Dazz Band

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Urban/R&B Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Dazz Band Similar Urban/R&B Music Search Artistopia

Biography

The Dazz Band is an United States|American funk music band that was most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland , Ohio , the group's biggest hit songs include the Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Grammy Award -winning " Let It Whip " (1982), " Joystick (song)|Joystick " (1983), and "Let It All Blow" (1984). The name of the band is a portmanteau of the description "danceable jazz".

History

The Dazz Band, formed in 1976, grew out of the Cleveland, Ohio , jazz fusion band Bell Telefunk , composed of Bobby Harris (founder) lead guitar ist/ songwriter Mike Calhoun, percussionist Kenny Pettus, drummer Isaac "Ike" Wiley, Jr., and his brother bassist Michael Wiley, and the band Mother Braintree The group became known as Kinsman Dazz , named after both the street and the lounge where they worked as the house band: Sonny Jones' Kinsman Grill Lounge. The group adopted its name before the song "Dazz" became an R& B hit for Atlanta|Atlanta's Brick (band)|Brick in 1976.

Kinsman Dazz was signed to 20th Century Records by Joe Lewis in 1978. The group went to Los Angeles to record for producer Marvin Gaye . Owing to illness, Gaye had to back out of the duties. Harris requested and got Philip Bailey , the vocalist of Earth, Wind & Fire , to produce the group's first album, Kinsman Dazz . Bailey would co-produce the second album, Dazz , and had a major input into the group's vocal arrangements. They released their first single, "I Might as Well Forget About Loving You", in late 1978. "Catchin' Up on You" followed in 1979.

The Kinsman Dazz became the Dazz Band in 1980. Separately, the 20th Century Records label was closed, and the Dazz Band was signed to Motown Records . The group expanded from the original quintet & mdash; Harris, Pettus, and the Wiley brothers & mdash; with newcomers Kevin Kendrick, Eric Fearman, Pierre DeMudd, Sennie "Skip" Martin,They had their first hit with "Shake It Up" in 1980.

Dazz's first album for Motown was Invitation to Love (1980), a self-produced set, whose title track, the ballad "Invitation to Love", began a string of hits for the band starting in March 1981. The group's next album, Let The Music Play (1981), featured the minor hit single "Knock& #33; Knock!", reaching the Top 50. The group's biggest breakthrough came with the album Keep It Live (1982), containing the hit " Let It Whip " & mdash; which reached No. 1 on the R& B charts and won a Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals . They would go on to score R& B hits with the songs "Party Right Here" (1983), " Joystick (song)|Joystick " (1984), and "Let It All Blow" (which was also their biggest United Kingdom|UK hit single, peaking at #12) (1984).

After Keep It Live , the band recorded the albums On the One , Joystick , Jukebox and Hot Spot , all for Motown. The band was known for its live performances, often proving more popular than the headlining act. In 1985, Fearman left the group and were replaced by Marlon McClain and Keith Harrison. In 1986, Dazz Band recorded Wild & Free for Geffen Records , and moved to RCA Records .

1990s revival

The popularity of classic funk/R& B/soul acts performing in the US and abroad started to expand in the mid-1990s on events like the awarded '' Sinbad (entertainer)|Sinbad 's Summer Jam: '70s Soul Music Festival .
Bobby Harris decided to form a tribute band with members from the Bar-Kays , Con Funk Shun , the The Gap Band|Gap Band and the The SOS Band|SOS Band , called the United We Funk All-Stars . A studio album followed, including a tribute to the late Roger Troutman , who performs on the album as well. Other artists from the genre who contributed to the album were the late Rick James and The System (band)|The System .
The concept was a great success, and was captured on a live CD, presented and promoted by radio jockey Tom Joyner , who made the announcements on the UWF-All Stars shows.

Members

Current members

Bobby Harris - saxophone , clarinet , background vocals

Sennie Skip Martin - trumpet , vocals

Marlon McClain - vocals and guitar

Past members

Jerry Bell (lead singer, background vocals)

Juan Lively

Michael Calhoun

Steve Cox - keyboards

Pierre DeMudd - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals

Eric Fearman - lead guitar, songwriter

Keith Harrison - keyboards

Kenny Pettus - percussion, vocals

Terry Stanton - lead vocals (deceased)

Michael Wiley - bass (deceased)

Isaac Wiley, Jr. - drums, percussion, background vocals

Fredrick Monk - vocals ( Japan)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Peak chart positions		Label
Year	Title	US 200	Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums>US R& B	Label
1980 in music	Invitation to Love	-	-	Motown
1981 in music	Let the Music Play	154	36	Motown
1982 in music	Keep It Live	14	1	Motown
1983 in music	Joystick	73	12	Motown
1982 in music	On the One	59	12	Motown
1984 in music	Jukebox	84	18	Motown
1984 in music	Greatest Hits	-	-	Motown
1985 in music	Hot Spot	114	24	Motown
1986 in music	Wild & Free	178	37	Geffen
1988 in music	Rock the Room	-	91	RCA
1996 in music	Under the Streetlights	-	42	LKY
1997 in music	Double Exposure	-	-	Intersound
1998 in music	Here We Go Again	-	99	Intersound
2001 in music	Time Traveler	-	-	Eagle Music Group

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions			Album
Year	Title	Billboard Hot 100>US Hot 100	Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs>US R& B	Hot Dance Music/Club Play>US Dance	Album
1980 in music	"Shake It Up"	-	65	75	Invitation to Love
1981 in music	"Invitation to Love"	109	51	-	Invitation to Love
1981 in music	"Knock Knock"	-	44	-	Let the Music Play
1982 in music	" Let It Whip "	5	1	2	Keep It Live
1982 in music	"Keep It Live (On the K.I.L)"	-	20	-	Keep It Live
1983 in music	"On The One For Fun"	-	9	52	On the One
1983 in music	"Cheek To Cheek"	-	76	-	On the One
1983 in music	"Party Right Here"	-	63	-	On the One
1983 in music	Joystick "	61	9	-	Joystick
1984 in music	"Swoop (I'm Yours)"	-	12	-	Joystick
1984 in music	"Let It all Blow"	84	9	3	Jukebox
1985 in music	"Heartbeat"	110	12	-	Jukebox
1985 in music	"Hot Spot"	-	21	33	Hot Spot
1986 in music	"L.O.V.E. M.I.A."	-	48	-	Wild & Free
1986 in music	"Wild and Free"	-	44	-	Wild & Free
1988 in music	"Anticipation"	-	38	-	Rock the Room
1988 in music	"Single Girls"	-	19	38	Rock the Room
1988 in music	"Open Sesame"	-	83	-	Rock the Room
1998 in music	"Ain't Nothin' but a Jam Y'all"	-	58	-
1998 in music	"Girl Got Body"	-	81	-	Here We Go Again

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Dazz Band

Dazz Band Photo by: image.listen.com


1. Boyz II Men 2. Earth, Wind & Fire

Urban/R&B Music Artists