Jeffrey Daniel

Last updated

Jeffrey Daniel
Birth nameJeffrey Glen Daniel
Born (1955-08-24) August 24, 1955 (age 69) [1] [2]
Los Angeles, California
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • dancer
  • choreographer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1974–present
Labels SOLAR
Website jeffreydaniel.com

Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955) [1] [2] is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer, most notable for being a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a judge on the first three seasons of Nigerian Idol . [3]

Contents

Career

Daniel was born in Los Angeles. During his career he has taught, worked and ranked alongside musicians and dancers such as Shabba Doo, Popin' Pete and The Electric Boogaloos.[ citation needed ]

Daniel first performed "the backslide", a physically complicated dance technique (originally performed by the dance group "The Lockers"), now known as the "moonwalk", on British television during a performance of Shalamar's "A Night to Remember" on Top of the Pops . [4] The song was a hit in 1982, almost a year before Michael Jackson moonwalked on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television broadcast; he was a fan of Soul Train [5] – on which Jeffrey Daniel had been a back-up dancer. According to Jackson's sister La Toya, Jackson was a fan of Daniel's dancing and sought him out. He soon met, hired and learned from Daniel. [6]

Daniel gives credit to a man that inspired him, the original dance 'Locker' Don Campbell, one of the earliest Soul Train dancers. He also gives praise to Cleveland Moses Jr. his partner on Soul Train and to Tyrone Proctor who was the premier 'Waack' dancer who taught Daniel the style of dance known as 'Waacking'. It was on Soul Train [7] whilst doing a routine dressed in black that Daniel and Geron 'Caszper' Candidate and Derek 'Cooley' Jackson/Jaxson [8] first performed the moonwalk on U.S. television.

Shalamar

Daniel and his Soul Train dance partner Jody Watley, along with Howard Hewett, became the soul funk group Shalamar who had hit songs such as "A Night to Remember", "The Second Time Around", "I Can Make You Feel Good", "Friends", "Make that Move", "Take That to the Bank", "There It Is" and "I Owe You One". [9] During the 1980s, Daniel was often seen on the London club scene with the likes of Bananarama, Wham! and Culture Club. [10]

In 1984, after seven years as a group, Shalamar performed at London's Wembley Arena and went their separate ways. Soon after, Daniel took on the role of 'Electra' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new West End musical Starlight Express which involved wild costumes with complex choreography on roller skates. Also in 1984 Daniel appeared in the Paul McCartney movie Give My Regards to Broad Street displaying his signature robotic or marionette-like dancing style (with McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney and members of the band Toto made up as marionettes) to the Wings hit, "Silly Love Songs".

First broadcast on the UK's Channel 4 on April 12, 1985, Daniel hosted 620 Soul Train , a British version of Soul Train which he produced with Don Cornelius. The groundbreaking show (for the UK) ran for 10 episodes and featured invited studio dancers with live studio guest artists, along with clips from the U.S version and the occasional music video and guest DJs such as Pete Tong and Tony Blackburn. It was highly regarded as essential viewing for soul & dance music fans because otherwise there was very little outlet for the music on the other pop/rock orientated UK TV stations at the time. The show was also one of the first TV research jobs for UK media broadcaster and interviewer Jonathan Ross before his own show started on Channel 4 in 1987. [11]

Work with Michael Jackson

By 1987, Daniel was working with Michael Jackson who had always been a fan of Daniel's dance style since watching him on Soul Train in the 1970s. [5] [6] Daniel was hired as co-choreographer on the "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" videos with primary choreographer Vincent Paterson in which he also starred.[ citation needed ] Daniel was later employed as a creative and choreography consultant on his world tours and the video Ghosts .[ citation needed ] Daniel subsequently became a consultant at the MJJ Productions record label to whom Brownstone, 3T and Men of Vizion were signed.[ citation needed ]

Recent years

Today, Daniel works and lives in Lagos, Abuja, London and Osaka, Japan. He is a fluent speaker and writer of the Japanese language with a fair grasp of Cantonese. He continues to perform, choreograph, produce and compose with various artists. He has worked with Babyface, LL Cool J, Paul McCartney, Sheena Easton, The Go-Go's and Vanessa Williams. [12] He joined Nigerian Idol as a judge in 2010 for three seasons and has been performing live shows with a reformed Shalamar since 2002. The Shalamar lineup is Daniel, Howard Hewett and Carolyn Griffey. They continue performing as a group and were touring in 2017 across the UK. [9]

Personal life

Former Shalamar band-mate and dance partner Jody Watley stated in 2010 that she and Daniel had a tumultuous relationship that included emotional and physical abuse. [13]

On June 13, 1980, Daniel married American R&B singer Stephanie Mills, but they divorced later in 1983. [14] Seven days after his 65th birthday on August 24, 2020, Jeffrey Daniel has welcomed a new child from his Nigerian wife. The delivery was announced by the chairman of Silverbird Group, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce on Twitter.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Albums
Singles

Related Research Articles

<i>Soul Train</i> American music television show

Soul Train is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first and longest-serving host and executive producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shalamar</span> American vocal group

Shalamar is an American R&B and soul music vocal group created by Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius in 1977 and active throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic lineup on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel. It was originally a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and show creator and producer Don Cornelius. They went on to be an influential dance trio, masterminded by Cornelius. As noted in the British Hit Singles & Albums, they were regarded as fashion icons and trendsetters, and helped to introduce "body-popping" to the United Kingdom. Their name was created by Griffey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jody Watley</span> American singer

Jody Vanessa Watley is an American singer, songwriter and producer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was a member of the R&B/funk band Shalamar, who scored many hits, notably in the UK. In 1988, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and has been nominated for three Grammy awards.

<i>Jody Watley</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Jody Watley

Jody Watley is the debut studio album by American singer Jody Watley, released on February 23, 1987, by MCA Records. Although Watley had already found success as a part of the trio Shalamar, the impact of this album made her a cultural style icon in contemporary R&B, pop and dance music. Its success culminated in Watley winning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988 against fellow artists Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D'Arby and Swing Out Sister. The album also produced three top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "Looking for a New Love" (#2), "Don't You Want Me" (#6) and "Some Kind of Lover" (#10). The album has sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonwalk (dance)</span> Dance figure popularised by Michael Jackson

The moonwalk, or backslide, is a popping dance move in which the performer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion. It became popular around the world when Michael Jackson performed the move during the performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, which was broadcast in 1983. He included the moonwalk in tours and live performances. Jackson has been credited as renaming the "backslide" to the moonwalk and it became his signature move.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jermaine Stewart</span> American R&B singer (1957–1997)

William Jermaine Stewart was an American R&B singer, best known for his 1986 hit single "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. His 1987 song "Say It Again", reached number seven in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SOLAR Records</span> American record label

SOLAR was an American record label founded in 1978 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only three years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.

Howard Hewett Jr. is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with Elektra Records. In 1986, he released his Platinum debut solo album I Commit to Love. Hewett and his group Shalamar contributed material to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Night to Remember (Shalamar song)</span> 1982 single by Shalamar

"A Night to Remember" is a song by American R&B group Shalamar. It was released in 1982 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Friends. The song was written by Nidra Beard of Dynasty, Dana Meyers and Charmaine Sylvers of the Sylvers.

The 1988 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 30, 1988, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live in select cities and aired later in other areas. Dionne Warwick hosted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Love (Jody Watley song)</span> 1989 single by Jody Watley

"Real Love" is a song by American singer Jody Watley from her second studio album, Larger Than Life (1989). The single reached the number-one spot on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles and Dance Club Play charts. On the US Billboard Hot 100, "Real Love" peaked at number two for two weeks in May 1989. The song was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Female Single.

Carrie Lucas is an American R&B singer, born in Carmel, California. In 1976, she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas released six studio albums over seven years, with Soul Train and Solar Records.

<i>Thriller – Live</i> Musical by Various Artists

Thriller Live is a two-and-a-half-hour concert revue celebrating the music of The Jackson 5 and the solo work and life of Michael Jackson. It had already been performed in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia before opening at the Lyric Theatre, London, on 21 January 2009. The show was conceived by Jackson family friend and author Adrian Grant.

<i>Friends</i> (Shalamar album) 1982 studio album by Shalamar

Friends is the sixth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1982 on the SOLAR label. The album, which features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up, topped the R&B chart and peaked at #35 on the Billboard chart. It has been certified Gold in the United States for sales over 500,000. It would eventually go Platinum. In the United Kingdom Friends gained impetus from a now-legendary demonstration of body-popping by Daniel during a performance of "A Night to Remember" on the BBC programme Top of the Pops. It reached #6 on the UK Albums Chart and produced four top 20 singles.

<i>The Look</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Shalamar

The Look is the seventh album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1983 on the SOLAR label. It is the last Shalamar album to feature the classic line-up of Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley, as both Daniel and Watley would leave the group shortly before its release. The album features the Grammy nominated hit single "Dead Giveaway".

<i>Disco Gardens</i> 1978 studio album by Shalamar

Disco Gardens is the second album by the American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1978 on SOLAR Records. The group included Gerald Brown, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley; it was the only Shalamar album on which Brown appeared.

<i>Heartbreak</i> (Shalamar album) 1984 studio album by Shalamar

Heartbreak is the eighth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1984 on the SOLAR label. It features a new line-up of Delisa Davis, Micki Free and Howard Hewett. The album features Grammy nominated songs included on the Footloose and Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks. This would be Hewett's last album with the group before embarking on a solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Is for the Lover in You</span> 1981 single by Shalamar

"This Is for the Lover in You" is a song written by Howard Hewett, member of the trio Shalamar, and songwriter Dana Meyers. The track was originally recorded by Shalamar and appeared on their 1980 Platinum album, Three for Love.

Carolyn Griffey is an American soul vocalist, and member of the soul funk group Shalamar. She is the daughter of Carrie Lucas and SOLAR Records boss Dick Griffey, who worked with Don Cornelius in the television program, Soul Train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptown Festival (song)</span> 1977 single by Shalamar

"Uptown Festival" is the debut single by the band Shalamar, released on Soul Train Records in 1977. The song is a medley of ten Motown classics sung over a 1970s disco beat. The radio edit, "Uptown Festival ", became a hit peaking at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 10 on the R&B chart and No. 2 on the Dance chart. It also charted internationally. After the success of the single, Dick Griffey, the booking agent for Soul Train, formed a vocal group, resulting in the first incarnation of Shalamar with Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniels and Gary Mumford.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jeffrey Jay Daniel – Huntington Beach, California". www.familytreenow.com.
  2. 1 2 Harris, Craig. "Jeffrey Daniel Biography". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ "Nigerian Idol". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Mixmag is 40: An interview with our first ever cover star, Shalamar".
  5. 1 2 Kot, Greg; Metz, Nina (2012). "Arts & Entertainment – Music". 'Soul Train' creator Don Cornelius found dead . Retrieved February 17, 2014. One of the show's most avid viewers, the young Michael Jackson, was clearly paying attention when one of the show's dancers debuted the "moonwalk" in the '70s.{{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  6. 1 2 "Remembering Michael, Jeffrey Daniel". Time Specials. Time. p. 13. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2014. We first worked with him in 1980, but he did not do the moonwalk publicly until 1983 [on Motown's 25th-anniversary TV special].{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ "FindArticles.com – CBSi". Archived from the original on August 9, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Virtually Soopa – Custom Powerboat Excursions – Cayman Islands". Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Shalamar". shalamar.info.
  10. ↑ "Jeffrey Daniel Online". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  11. ↑ Lehman, Christopher P. (2008). A Critical History of Soul Train on Television (illustrated ed.). McFarland. p. 135. ISBN   9780786436699.
  12. ↑ "Happy Birthday Jeffrey Daniel Of Shalamar! 54 Today!". WPPZ-FM. August 24, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Behind The Dance: Jody and Jeffrey". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Mills and Daniel". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
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