The Floaters were an American R&B

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in s ...

, from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, that formed in 1976. The group are best known for their 1977 song " Float On", which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 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 ...

, and No. 5 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Career

The band was formed by the former

Detroit Emeralds Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

' singer James Mitchell, with his brother Paul Mitchell, Larry Cunningham, Charles Clark, and the unrelated Ralph Mitchell. Most of The Floaters were from Northeast Detroit, bordering

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

on Detroit's Eastside. James Mitchell wrote the band's one major hit, " Float On", with Arnold Ingram and Marvin Willis. The lyrics spotlight each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name,

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sign, and ideal type of romantic partner. The song was produced by Woody Wilson. It became a worldwide hit in 1977 on ABC Records, reaching No. 1 on the US R&B chart, No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart (for a single week in August that year). Follow-ups such as "

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song, '"Io che non vivo (senza te)", by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini) is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, ...

" (No. 28 ''Billboard'' R&B chart) were not as successful. The group continued to record, releasing four studio albums over the next few years. A new recording of the song "Float On" was recorded in 2001 for the album, ''Still Standing'', by the group

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and

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...

did a take-off of the song called "Bloat On". The rap group

Stetsasonic Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future ...

also did a cover of the song on ''

In Full Gear ''In Full Gear'' is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic, released in 1988 by Tommy Boy Records. Music and lyrics ''In Full Gear'' is a double album that draws on various influences in its hip hop style, including R ...

'' (1988). The characters from ''

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'', David (

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), Bob (

Bob McGrath Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the long-running educational television series ' ...

), Gordon (

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) and Luis (

Emilio Delgado Emilio Ernest Delgado (May 8, 1940 – March 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for his role as Luis, the Fix-it Shop owner, on the children's television series ''Sesame Street''. Delgado joined the cast of ''Sesame Street'' in 1971 and r ...

) did a style parody of the song called "Gimmie Five". British parody group

The Barron Knights The Barron Knights are a British humorous pop rock group, originally formed in 1959 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire,Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ), p. 32 as the Knights of the Round Table. C ...

included a parody of "Float On" in their 1977 hit "Live in Trouble". This song was also sampled by Canadian hip-hop recording duo Dream Warriors, in their song of the same name. Larry Cunningham (born on June 23, 1951) died on January 10, 2019, at the age of 67. Paul Mitchell (born on May 27, 1949) died on December 20, 2021, He was 72. Chris Rizik, "R.I.P. Paul Mitchell, co-founder of "Float On" group The Floaters", ''Soul Tracks'', December 20, 2021
Retrieved December 20, 2021

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Float On: The Best of the Floaters'' (1998, Half Moon)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Floaters, The African-American musical groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 Musical groups from Detroit American rhythm and blues musical groups 1976 establishments in Michigan 1982 disestablishments in Michigan