Dazz band

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Singer Bobby Harris in Iraq, 2008

The Dazz Band was one of the most famous US radio rock - bands of the 1980s from Cleveland / Ohio . Until 1979 the formation was called Kinsman Dazz .

Band history

Bobby Harris formed the Dazz Band in the late 1970s through the merger of "Bell Telefunk" and "Mother Braintree", two funk bands from Cleveland. After various line-up changes, an eight-member band was established in 1977, consisting of Bobby Harris, Skip Martin III, Pierre DeMudd, Eric Fearman, Michael Wiley, Isaac Wiley, Kevin Frederick and Kenny Pettus.

The concept of Harris and songwriter Mike Calhoun saw "danceable jazz" (danceable jazz ) before and style. This name was shortened to "dazz". This is how the first band name "Kinsman Dazz" was born, under which the group had two small hits in the USA in 1978 and 1979. In 1980, when Calhoun left the band, the musicians signed a record deal with Motown and changed the name to Dazz Band. In 1980 the first album Invitation to Love was released .

On the second album, the style changed from more melodic, pop-oriented dance music to more groove-oriented funk, which was also a success. The single Let It Whip from the long player Keep It Live , which rose to number 14 on the Billboard 200 and even number 1 on the R&B album chart in 1982, came to position 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 . The Dazz Band received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Singing Group ( Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ).

Although the group was unable to repeat this huge success, they still had five more successive albums by 1986, which were able to place in the top 100 of the American album charts. The singles Joystick and Let It All Blow reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 .

In 1985 Marlon McClain and Keith Harrison joined the Dazz Band for Fearman and Friedrich. It was followed by a label change to Geffen Records in 1986 and the last chart album Wild and Free , after which the band signed with RCA Records . The last album Rock the Room followed in 1988 . Skip Martin went to Kool & the Gang .

Further albums did not appear on various labels until 1996, 1998 and 2001, but there was no commercial success.

Members

  • Bobby Harris - vocals, saxophone
  • Mike Calhoun - songwriter, guitar (until 1980)
  • Steve Cox - keyboards (only in the early stages)
  • Eric Fearman - guitar
  • Pierre DeMudd - background vocals, trumpet
  • Michael Wiley - bass
  • Isaac Wiley Jr. - drums, guitar
  • Kenny Pettus - drums, percussion
  • Skip Martin III - trumpet
  • Kevin Frederick - keyboards (for Steve Cox)
  • Marlon McClain - guitar (1985 for Fearman)
  • Keith Harrison - keyboards (1985 for Frederick)

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1978 Kinsman Dazz - R&B52 (6 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1978
as Kinsman Dazz
Producers: Philip Bailey , Ralph Johnson, Tommy Vicari
1979 Dazz - R&B62 (6 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1979
as Kinsman Dazz
Producers: Pat Glasser, Tommy Vicari
1981 Let the music play US154 (11 weeks)
US
R&B36 (20 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1981
Producers: Dazz Band, Reggie Andrews
1982 Keep It Live US14th
gold
gold

(34 weeks)US
R&B1 (37 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1982
Producer: Reggie Andrews
1983 On the one US59 (16 weeks)
US
R&B12 (24 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1982
Producers: Reggie Andrews, Bobby Harris
joystick US73 (33 weeks)
US
R&B12 (36 weeks)
R&B
First published: 1983
Producers: Reggie Andrews, Bobby Harris
1984 Jukebox US83 (29 weeks)
US
R&B18 (30 weeks)
R&B
First published: December 1984
Producers: Reggie Andrews, Bobby Harris
1985 Hot spot US98 (12 weeks)
US
R&B24 (12 weeks)
R&B
First published: August 1985
Producers: Bobby Harris, Lew Hahn
1986 Wild and Free US100 (11 weeks)
US
R&B37 (12 weeks)
R&B
First published: August 1986
Producers: Bobby Harris, Keith Harrison, Marlon McClain
1988 Rock the room - R&B91 (3 weeks)
R&B
First published: October 1988
Producers: Eumir Deodato , Ish Ledesma,
Bobby Harris, Blossette Kitson
1996 Under the streetlights - R&B42 (15 weeks)
R&B
First published: December 5, 1995
Producers: Wendell Wellman, Troy Mason, Marlon McClain,
Michael Norfleet, Nate Phillips, Terry Stanton
1998 Here We Go Again - R&B99 (1 week)
R&B
First published: June 23, 1998
Producers: Bobby Harris, Nathaniel Phillip, Marlon McClain

More albums

  • 1980: Invitation to Love
  • 1997: Double Exposure
  • 2001: Time Traveler

Compilations

  • 1983: Kinsman Dazz (as Kinsman Dazz)
  • 1986: Greatest Hits
  • 1994: Motown Legends: Dazz Band - Let It Whip - Joystick
  • 1994: Funkology: The Definitive Dazz Band
  • 2000: Winning Combinations (with The Brothers Johnson )
  • 2001: The Best of Dazz Band: 20th Century Masters
  • 2006: Live & Funky
  • 2007: Live
  • 2009: Best of Funk
  • 2011: Joystick / Jukebox
  • 2012: Kinsman Dazz / Dazz (as Kinsman Dazz)

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US R&B R&B Dance Dance
1978 I Might as Well Forget About Loving You
Kinsman Dazz
- - - R&B46 (12 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: November 1978
as Kinsman Dazz
Authors: Michael Bacon, Thomas Cain
1979 Catchin 'Up On Love
Dazz
- - - R&B35 (14 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: December 1979
as Kinsman Dazz.
Author: Bobby Harris
1980 Shake It Up
Invitation to Love
- - - R&B65 (12 weeks)
R&B
Dance75 (6 weeks)
Dance
First published: November 1980
Authors: Michael Calhoun, Bobby Harris
1981 Invitation to Love
Invitation to Love
- - - R&B51 (9 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: March 1981
Authors: Michael Calhoun, Pierre DeMudd
Knock! Knock!
Let the music play
- - - R&B44 (12 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: July 1981
Authors: Eric Fearman, Bobby Harris
1982 Let It Whip
Keep It Live
- - US5 (23 weeks)
US
R&B1 (26 weeks)
R&B
Dance2 (20 weeks)
Dance
First published: March 1982
Grammy R&B Vocal Group
Authors: Leon Ndugu Chancler , Reggie Andrews
Keep It Live (On the KIL)
Keep It Live
- - - R&B20 (12 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: July 1982
Authors: Kenny Pettus, Michael Wiley,
Reggie Andrews, Bobby Harris
1983 On the One for Fun
On the One
- - - R&B9 (15 weeks)
R&B
Dance52 (7 weeks)
Dance
First published: January 1983
Authors: Leon Ndugu Chancler, Reggie Andrews
Cheek to Cheek
On the One
- - - R&B76 (4 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: April 1983
Authors: Eric Fearman, Keith Harrison, Kenny Pettus,
Kwame Heshimu, Bobby Harris, Sennie Martin, Steve Cox
Party Right Here
On the One
- - - R&B63 (7 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: June 1983
Authors: Eric Fearman, Kwame Heshimu, Bobby Harris
Joystick
joystick
- - US61 (11 weeks)
US
R&B9 (22 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: November 1983
Authors: Eric Fearman, Bobby Harris
1984 Swoop (I'm Yours)
joystick
- - - R&B12 (14 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: April 1984
Authors: Leon Ndugu Chancler, Reggie Andrews
Let It All Blow
Jukebox
DE37 (10 weeks)
DE
UK12 (12 weeks)
UK
US84 (7 weeks)
US
R&B9 (18 weeks)
R&B
Dance3 (14 weeks)
Dance
First published: October 1984
Authors: Keith Harrison, Bobby Harris
1985 Heartbeat
jukebox
- UK79 (3 weeks)
UK
- R&B12 (16 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: January 1985
Authors: Reggie Andrews, Bobby Harris
Hot spot
hot spot
- - - R&B21 (12 weeks)
R&B
Dance33 (4 weeks)
Dance
First published: July 1985
Authors: Keith Harrison, Marlon McClain, Bobby Harris
1986 Love MIA
Wild and Free
- - - R&B48 (10 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: June 1986
Authors: Keith Harrison, Bobby Harris
Wild and Free
Wild and Free
- - - R&B44 (8 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: September 1986
Authors: Jeff Lorber , Marlon McClain, Bobby Harris
1988 Anticipation
rock the room
- - - R&B38 (11 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: March 1988
Author: Dan Hartman
Original: Jenny Burton, 1986
Single girls
rock the room
- - - R&B19 (13 weeks)
R&B
Dance38 (5 weeks)
Dance
First published: July 1988
Authors: Ish Ledesma, Bobby Harris
Open Sesame
Rock the Room
- - - R&B83 (8 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: November 1988
Authors: Keith Harrison, Kenny Nolan, Bobby Harris
1997 Ain't Nuthin 'but a Jam Y'all
Time Traveler
- - - R&B58 (18 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: September 1997
George Clinton with The Dazz Band
Authors: George Clinton, Marlon McClain,
Bobby Harris, Skip Martin
1998 Girl Got Body
Time Traveler
- - - R&B81 (6 weeks)
R&B
-
First published: August 1998
Author: Marlon McClain

More singles

  • 1978: Get Down with the Feelin ' (as Kinsman Dazz)
  • 1979: Keep On Rockin ' (as Kinsman Dazz)
  • 1979: Dancin 'Free (as Kinsman Dazz)
  • 1979: I Searched Around (as Kinsman Dazz)
  • 1980: Sooner or Later
  • 1981: Let the Music Play
  • 1995: Dazz
  • 2000: UR My Starship
  • 2001: I Searched Around

Awards

Grammy Awards

  • 1982 : for Let It Whip as "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal"

swell

  1. a b Chart sources: Singles UK US1 US2
  2. ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7
  3. a b gold / platinum database US
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0898201864 .
  6. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .

Web links