Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

- and swing-influenced

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

that was formed in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

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

. The band is best known for its number-one US dance hit "

Cherchez La Femme ''Cherchez la femme'' () is a French phrase which literally means 'look for the woman'. It is a cliche in detective fiction, used to suggest that a mystery can be resolved by identifying a femme fatale or female love interest. The phrase embodi ...

/ C'est si bon", from its self-titled debut album.

History

The band was conceived by brothers Stony Browder Jr. (February 7, 1949 – October 6, 2001) and Thomas Browder (also known as

August Darnell Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently ...

, born August 12, 1950), with the former writing music and the latter lyrics. They started the band in 1974 with singer Cory Daye (born April 25, 1952), drummer Mickey Sevilla, and percussionist Andy Hernandez ( Coati Mundi). They released three albums between 1976 and 1979. Their music blended disco beats with rhythms from genres including calypso,

rhumba Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and ballroom dance, dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cub ...

, cha-cha-chá, and

compas Compas (; ; ), also known as konpa or kompa, is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was created by Nemours Jean-Baptiste following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in 1955, which became Ensemble Nemours Jean-Bapti ...

. The Browders, who were both multiracial, wrote songs embracing

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

over stories about

tragic mulatto The tragic mulatto is a fictional character type that frequently appeared in American literature during the 19th and 20th centuries, starting in 1837. The "tragic mulatto" is a stereotypical mixed-race person (a "mulatto"), who is depressed, or ev ...

es. A smaller lineup known as Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band (omitting the word "original") also released a fourth album in 1984. They were frequent performers at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

. Darnell and Hernandez went on to form

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Coati Mundi (musician), Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin ...

and

Elbow Bones and the Racketeers Elbow Bones and the Racketeers was an American big band-era styled male/female vocal group, created by August Darnell, and best known for their hit single "A Night in New York", written by Ron Rogers and Deborah Clarkin, and released on the EMI ...

. Cory Daye also pursued a successful solo career. In 1979, she released the album ''Cory and Me''. The album produced a single, "Pow Wow" b/w Green Light", which peaked on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at #76 later that year. The track "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" became a Top 20 hit in the Netherlands. Stony Browder Jr. died in 2001.

Copyright lawsuit

In 2022, songwriters L. Russell Brown and

Sandy Linzer Sanford Roy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including " A Lover's Concert ...

filed a copyright lawsuit against

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

claiming that her song " Levitating" infringed on their 1979 song "Wiggle and Giggle All Night".

Members

*Stony Browder Jr. – music, piano, vocals (1976–1979, 1984) *

– lyrics, bass, vocals (1976–1979) *Cory Daye – vocals (1976–1979, 1984) *Mickey Sevilla – drums (1976–1979, 1984) * Andy Hernandez – percussion (1976–1979)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

* ''

The Very Best of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a big band- and swing music, swing-influenced disco band (music), band that was formed in the Bronx, New York City, New York. The band is best known for its number-one US dance hit "Cherchez La Femme/C'es ...

'' (1996,

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) * ''The Disco Kids'' (2005,

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

)

Singles

References

Notes

External links

"Savannah Band Is Waiting for You, American"
by Kevin McMahon
The band's MySpace page

Coati Mundi's MySpace page

August Darnell interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' August 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Buzzard's Original Savannah Band American disco groups American dance music groups