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SOLAR Records
SOLAR (acronym for Sound of Los Angeles Records) was an American record label founded in 1978 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only three years after it was founded with ''Soul Train'' television show host and creator Don Cornelius. History SOLAR began in 1975 as Soul Train Records, founded by Dick Griffey and ''Soul Train'' creator Don Cornelius. The first act they signed was an R&B vocal quartet they named The Soul Train Gang (Gerald Brown, Terry Brown, Judy Jones, Patricia Williamson, and later Denise Smith), who performed one of Soul Train's many themes, "Soul Train '75". Their first album was entitled ''Don Cornelius Presents The Soul Train Gang.'' In 1976, their second album, ''The Soul Train Gang,'' produced by Philadelphia, Philly's Norman Harris, was released. The Gang broke up in 1977. That same year, Singer/drummer Arnie Oliver, aka Ahaguna G. Sun, and singer/guitarist Werner "Bear" Schuchner comprised Sunbear, a little-known soul/funk voca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Griffey
Richard Gilbert Griffey (November 16, 1938 – September 24, 2010) was an American record producer and music promoter who founded SOLAR Records, an acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records". The label played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s. As a Tour promoter, concert promoter, Griffey arranged bookings for artists such as James Brown, The Sylvers, Aretha Franklin, Jon Gibson (Christian musician), Jon Gibson, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5, the Jacksons. Biography Richard Gilbert Griffey was born on November 16, 1938. He was raised by his mother, Juanita Hines, and stepfather in the housing projects of Nashville, Tennessee. There he was a drummer in local nightclubs during his teens. After briefly attending Tennessee State University, he enlisted in the United States Navy at age 17. He was a medic and worked as a private-duty nurse after completing his military service.Hevesi, Dennis"Dick Griffey, Fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Soul Train Gang
The Soul Train Gang were an American R&B vocal group. In the early 1970s, the dancers on Don Cornelius' hit television program ''Soul Train'' were called 'The Soul Train Gang'. The dancers became 'The Soul Train Dancers' in 1975 when the name 'The Soul Train Gang' was given to a R&B vocal quintet by Cornelius and Dick Griffey. They did so to announce the founding of Soul Train Records (later SOLAR Records), home to Lakeside, Shalamar, The Whispers and others—and . Consisting of two brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio; Gerald Brown & Terry Brown; Judy Jones (replaced by Denise Smith in 1976), Patricia Williamson and Hollis Pippin, The Soul Train Gang recorded its debut album,'' Don Cornelius Presents the Soul Train Gang'', in 1975. Produced by Cornelius and Griffey, the LP included "Soul Train '75," one of the many themes from ''Soul Train''. (The previous theme had previously been MFSB's famous " TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" on Philadelphia International Records.) The song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klymaxx
Klymaxx is an American all-female pop/ R&B band from Los Angeles, California. The band's classic lineup consisted of Bernadette Cooper, Lorena Porter Shelby, Cheryl Cooley, Robbin Grider, Lynn Malsby, and Joyce "Fenderella" Irby. Klymaxx is best known for their 1985 international hits " I Miss You" and " Meeting in the Ladies Room". History Klymaxx was created and formed in 1979 by Bernadette Cooper (producer/drummer/vocals); she also created the name Klymaxx. The other original members included Lorena "Lungs" Porter Shelby (lead vocalist), Cheryl Cooley (guitar), Robbin Grider (keyboards/guitar), and Lynn Malsby (keyboards). Joyce "Fenderella" Irby (bass/vocals/producer) joined the band later, before the recording of their debut album. Bernadette developed their core sound and continued becoming the band's figurehead. Their debut album '' Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman'' was released in 1981, and their second album was '' Girls Will Be Girls''. However, their first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midnight Star (band)
Midnight Star is an American musical group that had a string of hit records in the 1980s. Band history The group was formed in 1976 at Kentucky State University by trumpeter Reggie Calloway, vocalist Belinda Lipscomb, guitarist/drummer/vocalist Melvin Gentry, bassist Kenneth Gant, multi-instrumentalist Bill Simmons, keyboard player/vocalist Bo Watson and guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Cooper, as a self-contained group. They later added non-KSU student trombonist Vincent Calloway (Reginald's younger brother). A 1978 New York City showcase inspired SOLAR Records chief Dick Griffey to sign the group. They released their debut album ''The Beginning'' (1980) with some studio musicians. In 1981 their second album, released on Solar Records, ''Standing Together'', reached position #54 on the U.S. R&B chart. In 1982 they released the album ''Victory''. Using elected band leader Reggie Calloway's production skills, Midnight Star hit the U.S. R&B chart with early singles "Hot Spot" and "I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakeside (band)
Lakeside is an American funk band, best known for their 1980 number one R&B hit " Fantastic Voyage". Band history Formation and early years In 1969, guitarist Stephen Shockley from Dayton, Ohio formed a group named the Young Underground after he had departed a group known as the Monterreys. Vocalist Mark Woods, who was a member of another local band called the Nomads, joined up with Shockley's band. In 1971, the Nomads and the Young Underground took on a new, singular identity: with the addition of Thomas Shelby and Mark Wood's sister Shirley Wood, they became Ohio Lakeside Express. In 1971, the group became acquainted with Eddie Thomas of Curtom, a record label owned and operated by Mr. Thomas and his partner Curtis Mayfield. Eddie Thomas left Curtom to form his own label, "Lakeside", which he named after the south-side of Chicago. Lakeside (the record label) signed Ohio Lakeside Express. Eddie Thomas had a number of producers expressing interest in producing an album for Lak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynasty (band)
Dynasty was an American band, based in Los Angeles, California, created by producer and SOLAR Records label head Dick Griffey, and record producer Leon Sylvers III. The band was known for their dance/pop numbers during the late 1970s and 1980s. Keyboardist Kevin Spencer and vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere originally comprised the group. History and overview Dynasty was essentially the brainchild of Griffey and producer Sylvers, a former member of the Sylvers family group, who had achieved much popularity in the early to mid-1970s. A principal architect of the SOLAR sound, Sylvers had become the in-house producer in 1978 for the label (whose name stood for "Sound of Los Angeles Records"), and it was in this capacity that he brought the members of Dynasty together. The group consisted of three young performers: vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere and vocalist-keyboardist Kevin Spencer. After graduating from college in New Orleans, Carriere became friends with Bear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Whispers
The Whispers are an American vocal group from Los Angeles, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers scored 15 top-ten R&B singles, and 8 top-ten R&B albums with two of them, '' The Whispers'' and '' Love Is Where You Find It'', reaching the 1 spot. They have earned two platinum and five gold albums by the RIAA. Career The Whispers formed in 1963 in Watts, California. The original members included identical twin brothers Wallace "Scotty" and Walter Scott, along with Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson, and Nicholas Caldwell. After being invited to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1966 by Sly Stone, the group relocated to that area where they began developing a reputation as a show-stopping live act. Walter Scott was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War during that period for eighteen months, returning to the group in 1969 after discharge. After H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with Elektra Records. In 1986, he released his Platinum debut solo album '' I Commit to Love''. Hewett and his group Shalamar contributed material to the '' Beverly Hills Cop'' soundtrack. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1986. Biography Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles in 1976, where he first met Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley at a club in the LA Crenshaw district. Hewett formed a show group called "Beverly Hills" and toured throughout Europe, the UK, Scandinavia and Asia for all of 1977 till the middle of 1978. After returning from overseas, Hewett started recording for Jeffrey Bowen. In 1978, he got a call from Jeffrey Daniel who was in need of a lead singer and H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeffrey Daniel
Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer, and a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a judge on the first three seasons of '' Nigerian Idol''. Career Daniel was born in Los Angeles. During his career he has taught, worked and ranked alongside musicians and dancers such as Shabba Doo, Popin' Pete and The Electric Boogaloos. Daniel first performed ''"the backslide"'', a physically complicated dance technique (originally performed by the dance group ''"The Lockers"''), now known as the " moonwalk", on British television during a performance of Shalamar's " A Night to Remember" on ''Top of the Pops''. The song was a hit in 1982, almost a year before Michael Jackson moonwalked on the '' Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' television broadcast; he was a fan of '' Soul Train'' – on which Jeffrey Daniel had been a back-up dancer. According to Jackson's sister La Toya, J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jody Watley
Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and producer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul.Paoletta, Michael (February 22, 2003) "Watley Relaxes In The Setting of The 'Midnight Lounge', ''Billboard'' magazine. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was a member of the R&B/funk band Shalamar, who scored many hits, notably in the UK. In 1988, she won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Best New Artist (as a solo artist) and has been nominated for three Grammy awards. In 2008, she was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine, and was also prominently featured in the historic black issue of ''Vogue Italia'' in 2008. In December 2016, ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' ranked her as the 21st-most-successful dance artist of all time, and in 2017 Black Music Honors TV special recognized Watley as Crossover Music Icon Honoree for h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' and ''town'', has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Motown played a vital role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover (music), crossover success with white audiences. In the 1960s, Motown and its main subsidiary labels (including Gordy, Soul) were the most prominent exponents of what became known as the #Motown sound, Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop music, pop-influenced sound and appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million in 1988. Between 1960 and 1969, Motown had 79 songs reach the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In March 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
