TOP SONGS

“Always & Forever”

“Boogie Nights”

“The Groove Line”

Biography:

Heatwave is an international funk/disco band formed in 1975. Its most popular lineup featured Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder (vocals) of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton (keyboards), Swiss Mario Mantese (bass), Czechoslovak Ernest “Bilbo” Berger (drums), Jamaican Eric Johns (guitar) and Briton Roy Carter (guitar).[1]

They were known for their singles “Boogie Nights”, “Always and Forever”, and “The Groove Line”.

TOP SONGS

“Fantastic Voyage”

“It’s All The Way Live”

“I Want To Hold Your Hand”

Biography:

In 1969, Dayton, Ohio native Stephen Shockley formed the Young Underground after exiting the Monterreys. Vocalist Mark Woods, who was a member of the local band the Nomads, joined up with Shockley to form a more mature-sounding Young Underground. The group initially had a record deal with Curtom Records as a result of winning a talent contest in Chicago. However, Curtom folded shortly thereafter. While in Chicago the group renamed itself Lakeside Express, after the Lakeside Express Newspaper in Chicago.

In 1974 the emerging Lakeside Express and another group by the name of Liquid Funk, which featured Dallas native Fred Alexander, Jr. on drums, arrived in Los Angeles around the same time. For the next couple of years the bands performed at events around the greater L.A. area, occasionally crossing paths. The members of Liquid Funk returned to Dallas, but Alexander remained in L.A. Lakeside, who by now had dropped the Express from their name, was seeking additional personnel to solidify their band. After two auditions, Alexander was welcomed into the group.

Lakeside inked a deal with Motown, but found no success. Consequently, they released a ballad on ABC Records, but that label went under. The good fortune they were seeking turned out to be at Dick Griffey‘s Solar Records. The group signed a deal with Griffey, and released their first Top Ten hit on Solar Records, “It’s All the Way Live,” which peaked at number four on the Billboard R&B charts.

Lakeside released a host of songs that scaled the R&B charts, but didn’t threaten the position of any other artists. However, in 1980 they went storming up the charts again with their smash number one single, “Fantastic Voyage,” which was produced by the self-contained band. They followed the success of “Fantastic Voyage” with another Top Ten R&B single, a remake of the Paul McCartney and John Lennon classic “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The group continued their success with the Billboard Top Ten singles “Raid,” “Outrageous,” and a string of R&B party songs and ballads.

TOP SONGS

“Let It Whip”

“Dazz Dazz”

“Heartbeat”

Biography

The Dazz Band are known most for the 1982 funk marvel “Let It Whip.” In terms of crossover funk hits, the song is up there with “Fire” and “Fight the Power,” other Top Ten pop singles minted respectively by fellow Buckeye State natives the Ohio Players and the Isley Brothers. Instantly an inspiration for multiple rap versions, “Let It Whip” earned the Clevelanders a Grammy and can lay rare claim to having been adapted for marching bands and a cappella groups alike while being sampled and covered through each subsequent decade. Without “Let It Whip,” the Dazz Band’s important role in the evolution of funk would still be incontestable. Uncommonly versatile, they have spotlighted with equal brightness their vocal, horn, and rhythm sections since their late-’70s start (when they were known as Kinsman Dazz). From 1980 through 1998, the group placed 19 additional singles on Billboard’s R&B chart — such as “On the One for Fun,” “Joystick,” and the Top 20 U.K. pop hit “Let It All Blow” — during which they also put together four straight Top 20 R&B albums, most notably the gold-certified Keep It Live, the LP that spawned “Let It Whip.” The group has continued to perform well into the 2020s with a lineup featuring several original and early members.

TOP SONGS

“Rappers Delight”

“8th Wonder”

“Apache”

Biography:

Though the Sugarhill Gang inaugurated the history of recorded hip-hop with their single “Rapper’s Delight,” a multi-platinum-seller and radio hit in 1979, the group was cooked up to cash in on a supposed novelty item. Music industry producer and label owner Sylvia Robinson had become aware of the massive hip-hop block parties occurring around the New York area during the late ’70s, so she gathered three local rappers (Master Gee, Wonder Mike, and Big Bank Hank) to record a single. Infectious and catchy, “Rapper’s Delight” borrowed the break from Chic’s “Good Times” and became a worldwide hit, eventually selling more than eight million copies. Most industry people figured rap for a short-lived trend, and though they were dead wrong, the Sugarhill Gang certainly didn’t carry the torch; despite several modest hits (“8th Wonder,” “Apache”), the trio faded quickly and was gone by the mid-’80s, only returning in 1999 with Jump on It, a rap album for children.