then- bassist Donnie Linton, the grou ...

members, Ron Dean Miller and Bert Reid, and three female vocalists;

Jessica Cleaves Jessica Marguerite Cleaves (December 10, 1948 – May 2, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter. Cleaves was a lead singer of the Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament Funkadelic and Raw Silk. Early life Jessica Cleaves was ...

, Tenita Jordan and Sybil Thomas. They are best known for their 1982 garage-

boogie Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...

hit, "Do It to the Music". Their production was somewhat successful, "Do It to the Music" reached number five on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, "Just in Time" (1983) peaked lower, at number 40 on the same chart. "Do It to the Music" was more successful on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number 18.

Chart performance

Discography

Singles

;"Do It to the Music" ;"Just in Time"

References

External links

Raw Silk
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. {{Authority control American garage house musicians American contemporary R&B musical groups American dance music groups American boogie musicians Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups from New York City West End Records artists Arista Records artists