Odyssey (band)
Odyssey is an American Soul - and disco - band , which had its greatest success in the 1970s and 1980s and to this day above all by their's 1981 hit Going Back to My Roots is known.
Band history
Born in the Virgin Islands and living in New York , sisters Carmen, Lillian and Louise Lopez founded the vocal trio The Lopez Sisters in 1968. After Carmen got married and decided to live as a housewife, she left the group. The remaining sisters formed a new band with the Manila- born musician Tony Reynolds, which was named Odyssey.
After various appearances in New York clubs as well as at weddings and other parties, the group had their first chart success in 1977 with the song Native New Yorker and the debut album named after the band , which became the most successful recordings in the band's history in the United States. Odyssey had most hits between 1980 and 1987 in Great Britain, where a total of nine singles made it into the charts , five of which were in the top 10. Use It Up and Wear It Out was even a number one hit in 1980 . The 1981 single Going Back to My Roots also made it into the charts around the world and was later frequently covered and sampled .
Odyssey is still active today and is continued by Steven Collazo, the son of Lillian Lopez, with changing line-ups.
Members
Founding members
- Louise Lopez (born February 22, 1933, † January 28, 2015) - vocals
- Lillian Lopez (actually Lillian A. Lopez-Collazo-Jackson ; born November 16, 1935, † September 4, 2012) - vocals
- Tony Reynolds (* Manila) - vocals
Current occupation
- Steven Collazo (New York) - vocals, keyboard
- Romina Johnson
- Jerdene Wilson
former members
- Bill McEachern - vocals
- Al Jackson (actually Albert B Jackson ; born October 27, 1939) - vocals
- Anne Peters - vocals
- Annis Peters - vocals
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1977 | Odyssey RCA Victor 2204 |
- | - | - | - |
US36 (38 weeks) US |
R&B16 (25 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 1977
Producers: Charlie Calello, Sandy Linzer |
| 1978 | Hollywood Party Tonight RCA Victor 3031 |
- | - | - | - |
US123 (5 weeks) US |
R&B72 (2 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1978
Producers: Charlie Calello, Sandy Linzer |
| 1980 | Hang Together RCA Victor 3526 |
- | - | - |
UK38 (3 weeks) UK |
US181 (4 weeks) US |
R&B66 (5 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1980
Producer: Sandy Linzer |
| 1981 | I Got the Melody RCA Victor 3910 |
- | - | - |
UK29 (7 weeks) UK |
US175 (5 weeks) US |
R&B62 (7 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1981
Producer: Steve Tyrell |
| 1982 | Happy Together RCA Victor 4240 |
- | - | - |
UK21 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B23 (18 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1982
Producer: Jimmy Douglass |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More studio albums
- 2011: Legacy (ISM Records 004; release: June 27th)
Compilations
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1982 | The Magic Touch of Odyssey Telstar 2223 |
- | - | - |
UK69 (5 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: November 1982
Producer: Neil Palmer |
| 1987 | The Greatest Hits Stylus Music 735 |
- | - | - |
UK26th  (8 weeks)UK |
- | - |
First release: September 1987
also as a double LP with “Exclusive Free Remix Album” Remixes: John Morales, Sergio Munzibai |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More compilations
- 1981: The Best of Odyssey (UK:silver)
- 1984: Magic Moments with Odyssey
- 1989: Greatest Hits
- 1989: Use It Up and Wear It Out / Going Back to My Roots (mini album)
- 1990: Native New Yorker - Golden Classics
- 1992: Roots: The Best of Odyssey
- 1997: Roots
- 1997: The Very Best of ... Odyssey
- 1998: The Very Best of Odyssey
- 2000: Native New Yorkers
- 2002: Inside Out
- 2003: The Greatest Hits
- 2005: Legends (3 CDs)
- 2007: Best of Odyssey (2 CDs)
- 2009: Greatest Hits
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
Dance
|
||||
| 1977 | Native New York Odyssey |
- | - | - |
UK5 (11 weeks)UK |
US21 (19 weeks) US |
R&B6 (20 weeks) R&B |
Dance3 (24 weeks) Dance |
||
| 1978 | Weekend Lover Odyssey |
- | - | - | - |
US57 (7 weeks) US |
R&B37 (12 weeks) R&B |
- |
First publication: April 1978
Authors: Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell |
|
| 1980 | Hang Together Hang Together |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance6 (26 weeks) Dance |
First published: March 1980
Authors: L. Russell Brown, Sandy Linzer |
|
| Don't Tell Me, Tell Her Hang Together |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B44 (10 weeks) R&B[Dance: ↑] |
First published: May 1980
Authors: Doug James, Sandy Linzer |
|||
| Use It Up and Wear It Out Hang Together |
DE20 (15 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK1 (12 weeks)UK |
-[R&B: ↑] | - |
First published: June 1980
Authors: Lawrence Russell Brown, Sandy Linzer |
|||
| If you're looking for a way out hang together |
- | - | - |
UK6th (15 weeks)UK |
- | - | - |
First publication: September 1980
Authors: Ralph Kotkov, Sandy Linzer |
||
| 1981 | Hang Together Hang Together |
- | - | - |
UK36 (7 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: July 1980
Authors: Lawrence Russell Brown, Sandy Linzer |
|
| Going Back to My Roots I Got the Melody |
DE13 (26 weeks) DE |
AT14 (4 weeks) AT |
CH2 (9 weeks) CH |
UK4th (12 weeks)UK |
- |
R&B68 (8 weeks) R&B |
Dance55 (9 weeks) Dance |
First published: May 1981
Author and original: Lamont Dozier , 1977 |
||
| It Will Be Alright I Got the Melody |
- | - | - |
UK43 (5 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: September 1981
Authors: Allee Willis, David Foster , Jay Graydon |
||
| 1982 | Inside Out Happy Together |
- | - | - |
UK3 (11 weeks)UK |
- |
R&B12 (18 weeks) R&B |
Dance25 (14 weeks) Dance |
First published: May 1982
Author: Jesse Rae |
|
| Magic Touch Happy Together |
- | - | - |
UK41 (12 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: August 1982
Author: David Courtney |
||
| 1985 | (Joy) I Know It |
- | - | - |
UK51 (5 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: August 1985
Author: Louise Lopez |
|
| 1987 | Inside Out (87 Remix) The Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK86 (1 week) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: September 1987
Remixes: John Morales, Sergio Munzibai |
|
More singles
- 1978: Easy Come, Easy Go (release: May)
- 1978: Single Again / What Time Does the Balloon Go Up (Medley) (Release: October)
- 1979: Lucky Star (release: February)
- 1982: Easy Come, Easy Go / Hold de Mota Down (Medley) (Release: October)
- 1982: Together
- 1989: Going Back to My Roots (Flim Flam Remix) (Remix: Tolga Balkan )
- 1990: Going Back to My Roots (The Rich in Paradise Mix) (Remix: Oliver Momm )
- 2011: Legacy Remixes Edition 1 (release: September 26th)
- 2011: Legacy Remixes Edition 2 (release: December 12th)
- 2012: Weekend (Remixes) (Release: September)
swell
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: DE AT CH UK Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ a b c UK gold / platinum database
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .
Web links
- Official website
- Odyssey at Allmusic (English)
- Odyssey at Discogs (English)
- Discography at 45cat.com