 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2010) |
B.T. Express | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | Funk, disco, soul |
| Years active | 1974–1987 |
| Labels | Scepter Records, Roadshow Records, Columbia Records, Coast To Coast Records (division of CBS/Columbia Records), Earthtone Recording Company, King Davis Records |
B.T. Express (originally named Brooklyn Transit Express) was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s. [1]
According to a Record World article in March, 1975, the King Davis House Rockers begat the Madison Street Express which begat Brothers Trucking which begat B.T. Express. At the time, the group consisted of Rich Thompson on lead guitar and Bill Risbrook on tenor saxophone who were the nucleus of King House Rockers. Also in the group were Louis Risbrook on bass who was the brother of Bill on solo flute, alto sax, piccolo and clarinet. There was also Olando T. Woods on drums and singer Barbara Joyce Lomas. The latest member was Dennis Rowe on congas. Carlos Wards who was born in Panama had played with the John Coltrane Octet, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, and McCoy Tyner. [2] Barbara Joyce Lomas who came from Alabama had been with the Uptights and sang on their single, "Free at Last" b/w "You Git’s None of This", released on Skye Records SKYE 4525. [3] [4]
The group was part of the "Brooklyn sound" of the early 1970s, formed from three players of the group King Davis House Rockers. [5] The House Rockers were a local dance band who had released a couple of obscure singles (1967's "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" on Verve Records, 1972's "Rum Punch") [5] [ citation needed ]
The single, "Baby You Satisfy Me" b/w "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" was credited to King Davis House Rockers featuring Richard Thomas, and was released on Verve VK 10492 in February 1967. [6] [7] In 1969, the King Davis produced "What Do I Have to Do" b/w "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes", credited to Rick Thompson was released on Columbia 4-44880. [8] [9] [10] There was also a single by The Visitors, "Holiday in Love" b/w "Rum Punch" which was released on Airways LK-2000. It was composed by L. Risbrook, C. Ward and C. Stephenson. It was co-produced by Stephenson and King Davis. [11] It was also released on Straker's Records S-0046 with "Rum Punch" as the A side. [12]
The three players (guitarist Richard Thompson, tenor sax player Bill Risbrook, and alto sax player Carlos Ward) formed Madison Street Express along with bassist Louis Risbrook (later Muslim-monickered Jamal Rasool), percussionist Dennis Rowe, drummer Terrell Wood, and vocalist Barbara Wood. [13]
The members of Madison Street Express along with producer Jeff Lane signed with production company Roadshow Records to record writer Billy Nichols's "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)". The record was shopped around to major labels until it was accepted at Scepter Records. Scepter suggested the group change its name from Madison Street Express, hence the Brooklyn Transit Express. [13] The single was released in August 1974, and reached the top 10. Lane took the group back into the studios at that point to record a second single and pitch a full album to the label. Scepter agreed to the LP and to Roadshow Records having its own label within Scepter Records. [13]
The first two singles were hits, both number 1 R&B releases and both Top 5 pop singles in the US. [14] The album hit number 1 on the R&B album chart and number 5 on the Pop album chart of the US. [14] These recordings were also hits in the spreading disco culture, "Do It" peaking on club playlists before Billboard started a separate disco chart, but the follow-up single sat for five weeks at number 1. [14] They were certified gold releases. [15]
BT Express released an album per year through 1978. With the third album, Leslie Ming was brought in as drummer and Michael Jones was added as keyboardist. Jamal, who had converted to Islam, gave Jones the name Kashif Saleem, which he used after departing the group, in 1979, to pursue producing ("Mighty M Productions" with Morrie Brown and Paul Laurence Jones) and solo recording ventures. That year, songwriter Billy Nichols and drummer Leslie Ming also departed the group. [16] In 1976 Scepter records was experiencing business difficulties that soon ended the company, and BT Express was given a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which, though it gave them greater exposure, resulted in less attention being paid to their production, since they had so many acts to concentrate on. [13] The group did not achieve the level of radio or sales success on Columbia that they had on the more nurturing but by-then defunct Scepter. They stayed with Columbia for five years, with Lane producing through 1978, then Nichols producing their fifth album before he departed for solo work, and Morrie Brown producing the sixth LP and several follow-up tracks. The group switched labels to Coast To Coast Records for the 1982 LP, to Earthtone Records for a later 1982 single, and to manager King Davis' own label in 1985.
Michael Jones, later known as Kashif died at his home in the Playa del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles, on September 25, 2016, at age 59. [17]
| Act | Release | Catalogue | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Davis House Rockers featuring Richard Thomas | "Baby You Satisfy Me" / "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" | Verve VK 10492 | 1967 | [6] [7] |
| Rick Thompson | "What Do I Have to Do" / "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" | Columbia 4-44880 | 1969 | [8] [9] [10] |
| The Visitors | "Holiday in Love" / "Rum Punch" | Airways LK-2000 | [11] | |
| The Visitors | "Rum Punch" / "Holiday in Love" | Straker's Records S-0046 | [12] | |
| Release | Catalogue | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" / "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) Part II" | Scepter SCE 12395 | 1974 | |
| "Express" / "Express (Disco Mix)" | Roadshow RD 7001 | 1975 | |
| "Give It What You Got" / "Peace Pipe" | Roadshow RD 7003 | 1975 | |
| "Close to You" / "Whatcha Think About That?" | Roadshow RD 7005 | 1975 | |
| "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More" / "Herbs" | Columbia 3-10346 | 1976 | |
| "Energy to Burn" / "Make Your Body Move" | Columbia 3-10399 | 1976 | |
| "Funky Music (Don't Laugh at My Funk)" / We Got It Together" | Columbia 3-10582 | 1977 | |
| "Shout It Out" / "Ride on B.T." | Columbia 3-10649 | 1977 | |
| "What Do You Do in the Dark" / "You Got Something" | Columbia 3-10752 | 1978 | |
| "Give Up the Funk (Let's Dance)" / "Better Late than Never" | Columbia 1-11249 | 1980 | |
| "Does It Feel Good" / "Have Some Fun" | Columbia 1-11336 | 1980 | |
| "Let Yourself Go" / "Cowboy Dancer" | Coast to Coast ZS5 02630 | 1981 | |
| "Keep It Up" / "Dancin' Dream" | Coast to Coast ZS5 02994 | 1982 | |
| "Star Child (Spirit of the Night)" / "Just Can't Stop Dancin'" | Coast to Coast ZS4 03246 | 1982 | |
| "Hangin' Out" / "Hangin' Out (Instrumental)" | Earthtone ET-7003 | 1983 | |
| "Express" / "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" | Collectables COL. 3843 | ? | |
| Release | Catalogue | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greatest Hits | Columbia JC 36923 | 1980 | |
| Golden Classics | Collectables COL-CD-5190 | 1989 | |
| The Best of B.T. Express | Rhino R2 72735, A 28585 | 1997 | Compact disc |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [20] | US R&B [20] | AUS [21] | CAN [22] | |||||||||||
| 1974 | Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) | 5 | 1 | 43 | 22 | Roadshow/Scepter | ||||||||
| 1975 | Non-Stop | 19 | 1 | 60 | 36 | Roadshow | ||||||||
| 1976 | Energy to Burn | 43 | 11 | 90 | — | Columbia | ||||||||
| 1977 | Function at the Junction | 111 | 39 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1978 | Shout! (Shout It Out) | 67 | 16 | — | 59 | |||||||||
| 1980 | 1980 | 164 | 29 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1982 | Keep It Up | — | 49 | — | — | Coast to Coast/Roadshow | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [20] | US R&B [20] | US Dan [20] | BEL [24] | CAN [22] | GER [25] | NL [26] | UK [27] | |||||||
| 1974 | "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" | 2 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 7 | 33 | 18 | 51 [upper-alpha 1] |
| Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) | |||
| "Express" | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | 34 | — | 34 | ||||||
| "That's What I Want for You Baby" | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1975 | "Give It What You Got" (A-side) | 40 | 5 | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | Non-Stop | ||||
| "Peace Pipe" (B-side) | 31 | — | 3 | — | 56 | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1976 | "Close to You" | 82 | 31 | — | — | 66 | — | — | — | |||||
| "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More" | 52 | 6 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | Energy to Burn | |||||
| "Energy to Burn" | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1977 | "Funky Music (Don't Laugh at My Funk)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Function at the Junction | ||||
| "Shout It Out" | — | 12 | — | — | 90 | — | — | — | Shout! (Shout It Out) | |||||
| 1978 | "What You Do in the Dark" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1980 | "Give Up the Funk (Let's Dance)" | — | 24 | 22 | — | — | — | — | 52 | 1980 | ||||
| "Does It Feel Good" | — | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Stretch" | — | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Greatest Hits | |||||
| 1981 | "Let Yourself Go" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Keep It Up | ||||
| 1982 | "Keep It Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Star Child (Spirit of the Night)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1983 | "Hangin' Out" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "This Must Be the Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1994 | "Express '94" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 67 | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".
Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here".
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg.
Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, "I Got My Mind Made Up ".
Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in 1970 that was best known for its song "Play That Funky Music".
The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" in 1967, "Son of Shaft" in 1972, and "Boogie Body Land" in 1980.
Enchantment is a soul/R&B band formed in Detroit, Michigan by Emanuel "EJ" Johnson, Joe "Jobie" Thomas, Bobby Green, Edgar "Mickey" Clanton, and David Banks. They are best known for their mid-1970s hits "Gloria", "Sunshine" and "It's You That I Need".
"Love Come Down" is a song written by American musician Kashif. It was recorded by American singer Evelyn King for her fifth album Get Loose (1982). "Love Come Down" was released in July 1982 by RCA Records as the lead single from Get Loose. In the United States, it reached number one on the Billboard Black Singles and Hot Dance/Disco charts and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also cracked the top 20 on the charts in several other countries as well.
"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels.
Gonzalez were a British R&B and funk band. They became well known as a backing band for touring R&B, funk, and soul stars. Their eponymous album was released in 1974 and they recorded a total of six albums before disbanding in 1986. They are best known for their 1979 single success with their worldwide disco hit "Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet."
Post-disco is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and indistinctly ending with the mainstream appearance of new wave in 1980. During its dying stage, disco displayed an increasingly electronic character that soon served as a stepping stone to new wave, old-school hip hop, Euro disco, and was succeeded by an underground club music called hi-NRG, which was its direct continuation.
"Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" is a popular song by funk group B. T. Express, written by songwriter Billy Nichols.
Kashif Saleem was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from New York City. As a teenager, Kashif joined the funk group B. T. Express. He studied Islam and changed his name from Michael Jones to Kashif. He later signed with Arista Records enjoying success as a solo artist.
Boogie is a rhythm and blues genre of electronic dance music with close ties to the post-disco style, that first emerged in the United States during the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The sound of boogie is defined by bridging acoustic and electronic musical instruments with emphasis on vocals and miscellaneous effects. It later evolved into electro and house music.
Brass Construction is the self-titled debut album by the American funk band Brass Construction, released in autumn 1975 by United Artists Records. Recorded with producer Jeff Lane, the album weaves different influences, including Latin music and jazz, into the band's rhythmic funk style, and emphasises the group's brass section. The album's songs, all of which are named using a single verb, feature simplistic, repetitive lyrics, reflecting the group's desire for audiences to interpret the songs as they wish. Critics noted themes of social awareness in the lyrics.
Rhyze was an American R&B and funk band. They are probably best known for their song "Just How Sweet Is Your Love" which was an R&B and dance hit. Much of their output was material written by Paul Kyser and Leon Stuckey.
Kashif is the self-titled debut album by American singer Kashif. Produced by Kashif and Morrie Brown, it was released by Arista Records on February 22, 1983, in the United States, following his departure from the funk/disco group B. T. Express. The album reached number ten on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and spawned the top five single "I Just Gotta Have You ." Kashif also includes the singles "Stone Love", "Help Yourself to My Love" and "Say Something Love". The album was digitally remastered by Funky Town Grooves in 2012 and includes five additional tracks.
Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a session and live-performing saxophonist with the band Foreigner during the 1980s.
Andrew Alexander "Mike" Terry was an American saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, producer and musical director. His baritone sax solos feature on the breakthrough hits of Martha and the Vandellas, and The Supremes. As a member of the Funk Brothers he performed on thousands of Motown recordings from 1960 to 1967, including at least seven US #1 hits. As was Motown's policy at the time, none of the studio musicians were credited by name. Terry was the musical arranger of the 1966 hit "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols, and later became a record producer, with partners including George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, and Jack Ashford.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
