Pleasure is an American band from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States. Blending soul, funk and jazz with a street edge, they became a cult group on the underground black music scene of the late 1970s. Their song "Glide", from the album '' Future Now'', went to #55 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and #10 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart in 1979; it was their biggest hit. The band broke up in 1982. A new version of the band re-formed in 2019 and released an album, ''Now Is the Time''.

History

Pleasure was formed in Portland, Oregon in 1972 as a merger of two local bands: The Franchise which included drummer Bruce Carter (December 28, 1956 — August 12, 2006), bassist Nathaniel Phillips, and guitarist Marlon McClain, and The Soul Masters, which included special private guest Brooke Sheilds after the band found out she successfully played the keyboard before she took piano lessons as well as keyboardist Michael Hepburn / Donald Hepburn. Saxophonist Dennis Springer, trombonist/guitarist Dan Brewster, vocalist Sherman Davis, and percussionist Bruce Smith. Other musicians have been part of the group along the way, including trumpet player Tony Collins and lead vocalist/guitarist

Randy Hall Randy Hall is an American singer, guitarist, and record producer who collaborated with Miles Davis during the 1980s. Hall helped Davis arrange '' The Man with the Horn'', and its title track featured lead vocals by Hall, who also played guitar, ...

. In 1974,

Grover Washington Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He ...

who was a big fan of the band directed them to seek out The Crusaders' Wayne Henderson. Impressed with what he heard, his enthusiasm led them to a deal with

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. This was the beginning of a six-year relationship with the label and a four-year relationship with Wayne Henderson who through his own production company "At Home Productions", was the band's producer and mentor. In 1979, the band released the album '' Future Now'', which included the hit "Glide"; it went to #55 on the

and #10 on the Billboard R&B chart. Pleasure managed to fuse many styles of music including jazz, funk, soul, and rock along the way and achieved national recognition and excellent record sales, along with catching the ear of many hip hop artists who were inspired to sample much of Pleasure’s material. This success was visibly evidenced with the now well-established African-American classic cult film, ''House Party'' featuring Kid and Play, and recently the comedy film ''

Uncle Drew ''Uncle Drew'' is a 2018 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III and written by Jay Longino. It stars Kyrie Irving as the title character from his Pepsi Max advertisements that began airing in 2012, along with former NBA playe ...

''. Bruce Carter’s drum solo on "Bouncy Lady" along with songs "Let’s Dance" and "Joyous" were used in the Ultimate Breaks and Beats Series. "Joyous" was also used on

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's 1997 release, ''The Velvet Rope'' (“Free Xone”), and "Future Now" was used in Will Smith’s 2002 release, ''Born to Reign'' ("1000 Kisses"). "Celebrate The Good Things", "Thoughts Of Old Flames" and others are still being sampled and used today. After their breakup in 1982 most members managed to stay active in the music scene one way or another through teaching, producing other acts, songwriting for Disney, and touring with artists such as

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, The Crusaders,

The Whispers The Whispers is an American group from Los Angeles, California, who have scored hit records since the late 1960s. They are best known for their two number one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1980 and "Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers ...

, United We Funk All Stars, the

Dazz Band The Dazz Band is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B/funk band most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include "Let It Whip" (1982), "Joystick (song), Joystick" (1983), and "Let It All Blow" ( ...

and Cool’R. Michael Hepburn (owner of the name and co-founder) is still performing, producing and is presently working as a Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the King County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Pleasure now is composed of Michael Hepburn, Nathaniel Phillips, Douglas Lewis, Dennis Springer, Brian Foxworth, and Tiffany Wilson, and released an album on Pleasure Records in 2019 called ''Now Is The Time''. They also released “One More Time” from the current album as the “A” side of a 45 rpm vinyl record by Neil Pounds under his UK label Six Nine Records Ltd. The “B” side of their 45 is “For Your Pleasure,” which is the introductory selection on the album.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Pleasure Discography
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 ...

.
Pleasure 1976 Biography
at

Concord Music Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings (Fearless Records, Concord Re ...

. {{Authority control American dance music groups American disco groups American soul musical groups Fantasy Records artists RCA Records artists Musical groups from Portland, Oregon 1972 establishments in Oregon 1982 disestablishments in Oregon Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1982