The Music Of The 80s - Favorites, Classics And Rarities

[lefleuerdumal]

Bauhaus is a British rock band (formed in Northampton in 1978) popular in the 1980s. The band took their name from the German Bauhaus art movement, originally going by the name Bauhaus 1919, dropping the latter portion within a year of the band's formation. Although there were bands before them that pre-figured the style, Bauhaus is generally agreed to have been the first goth group. Bauhaus combined a number of influences (punk music, glam rock, and even dub) to create a gloomy, but very passionate sound which appealed to many left looking for something new in the wake of punk's collapse. Their sound proved very influential, inspiring or bringing attention to a whole wave of post-punk groups delving in the intense, gloomy style that would eventually come to be known as goth rock. Bauhaus remains one of the most popular groups of its era and genre.

 

Their debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", was released in August 1979. Over nine minutes long and recorded "live in the studio" in a single take, it did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter. By far their most famous work, its minimalist, free-form nature evoked a mixture of The Doors, early Pink Floyd and experimental Krautrock bands such as Can and Neu!. The song was used to score the first ten minutes of the 1983 Tony Scott vampire film "The Hunger".

 

After Bauhaus broke up (1983), all members of the band did various solo work. Vocalist Peter Murphy worked briefly with bassist Mick Karn of Japan in the band Dali's Car before going solo with such albums as Deep and Love Hysteria. Daniel Ash has also put out solo albums and released music under the name Tones on Tail with Kevin Haskins and Bauhaus roadie Glen Campling. David J has released multiple solo albums and has collaborated with several other musicians over the years. He is currently working on his visual arts. Kevin Haskins has been making electronic music for video games, and also has been producing musical artists such as Gary Numan.

 

In 1985, David, Daniel and Kevin formed Love and Rockets, who achieved a US hit in 1989 with "So Alive". The band broke up after seven albums in 1998.

 

In 1998, Bauhaus reunited for the "Resurrection Tour", which featured two new songs ("Severance", originally written by Dead Can Dance, and "The Dog's A Vapour", which was also featured on the soundtrack for the film, "Heavy Metal 2"). A live album recorded during the tour, Gotham, was released the same year.

 

In 2005, Bauhaus played a reunion gig at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California on April 30, 2005. No new songs were expected, but Peter Murphy will follow the Coachella performance with his own solo tour to support his new album. He does not typically play Bauhaus songs at his solo shows.

 

Following Peter Murphy's 2005 tour, Bauhaus has begun a full tour for fall 2005 (North America, Mexico) and Spring 2006 (Europe). Peter Murphy has also mentioned that the band hopes to record new music following the tour.

 

The line-up:

 

Peter Murphy: vocals

Daniel Ash: guitar, saxophone

David J: bass guitar

Kevin Haskins: drums

[Cain N Moko]

DEAD OR ALIVE

 

A British dance-pop group which found fame thanks to the antics of androgynous frontman Pete Burns, Dead or Alive formed in Liverpool in 1980. Burns first surfaced three years prior in the Mystery Girls, later heading the proto-Goth rockers Nightmares in Wax; he founded Dead or Alive with keyboardist Marty Healey, guitarist Mitch, bassist Sue James and drummer Joe Musker, debuting in 1980 with the Ian Broudie-produced Doors soundalike "I'm Falling." "Number Eleven" followed, but just as the group was gaining momentum they were swept aside by the emergence of the New Romantic movement, with Burns subsequently charging that fellow androgyne Boy George of Culture Club had merely stolen his outrageous image.

Undaunted, Burns forged on with a retooled Dead or Alive roster including future Mission U.K. guitarist Wayne Hussey and bassist Mike Percy; over the course of records including the 1982 It's Been Hours Now EP and the follow-up single "The Stranger," the group evolved into a true dance band, and ultimately landed with major label Epic. A series of singles appeared over the course of 1983, including "Misty Circles" and "What I Want; " Hussey soon exited, and it was a line-up comprising Burns, Percy, keyboardist Tim Lever and drummer Steve Coy which scored Dead or Alive's first major hit, a 1984 cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's disco classic "That's the Way (I Like It)" which fell just shy of reaching the British Top 20.

 

Dead or Alive's full-length debut Sophisticated Boom Boom also fared well with audiences, but they achieved true stardom in early 1985 with the Hi-NRG smash "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," the first Number One hit for the production team of Stock Aitken and Waterman. The succeeding LP Youthquake was also a smash, yielding further hits in the form of the singles "Lover Come Back to

Me," "In Too Deep" and "My Heart Goes Bang." 1986's "Brand New Lover" kept the group in the limelight, but the 1987 LP Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know proved disastrous at home and in the U.S., although a fervent following emerged in Japan. In the wake of 1989's Nude, both Lever and Percy left the group; the nucleus of Burns and Coy remained, additionally taking over production and managerial duties. Subsequent Dead or Alive LPs included Fan the Flame, Part One and Nukleopatra

[Cain N Moko]

A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS

 

As well-known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as their hit single "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls were one of the infamous one-hit wonders of the new wave era. Growing out of the synth-heavy and ruthlessly stylish new romantic movement, A Flock of Seagulls were a little too robotic and arrived a little too late to be true new romantics, but their sleek dance-pop was forever indebted to the short-lived movement. The group benefitted considerably from MTV's heavy rotation of the "I Ran" video in the summer of 1982, but they were unable to capitalize on their sudden success and disappeared nearly as quickly as they rocketed up the charts.

Hairdresser Mike Score (lead vocals, keyboards) formed A Flock of Seagulls with his brother Ali (drums) and fellow hairdresser Frank Maudsley (bass) in 1980, adding guitarist Paul Reynolds several months later. The group released its debut EP on Cocteau Records early in 1981, and while the record failed to chart, its lead track, "Telecommunication," became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs. The band signed a major-label contract with Jive by the end of the year, and their eponymous debut album appeared in the spring of 1982. "I Ran (So Far Away)" was released as the first single from the album, and MTV quickly picked up on its icily attractive video, which featured long shots of Mike Score and his distinctive, cascading hair. The single climbed into the American Top Ten, taking the album along with it. In the U.K., "I Ran" didn't make the Top 40, but "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" reached number ten later that year; in America, that single became a Top 40 hit in 1983, after "Space Age Love Song" peaked at number 30. "Wishing" was taken from the group's second album, Listen (1983), which was moderately successful.

 

However, the band's fortunes crashed shortly after the release of Listen as 1984's The Story of a Young Heart failed to produce any hit singles. Reynolds left after the album and was replaced by Gary Steadnin; the band also added keyboardist Chris Chryssaphis. The new lineup was showcased on 1986's Dream Come True, which failed to chart. Shortly after its release, the band broke up. Mike Score assembled a new lineup of A Flock of Seagulls in 1989, releasing the single "Magic" and touring the U.S.A. The band failed to make any impact and most of the members left by the end of the year. The band continued to tour worldwide, although with major changes to its members, and in 1996 released a new album, The Light at the End of the World

[Cain N Moko]

THOMAS DOLBY

 

Though he never had many hits, Thomas Dolby became one of the most recognizable figures of the synth-pop movement of early-'80s new wave. Largely, this was due to his skillful marketing. Dolby promoted himself as a kind of mad scientist, an egghead that had successfully harnassed the power of synthesizers and samplers, using them to make catchy pop and light electro-funk. Before he launched a solo career, Dolby had worked as a studio musician, technician, and songwriter; his most notable work as a songwriter was "New Toy," which he wrote for Lene Lovich, and Whodini's "Magic's Wand." In 1981, he launched a solo career, which resulted in a number of minor hits and two big hits -- "She Blinded Me with Science" (1982) and "Hyperactive" (1984). Following "Hyperactive," his career faded away, as he began producing more frequently, as well as exploring new synthesizer and computer technology. Dolby continued to record into the '90s, but by that time, he was strictly a cult act.

Dolby's interest in music arose through his interest in computers, electronics and synthesizers. The son of a British archeologist, Thomas Dolby (b. Thomas Morgan Robertson, October 14, 1958) originally attended college to study meteorology, but he was soon side-tracked by electronics, specifically musical equipment. He began building his own synthesizers when he was 18 years old. Around the same time, he began to learn how to play guitar and piano, as well as how to program computers. Eventually, his schoolmates gave him the nickname of "Dolby," which was the name for a noise-reduction technology for audiotapes; he would eventually take the nickname as a stage name.

 

In his late teens, Dolby was hired as a touring sound engineer for a variety of post-punk bands, including the Fall, the Passions and the Members; on these dates, he would use a PA system he had built himself. In 1979, he formed the arty post-punk band Camera Club with Bruce Woolley, Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Matthew Seligman. Within a year, he had left the group and joined Lene Lovich's backing band. Dolby gave Lovich his song "New Toy," which became a British hit in 1981. That same year, he released his first solo single, "Urges," on the English independent label Armageddon. By the fall, he had signed with Parlophone and released "Europa and the Pirate Twins," which nearly cracked the UK Top 40.

 

Dolby started playing synthesizer on sessions for other artists in 1982. That year, he appeared on Foreigner's 4, Def Leppard's Pyromania and Joan Armatrading's Walk Under Ladders. Also in 1982, he wrote and produced "Magic's Wand" for Whodini; the single became one of the first million-selling rap singles. Even with all of these achievements, 1982 was most noteworthy for the release of Dolby's first solo album, The Golden Age of Wireless, in the summer of 1982; the record reached number 13 in England, while it was virtually forgotten in America. "Windpower," the first single from the record, became his first Top 40 UK hit in the late summer.

 

In January of 1983, Dolby released an EP, Blinded by Science, which included a catchy number called "She Blinded Me with Science" that featured a cameo vocal appearance by the notorious British eccentric Magnus Pike, who also appeared in the song's promotional video. Blinded by Science was a minor hit in England, but the EP and the single became major American hit in 1983, thanks to MTV's heavy airplay of the "She Blinded Me with Science" video. Eventually, the song reached number five on the US charts and it was included on a resequenced and reissued version of The Golden Age of Wireless, which peaked at number 13 in America.

 

The Flat Earth, Dolby's second album, appeared in early 1984 and was supported by the single "Hyperactive." The single became his biggest UK hit, peaking at number 17. Though The Flat Earth reached number 35 on the US charts, Dolby's momentum was already beginning to slow -- none of the singles released from the album cracked the American Top 40. Nevertheless, Dolby was in demand as a collaborator and he worked with Herbie Hancock, Howard Jones, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, and Dusty Springfield. During 1985, he produced Clinton's Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends, Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen (Two Wheels Good in the US), and Joni Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, as well as supporting David Bowie at Live Aid. Also in 1985, he began composing film scores, starting with Fever Pitch. In 1986, he composed the scores for Gothic and Howard the Duck, to which he credited himself as Dolby's Cube. That credit led to a lawsuit from the Dolby Labs, who eventually prohibited the musician from using the name "Dolby" in conjunction with any other name than "Thomas."

 

Aliens Ate My Buick, Dolby's long-delayed third album, appeared in 1988 to poor reviews and weak sales, even though the single "Airhead" became a minor British hit. That same year, Dolby married actress Kathleen Beller. For the rest of the late '80s and early '90s, Dolby continued to score films, producing and he began building his own computer equipment. His fourth album, Astronauts & Heretics, was released in 1992 on his new label, Giant. Despite the presence of guest stars like Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Ofra Haza, the album was a flop. The following year, Dolby founded the computer software company Headspace, which released The Virtual String Quartet as its first program. For the rest of the '90s, Headspace occupied most of Dolby's time and energy. In 1994, he released The Gate to the Mind's Eye, a soundtrack to the videotape Mind's Eye. Also that year, Capitol released the greatest-hits collection, Retrospectacle

[Cain N Moko]

PETER SCHILLING

 

While numerous new wave artists in the early '80s tried to imitate David Bowie, Peter Schilling went a step further. In 1983, Schilling released "Major Tom (Coming Home)," a synth pop retelling of Bowie's 1969 classic "Space Oddity." It became Schilling's first and only entry in the U.S. charts, a song that eventually stigmatized him as a one-hit wonder in America. Schilling was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on January 28, 1956. As a teen, Schilling couldn't decide on whether to be a soccer player or a singer. He chose music and his debut album, Error in the System, appeared in 1983. The single "Major Tom (Coming Home)" wasn't just popular in the U.S., it was a worldwide smash. The video was played often on MTV, as well, but Schilling was not able to equal its success. In 1989, Schilling collaborated with Enigma's Michael Crétu on the track "Different Story (World of Lust and Crime)," an admirable attempt at updating his sound and trying to return to the American charts. "Major Tom" was given a techno sheen in 1994, and the reworked song was welcomed in the clubs. A year later, Schilling formed the Space Pilots with Catyana Schilling, J. Feifel, and P. Magnet, recording Trip to Orion.

[Cain N Moko]

TOM JONES

 

Tom Jones became one of the most popular vocalists to emerge from the British Invasion. Since the mid-'60s, Jones has sung nearly every form of popular music -- pop, rock, show tunes, country, dance, and techno, he's sung it all. His actual style -- a full-throated, robust baritone that had little regard for nuance and subtlety -- never changed, he just sang over different backing tracks. On stage, Jones played up his sexual appeal; it didn't matter whether he was in an unbuttoned shirt or a tuxedo, he always radiated a raw sexuality, which earned him a large following of devoted female fans who frequently threw underwear on stage. Jones' following never diminished over the decades; he was able to exploit trends, earning new fans while retaining his core following.

Born Thomas John Woodward, Tom Jones began singing professionally in 1963, performing as Tommy Scott with the Senators, a Welsh beat group. In 1964, he recorded a handful of solo tracks with record producer Joe Meek and shopped them to various record companies to little success. Later in the year, Decca producer Peter Sullivan discovered Tommy Scott performing in a club and directed him to manager Phil Solomon. It was a short-lived partnership and the singer soon moved back to Wales, where he continued to sing in local clubs. At one of the shows, he gained the attention of former Viscounts singer Gordon Mills, who had become an artist manager. Mills signed Scott, renamed him Tom Jones and helped him record his first single for Decca, "Chills and Fever," which was released in late 1964. "Chills and Fever" didn't chart but "It's Not Unusual," released in early 1965, became a number one hit in the U.K. and a Top Ten hit in the U.S. The heavily orchestrated, over-the-top pop arrangements perfectly meshed with Jones' swinging, sexy image, guaranteeing him press coverage, which translated into a series of hits, including "Once Upon a Time," "Little Lonely One," and "With These Hands." During 1965, Mills also secured a number of film themes for Jones to record, including the Top Ten hit "What's New Pussycat?" (June 1965) and "Thunderball" (December 1965).

 

Jones' popularity began to slip somewhat by the middle of 1966, causing Mills to redesign the singer's image into a more respectable, mature tuxedoed crooner. Jones also began to sing material that appealed to a broad audience, like the country songs "Green, Green Grass of Home" and "Detroit City." The strategy worked, as he returned to the top of the charts in the U.K. and began hitting the Top 40 again in the U.S. For the remainder of the '60s, he scored a consistent string of hits in both Britain and America. At the end of the decade, Jones relocated to America, where he hosted the television variety program, This Is Tom Jones. Running between 1969 and 1971, the show was a success and laid the groundwork for the singer's move to Las Vegas in the early '70s. Once he moved to Vegas, Jones began recording less, choosing to concentrate on his lucrative club performances. After Gordon Mills died in the late '70s, Jones' son, Mark Woodward, became the singer's manager. The change in management prompted Jones to begin recording again. This time, he concentrated on the country market, releasing a series of slick Nashville-styled country-pop albums in the early '80s that earned him a handful of hits.

 

Jones' next image makeover came in 1988, when he sang Prince's "Kiss" with the electronic dance outfit, the Art of Noise. The song's popularity was boosted when it was featured in the 1988 movie "My Stepmother is an Alien" which starred Kim Basinger and Dan Aykroyd. The single became a Top Ten hit in the U.K. and reached the American Top 40, which led to a successful concert tour and a part in a recording of Dylan Thomas' voice play, Under Milk Wood. The singer then returned to the club circuit, where he stayed for several years.

 

In 1993, Jones performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England, where he won an enthusiastic response from the young crowd. Soon, he was on the comeback trail again, releasing the alternative dance-pop album The Lead and How to Swing It in the fall of 1994; the record was a moderate hit, gaining some play in dance clubs.

 

In 1999, Tom Jones returned to the pop charts with a song called "Sexbomb" from his album Reload. Tom Jones had the young generation dancing to his songs again.

[Cain N Moko]

SMOKEY ROBINSON

 

If you're looking for the all-time number-one purveyor of mainstream romantic soul, Smokey Robinson may well be the man, in the face of some towering competition. With the Miracles in the 1960s, he paced dozens of tuneful Motown hits with his beautiful high tenor. As a solo performer from the 1970s onward, he was one of the staples of urban contemporary music. But his singing gifts, as notable as they are, comprise only one of his hats: he's also one of pop's best and most prolific songwriters. As a songwriter and producer, he was the most important musical component to Motown's early success, not only on the hits by the Miracles, but for numerous other acts as well (especially Mary Wells and the Temptations).

Robinson first crossed paths with Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. in the late '50s in Detroit. In retrospect, this may have been the most important meeting in both men's lives. Robinson needed a mentor and an outlet for his budding talents as a singer and songwriter; the ambitious Gordy needed someone with multi-faceted musical vision. Gordy encouraged and polished Robinson's songwriting in particular in the early days, in which the Miracles were one of many acts bridging the doo-wop and early soul eras.

 

Before solidifying their relationship with the embryonic Motown operation, the Miracles issued a few singles on the End and Chess labels, the most successful of which was "Got a Job." There was no national action for the Miracles until "Shop Around" in late 1960. Gordy withdrew the original single in favor of a faster, more fully produced version of the song; it made number two, doing much not only to establish the Miracles, but to establish the Motown label itself. The song also heralded many of the important elements of the Motown sound, with its gospel-ish interplay between lead and backup vocals, its rhythmic groove, and its blend of R&B and pop.

 

While Robinson is most often thought of as a romantic balladeer, the Miracles were also capable of grinding out some excellent up-tempo party tunes, particularly in their early days. "Mickey's Monkey" (which the group gave an athletically electrifying performance of in the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show movie), a 1963 Top Ten hit, is the most famous of these; there was also "Going to a Go-Go" and smaller hits like "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying." The 1962 Top Ten hit "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," however, was the key cut in forming Robinson's romantic persona, with its pleading, soaring vocals, exquisite melody, and carefully crafted lyrics. Bob Dylan was impressed enough by Robinson's facility for imaginative wordplay to dub him "America's greatest living poet" (a phrase which has possibly become the most quoted example of one rock giant praising another).

 

Surveying Robinson's achievements during the 1960s, one wonders if the man ever slept. While the Miracles were never Motown's biggest act at any given time, they were one of its very most consistent, entering the Top 40 25 times over the course of the decade. "I Second That Emotion," "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage," "The Tracks of My Tears," "Ooo Baby Baby," and "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" were some of their biggest singles, and usually represented Motown at its most sophisticated and urbane. Robinson also was extremely active at Motown as a songwriter and producer for other acts. The number one singles "My Guy" (Mary Wells) and "My Girl" (Temptations) were each Robinson songs and productions (the latter with fellow Miracle Ronnie White), and Robinson also did some excellent work with the Marvelettes and Marvin Gaye. He also toured with the Miracles, and started a family with the Miracles' female singer, Claudette Rogers, whom he married in 1964. Rogers stopped touring with the group in the mid-'60s, although she continued to sing on their records.

 

Starting in 1967, the billing on Miracles releases was changed to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, presaging Robinson's solo career. The group continued to spin out hits until the early '70s, however, getting their only number one in 1970 with the upbeat "The Tears of a Clown" (which had actually been recorded back in 1966). Robinson left the group to go on his own in 1972; the Miracles continued without him with limited success, although they had a number one hit in 1976 with "Love Machine, Pt. 1."

 

Robinson had been made a vice president at Motown near the beginning of his career in 1961. He recorded frequently as a solo artist for Motown in the '70s and '80s, in a considerably mellower vein than his Miracles work, in keeping with the general shift of Motown and soul toward urban contemporary. Robinson, in fact, provided that genre with one of its catch phrases with the title of his 1975 album, A Quiet Storm.

 

"Cruisin'" (1979), which was recently remade and covered by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow for the movie "Duets", "Being With You" (1981) and "Just To See Her" (1986) were his biggest solo hits, although artistically and commercially his solo era wasn't nearly as successful as his music with the Miracles.

 

In 1987, British band ABC showed their respect and gave tribute to Smokey Robinson with a song "When Smokey Sings" which made both UK and US Top 10

[Cain N Moko]

JEFFREY OSBORNE

 

Jeffrey Osborne began his professional singing career in 1969 with a popular funk and soul group called Love Men Ltd. The band moved to Los Angeles in 1970 and changed its name to L.T.D. Osborne was originally brought on as the drummer and eventually became the lead vocalist. After more than ten years with the band, he decided to pursue a solo career, which produced such Top 40 hits as "Don't You Get So Mad," "Stay With Me Tonight," and "Love Power," which he performed with Dionne Warwick.

Born in Providence, RI, Jeffrey Osborne was the youngest of 12 children and was constantly bombarded with music as he was growing up. He had five brothers and six sisters, some of whom went on to have music careers. His father, Clarence "Legs" Osborne, was a popular trumpeter who played with Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington, and died when Jeffrey was only 13. His mother, Wanita, is ancestored by a Pequot Indian sachem. His oldest brother, Clay Osborne, is a singer and pianist, and Billy, another brother, is a songwriter and producer in Los Angeles. But Osborne's father had the greatest influence on his musical career; Clarence "Legs" Osborne turned down many top band offers during his career to be with his family. It was only after receiving his mother's encouragement that Jeffrey left for Los Angeles to play with L.T.D. At the age of 15, he sat in with the O'Jays when the drummer was too tired to play, and went on to play with them for two weeks. It was at a Providence nightclub that fate brought him together with the band Love Men Ltd. in 1969.

 

Osborne's solo career has brought him five gold and platinum albums, including Stay With Me Tonight, Aymuk, and Only Human. He also recorded an album of duets with popular singer James Ingram, and scored an international hit with "On the Wings of Love" in 1982. Osborne's touring and recording continue to keep him busy much of the time, but he also devotes some of his time to charity work.

[Cain N Moko]

KLYMAXX

 

All-female band formed in 1979 by producer/drummer Bernadette Cooper, guitarist Cheryl Cooley and keyboard player Lynn Malsby. The original lead vocalists were Lorena Porter Shelby and Joyce "Fenderella" Irby, who later left for a solo career. In 1990, the group became a trio, with Shelby, guitarist Cheryl Cooley, and keyboardist Robbin Grider.

 

"I Miss You" was a US Top 3 hit for the band in 1985, off the 1984 album Meeting in the Ladies Room. In 1986, their self-titled album yielded a Top 20 hit, "Man Size Love" and the Top 5 hit "I'd Still Say Yes"

[Cain N Moko]

READY FOR THE WORLD

 

A Michigan funk band with slight rock leanings, Ready for the World parlayed Melvin Riley's whining vocals and some trendy production into a pair of number one R&B hits in the mid-'80s for MCA. Riley, Gordon Strozier, Gregory Potts, Willie Triplett, John Eaton, and Gerald Valentine began on their own Blue Lake label before signing with MCA. The label reissued the song "Tonight," and it reached number six on the R&B charts in 1984. They followed it with "Deep Inside Your Love," another Top Ten R&B single, then had their first of two chart-toppers in "Oh Sheila." It got them a huge crossover smash, ultimately topping the pop lists as well. They scored their fourth consecutive Top Ten R&B record with "Digital Display," then had two flop singles before "Love You Down" put them back on top of the R&B world in 1986. It was their last hit and peaked at number nine pop

 

In 1997, INOJ remade and covered their hit Love You Down and the INOJ version of the song went to the Top 10

[Cain N Moko]

THE DAZZ BAND

 

The Cleveland-based Dazz Band was one of the more popular funk groups of the early '80s. Bobby Harris formed the group in the late '70s, merging two Cleveland funk bands, Bell Telefunk and Mother Braintree. After myriad lineup changes, the end result was an eight-piece band featuring Harris, Skip Martin III, Pierre DeMudd on horns and vocals, guitarist Eric Fearman, bassist Michael Wiley, drummer Isaac Wiley, keyboardist Kevin Frederick, and percussionist Kenny Pettus. Harris and lead songwriter/guitarist Mike Calhoun's concept for the group was "danceable jazz"; he shortened the description to "dazz" and called the group Kinsman Dazz. Under that name, the group had two small hits in the U.S.A. during 1978 and 1979. After Calhoun left they changed their name to the Dazz Band in 1980 and signed to Motown.

Invitation to Love, the band's first release for the record label, was released in 1980. Once the group veered away from the more melodic, pop-oriented dance music that dominated their debut and started playing a tougher, more groove-oriented funk, the Dazz Band began racking up the hits. "Let It Whip," taken from their second album Keep It Live (1982), reached number five and won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by an R&B Vocal Duo or Group. While they never reached those heights again, the Dazz Band had a string of six consecutive Top 100 albums that ran until 1986; during that time, they scored two other Top 100 singles, "Joystick" and "Let It All Blow." In 1985, Fearman and Frederick left the band; they were replaced by Marlon McClain and Keith Harrison, respectively. The Dazz Band switched labels to Geffen in 1986. That year they had their final charting album, Wild and Free. Soon after its release, the band switched to RCA. The group failed to have another hit and quietly faded away

[Cain N Moko]

FORCE M.D.'s

 

Although not as well-known as other New York hip-hop acts of the early '80s, Staten Island's Force M.D.'s were a vital crew in the early history of street hip-hop and one of the first vocal groups to fuse doo wop-influenced harmonies with hip-hop beats. Originally a street troupe known as the LD's, the group sang and danced on Greenwich Village street corners and the Staten Island ferry. Its members included brothers Stevie D and Antoine "TCD" Lundy, their uncle Jesse Lee Daniels, and friends Trisco Pearson and Charles "Mercury" Nelson. The group hooked up with DJ Dr. Rock, and billing themselves as Dr. Rock and the MC's, began playing in local hip-hop venues. However, by the time the group signed to Tommy Boy in 1984 as the Force M.D.'s (M.D. standing for "musical diversity"), they had evolved into a more straightforward R&B vocal group, distinguished mostly by their street attitude. The M.D.'s had a string of R&B hits through the '80s, but their only pop hit was the Top Ten Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis-penned ballad "Tender Love," which was featured in the movie Krush Groove. 1987 produced the group's first R&B number one, "Love Is a House," but their popular appeal began to ebb the following year. Mercury and Trisco left in 1990 and were replaced by Rodney "Khalil" Lundy and Shawn Waters. The group released the album Get Ready in 1994 as several members worked with other artists as producers. Though Nelson, Lundy, and DJ Dr. Rock each died an early death (Nelson of a heart attack, Lundy of Lou Gehrig's disease), the group returned in 1998, signed to a contract thanks to fellow Staten Island-natives Wu-Tang Clan

[Cain N Moko]

CHAKA KHAN

 

Best known for her superb 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You," R&B singer Chaka Khan enjoyed solo success as well as popularity as a member of the group Rufus. Born Yvette Marie Stevens in Great Lakes, IL, on March 23, 1953, she was raised on Chicago's South Side, and at the age of 11 formed her first group, the Crystalettes. While still in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater, a group which toured with Motown great Mary Wells; a few years later, she adopted the African name Chaka Khan while working on the Black Panthers' breakfast program. After quitting high school in 1969, Khan joined the group Lyfe, soon exiting to join another dance band, the Babysitters; neither was on the fast track to success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and André Fisher to form Rufus.

Debuting in 1973 with a self-titled effort on the ABC label, Rufus was among the pre-eminent funk groups of the decade; distinguished by Khan's dynamic vocals, the group earned half a dozen gold or platinum albums before she went solo in 1978. Produced by Arif Mardin, Chaka proved to be a significant hit on the strength of the single "I'm Every Woman" (a hit over a decade later for Whitney Houston); however, Khan's success was somewhat tempered by her public rivalry with the remaining members of Rufus, to whom she was still contractually bound for two more LPs. (Their differences were eventually resolved in a 1982 concert at New York's Savoy Theater, issued as Stompin' at the Savoy.) As a solo artist, Khan recorded backing vocals for Ry Cooder's 1979 effort Bop Till You Drop, then cut her sophomore album, 1980's Naughty; it was not a hit, however, nor was its follow-up, What Cha' Gonna Do for Me.

 

In 1982, Khan recorded Echoes of an Era, a collection of jazz standards featuring performances from Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, and Lenny White. Her pop career was on shaky ground when she released 1984's I Feel for You, a platinum-seller launched by its title cut, a Grammy-winning, rap-inspired rendition (featuring memorable cameos from Melle Mel and Stevie Wonder) of a fairly obscure Prince album track. Still, while subsequent LPs like 1986's Destiny and 1988's C.K. kept Khan riding high on the R&B charts, her standing in pop's mainstream again began to wane, and at the end of the 1980s, she relocated to Europe. In 1990, she won another Grammy for "I'll Be Good to You," a duet with Ray Charles under a Quincy Jones album. Come 2 My House appeared in 1998

[Cain N Moko]

SOUL II SOUL

 

Led by producer/vocalist/songwriter Jazzie B., Soul II Soul were one of the most innovative dance/R&B outfits of the late '80s, creating a seductive, deep R&B that borrowed from Philly soul, disco, reggae, and '80s hip-hop. Originally featuring Jazzie B., producer/arranger Nellee Hooper, and instrumentalist Philip "Daddae" Harvey, the musical collective came together in the late '80s. The group had a residency at the Africa Centre in London's Covent Garden, which led to a record contract with 10, a subsidiary of Virgin. Two singles, "Fairplay" and "Feel Free," began to attract attention both in clubs and in the press.

Featuring the vocals of Caron Wheeler, Soul II Soul's third single, "Keep on Movin'," reached the U.K. Top Ten in March of 1989. Released in the summer of 1989, "Back to Life" also featured Wheeler and became another Top Ten hit. Soul II Soul released their debut album, Club Classics, Vol. 1, shortly afterward. The album was released in America under the title Keep on Movin'; both "Keep on Movin'" and "Get a Life" became substantial hits, propelling the album to double platinum status.

 

Wheeler left the group before the recording of the group's second album, Vol. II: 1990 - A New Decade. The album debuted at number one in the U.K., yet it caught the group in a holding pattern. Hooper soon left the collective, leaving Jazzie B. to soldier on alone. Hooper went on to work with several of the most influential and popular acts of the early '90s, including Massive Attack (Blue Lines), Björk (Debut and Post), Madonna (Bedtime Stories), and U2 ("Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, k*ll Me"). In 1992, Soul II Soul released Vol. III: Just Right, to both lukewarm reviews and sales. After the compilation Vol. IV: The Classic Singles, the group's next studio album, Vol. V: Believe, appeared in 1995

[Cain N Moko]

THE WHISPERS

 

The Whispers are a veteran R&B quintet with an impressive 23-year legacy of R&B hits. Formed in Los Angeles by twins Walter and Wallace Scott, Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson, and Gordy Harmon (who left in 1973), the Whispers turned up on the Dore label in 1964 with "I Was Born When You Kissed Me." In 1969, the quintet climbed the soul charts for the first time with "The Time Has Come" on Soul Clock, and they cracked the R&B Top Ten the next year with "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong." They've remained hitmakers ever since for the labels Janus, Soul Train, and Solar, with smashes like the solid gold chart-topper "And the Beat Goes On" in 1980 and another number one urban contemporary hit, "Rock Steady," in 1987. After being their backbone and selling point since the group's inception, twin lead vocalists Walter and Wallace Scott took time out for solo careers in 1993, but remain with the Whispers