Ish Ledesma

Last updated
Ish Ledesma
Birth nameIsmael Angel Ledesma
Born (1952-10-02) October 2, 1952 (age 69) [1]
Cuba
Genres Latin funk, disco
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1970–present
Labels TK Records
Geffen/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts Foxy, Oxo, Company B, Gwen McCrae, ABBA, Gloria Estefan, Apollonia, Latimore, Fred Schneider, Tiger Moon, and Wizzzard
Website www.ishledesma.com

Ismael Angel Ledesma [2] (born October 2, 1952) [1] professionally known as Ish Ledesma is an American, Miami-based [3] singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Ledesma has fronted, written for, or produced hits for the bands Foxy, Oxo, and Company B. [4] Both Oxo and Company B were one-hit wonders in the US, with respective hits "Whirly Girl" and "Fascinated"; Foxy released several albums and singles, including the number one R&B hit "Get Off". [5]

Contents

Early years

Ish Ledesma was born in Cuba and migrated to Miami as a child. [6] He was influenced by the ubiquitous Latin sounds, popular within his community. He also enjoyed the rock and roll revolution that was playing out both nationally and internationally. In the early 1970s, Ledesma was hired by Henry Stone as a session artist. His credits include guitar on Gwen McCrae's disco hit "Rockin' Chair".

Foxy

In 1976, Ledesma convinced Stone to record a band he was forming, resulting in the band Foxy's release of their self-titled debut album. The album, produced by Ray Martínez, had two 12" singles released, "People Fall In Love While Dancing" and "Let's Love." Both songs were regional hits, but with only minor appeal nationally. However, the band's follow-up album, Get Off was a major breakthrough, featuring the title track, which went to number one on the R&B chart and also cracked the top ten on the pop chart. Although the group would score another hit the following year with the tune "Hot Number," follow-up releases were less successful. Foxy disbanded early in the 1980s, as disco began to wane. [1]

Solo career and other projects

Ish Ledesma had embarked on a solo career in 1979, releasing his own self-titled debut on TK Records. The album featured a hit with the release of the 12" single, "Don't Stop." Ledesma would release a second solo album in 1986 called On This Corner on Geffen/Warner Bros. Records, which was produced by John Robie. Ledesma spent the years between the solo releases doing studio appearances as a session artist, and expanding his endeavors into production aspects. He is credited on ABBA's Voulez Vous, Miami Sound Machine's "Bad Boy," Latimore's "Goodbye Heartaches," and Fred Schneider's "Monster". [7] He also either produced, or composed the hit songs "Something Tells Me", by Tiger Moon, "Through The Night" by Blue Moderne, and "Be Mine Tonight" by Promise Circle. In the early 1980s, Ledesma formed the band Oxo, who scored a minor hit with "Whirly Girl." Ish Ledesma is also distinguished as having written and produced two one hit wonders with the songs "Fascinated", [4] by Company B, and the aforementioned "Whirly Girl" by Oxo. [3] These accomplishments secured Ledesma's role in disco music as an important part of its history.

As of 2013, Ish Ledesma remains an active musician, currently appearing mostly within the Florida area. [1]

Related Research Articles

Blondie (band) American rock band

Blondie is an American rock band co-founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave scene of the mid-1970s in New York. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although highly successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines in 1978. Over the next five years, the band achieved several hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", "Atomic", "The Tide Is High", and “Rapture”. The band became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles, incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, and early rap music.

KC and the Sunshine Band American disco and funk band

KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band which was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way ", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Boogie Shoes", "Please Don't Go" and "Give It Up". The band took its name from lead vocalist Harry Wayne Casey's last name ('KC') and the 'Sunshine Band' from KC's home state of Florida, the Sunshine State. The group has had six top 10 singles, five number one singles and a number two single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The Weather Girls American female musical duo

The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After years of limited success singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records. The Weather Girls was launched into mainstream recognition following the release of their best-selling single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one Dance song. Despite critical and commercial success, the duo struggled to repeat the success of "It's Raining Men" and ultimately disbanded after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls in 1988.

Betty Wright American singer (1953–2020)

Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.

Paul Joseph Peterson, also known as St. Paul Peterson, is a singer and musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time.

Wild Cherry (band) American rock band

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".

Company B is an American Latin freestyle trio formed in 1986 by Cuban-American producer Ish "Angel" Ledesma, featuring members Lori L. (Ledesma), Charlotte McKinnon and Susan (Gonzalez) Johnson. Before the group's self-titled album was released, Charlotte McKinnon left and was replaced by Lezlee Livrano. After the group’s self-titled debut album, Susan Johnson left and was replaced by Sheena. For the group's second album, 1989's Gotta Dance, Sheena and Lezlee Livrano both left the group and were replaced by Donna Huntley and Julie Marie.

Jocelyn Lorette Brown, sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one Billboard Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the music industry and is well known in the world of dance music. Brown sang on 23 hit singles from the Official UK Singles Chart, 8 of which have reached the Top 20.

Foxy was a late '70s Latin dance/disco group from Hialeah, Florida.

OXO was an American dance-rock band with the palindromic name formed in 1983 by Ish 'Angel' Ledesma, the former lead singer of Foxy. He formed the band with guitarist Orlando Nuñez, bass player Frank Garcia, and drummer Freddy Alwag. They released only their self-titled debut in 1983, which scored a Top 40 hit with "Whirly Girl", a new wave style song about Ish's wife Lori. The track was originally titled "Worldly Girl", "but adding that 'd' to the mix made the chorus too chunky and difficult to sing. So they abbreviated it to 'Whirly Girl' and pop music history was made with the only song to ever use the phrase 'Whirly Girl'." OXO's success was not to last, and the band broke up a few years later. According to Ken Mansfield and Marshall Terrill, on OXO's "debut record on Geffen Records was a Top 30 hit called 'Whirly Girl' that died a painful death. The moment the record charted, the group began breaking up. Politics and power struggles erupted between management and Geffen". In 1986, after the breakup of OXO, Ledesma formed the dance-pop group Company B, which at first was a trio with his wife among the members, and had a sole Billboard Hot 100 hit penned by Ledesma.

I Want Candy 1965 single by the Strangeloves

"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat.

Device was a short-lived American pop-rock trio from the mid 1980s, formed by keyboardist, bassist and vocalist Holly Knight. It also included frontman Paul Engemann and guitarist Gene Black.

Alice Cohen American singer-songwriter

Alice Cohen also known by the stage name Alice Desoto, is a New York City-based American singer, songwriter, musician and fine artist. She has performed as the lead vocalist for two major label bands, the Vels and Die Monster Die. The Vels were the more commercially successful of the two, with their 1984 single "Look My Way" peaking at No. 72 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Cohen has also pursued a solo career and has released six studio albums since 2008.

<i>Company B</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Company B

Company B is the debut album by girl-group trio Company B. Released in 1987 on Atlantic Records, the album generated several dance club hits. Group members at the time of the recording consisted of Lori L. (Ledesma), Lezlee Livrano and Susan Johnson, and all tracks were written and produced by Miami-based musician Ish "Angel" Ledesma.

"Fascinated" is a song by the freestyle girl group Company B. It was the first single released off their 1987 self-titled debut album. It was written and produced by Ish Ledesma, mixed by Ciro llerenea and Randy Miller and released by Atlantic Records.

Gloria Estefan singles discography

The discography of singles, promo singles, remixes and Latin tracks for Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine consists of forty-nine singles (solo), eighteen promotional singles (solo) and eight other guest or special appearance singles as a solo artist. Although Miami Sound Machine was no longer featured in the credits from 1989 onwards, they remain Estefan's backing group until this day, though none of the original members remain.

Tiger Moon was a disco/freestyle Miami-based group that is known for their 1987 song Something Tells Me. The song has appeared in several Gay, Miami and freestyle compilations. The track was sampled by Prince in his song Thieves In the Temple and by other artists. Something Tells Me was used in the 1988 movie Frantic during a scene in which Harrison Ford's character, Richard Walker, enters The Blue Parrot looking for Dédé Martin.

<i>Get Off</i> (Foxy album) 1978 studio album by Foxy

Get Off is the second album by Miami, Florida, Latin dance/disco group Foxy. The album contains the hit single, "Get Off".

Whirly Girl 1983 song by American dance-rock band OXO

"Whirly Girl" is a US top 40 pop song performed by American dance-rock band OXO. The new wave style song was written and co-produced by singer/guitarist Ish "Angel" Ledesma and included on OXO's 1983 self-titled debut album. The song was about Ish's wife Lori and was originally titled "Worldly Girl", "but adding that 'd' to the mix made the chorus too chunky and difficult to sing. So they abbreviated it to 'Whirly Girl' and pop music history was made with the only song to ever use the phrase 'Whirly Girl'." It was the band's sole hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. The song has since been re-released on a number of 1980s music compilations. It also reached #24 in Canada.

Bradley Aaron Shapiro is an American musician, songwriter and record producer, whose credits have included work with Wilson Pickett, Millie Jackson, James Brown, and the J. Geils Band.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Biograbhy Foxy, Disco Museum, Retrieved February 19, 2013
  2. ↑ Ish Ledesma discography at Discogs OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. 1 2 Demalon, Tom. Oxo - Music Biography, Credits and Discography at AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Demalon, Tom. Company B - Music Biography, Credits and Discography at AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. Foxy - Music Biography, Credits and Discography at AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  6. ↑ Ish Ledesma..!, FreestyleFM.com, Retrieved February 21, 2013
  7. ↑ Ish Ladesma, Discomusic.com, Retrieved February 19, 2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.