This US hard-funk duo featured George Johnson (17 May 1953, Los Angeles, California, USA; guitar, vocals) and Louis Johnson (b. 13 April 1955, Los Angeles, California, USA; bass). They previously worked alongside their older brother Tommy and cousin Alex Weir in the band Johnson Three Plus One, backing the Supremes and Bobby Womack. George and Louis then went on to tour with
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This influential US funk/soul outfit was formed in 1967 by three brothers, Charlie Wilson (Charles Wilson, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; vocals/keyboards), Ronnie Wilson (trumpet/keyboards) and Robert Wilson (bass/vocals). They took their name from the initials of three streets, Greenwood, Archer and Pine, in their home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Initially known as the Greenwood, Arch
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The core of this long-standing soul group, Eddie LeVert (16 June 1942, Birmingham, Alabama, USA) and Walter Williams (b. 25 August 1942, USA), sang together as a gospel duo prior to forming the Triumphs in 1958. This doo-wop-influenced quintet was completed by William Powell (b. 20 January 1942, USA, d. 26 May 1977), Bill Isles and Bobby Massey and quickly grew popular aroun
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Formed in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California, USA in 1964, soul group the Whispers were originally comprised of Nicholas Caldwell (5 April 1944, Loma Linda, California, USA), twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott (b. 23 September 1943, Fort Worth, Texas, USA), Marcus Hutson (b. 8 January 1943, St. Louis, Missouri, USA) and Gordy Harmon. The group recorded its firs
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Formed in 1969, US vocalists Tiemeyer McCain, Thomas Oliver Shelby, Otis Stokes and Mark Woods were augmented by an instrumental unit comprising Steve Shockley (guitar), Norman Beavers (keyboards), Marvin Craig (bass), Fred Alexander (drums) and Fred Lewis (percussion). Originally based in Dayton, Ohio, USA, this funk group secured its first hit in 1978 with Its All
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Formed in the USA as a multi-purpose backing group, the original nine-piece worked under a variety of names. In 1973 Kenji Brown (guitar), Victor Nix (keyboards), Kenny Copeland, Freddie Dunn (trumpets), Michael Moore (saxophone), Lequient Duke Jobe (bass), Henry Garner and Terrai Santiel (drums) backed Edwin Starr as Total Concept Limited, before supporting Yvonne
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Bobby Harris masterminded the formation of the Dazz Band in the late 70s when he combined two Cleveland funk outfits, Bell Telefunk and the Kinsman Grill house band. The result was an eight-piece line-up, with Harris, Pierre DeMudd and Skip Martin III handling horns and vocals, and Eric Fearman (guitar), Kevin Frederick (keyboards), Kenny Pettus (percussion), Michael Wiley (bas
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Formed initially in 1968 as Project Soul by Mike Cooper (guitar, sitar, timbales, percussion, vocals) and Louis McCall (drums, vocals), the groups rise began when they accepted an offer to back the Soul Children, necessitating a move from California to Memphis. Upon arrival in 1972, Project Soul became Con Funk Shun, having been augmented by group members Karl Fuller (tru
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Frankie Beverly (6 December 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) had an apprenticeship in several Philadelphia groups. One such unit, Frankie Beverly And The Butlers, recorded several well-received singles in the 60s, but never managed to attract more than local play. By the early 70s, however, impressed by Santana and Sly And The Family Stone, he formed a self-contained b
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The origins of this imaginative US group date back to the 60s and Chicagos black music session circle. Drummer Maurice White (19 December 1941, Memphis, Tennessee, USA) appeared on sessions for Etta James, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart and more, before joining the Ramsey Lewis Trio in 1965. He left four years later to form the Salty Peppers, which prepared the way for a
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Deniece Chandler, 3 June 1951, Gary, Indiana, USA. Williams is a gospel/soul singer whose successes span the 70s and 80s. As a child she sang in a gospel choir and made her first recordings in the late 60s for the Chicago-based Toddlin Town label. After training as a nurse, she was hired by Stevie Wonder to join his Wonderlove vocal backing group. She contributed to fo
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30 September 1954, Los Angeles, California, USA. Rushen grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California. She started learning classical piano when she was three, and turned to jazz in her teens. A group with which she was playing won an award for young musicians at Monterey in 1972. She played with a host of artists, including Abbey Lincoln, Donald
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Formed in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, in 1977, the S.O.S. Band enjoyed a long run of hits on the US R&B charts during the 80s. The group originally consisted of Mary Davis (vocals, keyboards), Jason T.C. Bryant (keyboards), Billy R. Ellis (saxophone) and James Earl Jones III (drums). They performed regularly, as Sounds Of Santa Monica, at Lamars Regal Room in A
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