Shadow was a music group in the

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 ...

- soul genre that was a spin-off from the

Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of t ...

. They released three albums on the Elektra label. They were ''Love Lite'' in 1979, ''Shadow'' in 1980, and ''Shadows in the Street'' in 1981. They also released a number of singles over the period from 1979 to 1981. There seems to be a degree of mystery as to who the actual members of the group were.

Background

The group was made up by three former members of the Ohio Players. They appeared to deliberately disguise their identity. On one of their performances in 1980, they were playing in the shadows which added to their somewhat secretive image portrayal. They were probably made up of James "Diamond" Williams on drums, William "Billy" Beck on keyboards, and guitarist Chet Willis. Those were the main members. Other musicians that played on the recordings were, Daniel Zazurus on keyboards, Kenneth Williams on drums. Others were Robert Bryant, Garnett Brown, Ernie Fields, Delbert Taylor, Azar Lawrence, and

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

. In spite of the mystery surrounding the make up of the group, two members of the group were pictured in an October, 1981 issue of ''

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 ...

'' chatting in a studio with John Deacon, bassist for Queen and sound engineer Art Stewart.

Album releases

In 1979, they released the album ''Love Lite'' on Electra 6E-233. It was produced by Kenneth Williams, Willie Beck, Clarence Willis and

Don Mizell Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

. The credited musicians on the album were Daniel Lazarus on keyboards, Kenneth Williams on drums and percussion, Clarence Willis on vocals, guitars and bass. On horns were Robert Bryant Snr, Garnett Brown, Ernie Fields Jnr, Delbert Taylor, Azar Lawrence and Fred Wesley. The string section was made up of Bill Henderson and his Strings, Don Palmer, Janise Gower, Jerome Webster, Sid Page and Pam Gates. Willie Beck, Clarence Willis, and James Williams were the credited composers. Their second album ''Shadow'' was released in 1980 on Elektra 6E-293. It featured "I Can't Keep Holding Back (My Love)" which was written by Linda Clay and "Beyond the Finish Line". The single off the album, "Mystery Dancer" was released in July 1980. Their third album '' Shadows in the Street'' was released in 1981 on Elektra 6E-345. Most of the lead vocals were sung by Willis. The album included "Born to Hustle", "Best Lady" and Piece of Cake", and "Clouds". The single from the album was "Party in the Streets". The album was produced by Leon Ware and the engineer was Art Stewart.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Musicians (listed alphabetically)

* William "Billy" Beck - keyboards * Garnett Brown * Robert Bryant * Ernie Fields * Azar Lawrence * Delbert Taylor * Fred Wesley * James "Diamond" Williams - drums * Kenneth Williams - drums * Clarence "Chet" Willis - guitar * Daniel Zazurus aka Lazarus / Zarus etc. - keyboards

References

External links

* {{Authority control American funk musical groups American soul musical groups