The Floaters | |
---|---|
Origin | Detroit, Michigan |
Genres | R&B, soul |
Years active | 1976–1982 |
Labels | ABC (1976–78) MCA (1979–80) |
Past members | James Mitchell Paul Mitchell Larry Cunningham Charles Clark Ralph Mitchell |
The Floaters were an American R&B vocal group, from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in Detroit, Michigan, that formed in 1976. The group are best known for their 1977 song "Float On", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 5 on the Irish Singles Chart.
The band was formed by the former Detroit Emeralds' singer James Mitchell, with his brother Paul Mitchell, Larry Cunningham, Charles Clark, and the unrelated Ralph Mitchell. [1] [2] Most of The Floaters were from Northeast Detroit, bordering Hamtramck on Detroit's Eastside.
James Mitchell wrote the band's one major hit, "Float On", with Arnold Ingram and Marvin Willis. The lyrics spotlight each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name, astrological sign, and ideal type of romantic partner. [3] The song was produced by Woody Wilson. It became a worldwide hit in 1977 on ABC Records, reaching No. 1 on the US R&B chart, No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, [1] and No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart (for a single week in August that year). [4]
Follow-ups such as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (No. 28 Billboard R&B chart) were not as successful. [1] The group continued to record, releasing four studio albums over the next few years.
A new recording of the song "Float On" was recorded in 2001 for the album, Still Standing, by the group Full Force [3] and Cheech & Chong did a take-off of the song called "Bloat On". The rap group Stetsasonic also did a cover of the song on In Full Gear (1988). The characters from Sesame Street , David (Northern Calloway), Bob (Bob McGrath), Gordon (Roscoe Orman) and Luis (Emilio Delgado) did a style parody of the song called "Gimmie Five". British parody group The Barron Knights included a parody of "Float On" in their 1977 hit "Live in Trouble".
This song was also sampled by Canadian hip-hop recording duo Dream Warriors, in their song of the same name.
Larry Cunningham (born on June 23, 1951) died on January 10, 2019, at the age of 67. [5] [6] [7] Paul Mitchell (born on May 27, 1949) died on December 20, 2021, He was 72. [8]
Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [9] | US R&B [9] | AUS [10] | CAN [11] | NL [12] | NZ [13] | UK [14] | ||||||||
1977 | Floaters | 10 | 1 | 28 | 49 | 15 | 36 | 17 | ABC | |||||
1978 | Magic | 131 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
1979 | Float into the Future | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | MCA | |||||
1981 | Get Ready for the Floaters & Shu-Ga | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fee / WP | |||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [9] | US R&B [9] | AUS [10] | CAN [11] | IRE [16] | NLD [12] | NZ [13] | UK [14] | |||||||
1976 | "I Am So Glad I Took My Time" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Floaters | ||||
1977 | "Float On" | 2 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
1978 | "I Just Want to Be with You" | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Magic | ||||
"The Time Is Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
1979 | "Levitation" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Float into the Future | ||||
1981 | "For Your Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Get Ready for the Floaters & Shu-Ga | ||||
"Get Ready" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Freda Charcilia Payne is an American singer and actress. Payne is best known for her career in music during the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. Her most notable record is her 1970 hit single "Band of Gold". Payne was also an actress in musicals and film, as well as the host of a TV talk show. Payne is the older sister of Scherrie Payne, a former singer with the American vocal group the Supremes.
The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1967. They are best known for the hits "The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and "Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James & Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry; pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum; and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the power pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops.
"Knock Three Times" is a popular song credited simply to "Dawn". Tony Orlando was not named on the record. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. The song was released as a single, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and eventually sold six million copies. The song registered well at Adult Contemporary stations, reaching No. 2 on 'Billboard's "Easy Listening" survey. Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart.
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, United States, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023.
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley for the album Blue Hawaii (1961). It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him", which explains the first and third line ending on "in" and "sin" rather than words rhyming with "you".
The Undisputed Truth was an American Motown recording act, assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield as a means for being able to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques. Joe "Pep" Harris served as main lead singer, with Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce Evans on additional leads and background vocals.
Next is an American R&B musical trio, popular during the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are best known for their Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit single "Too Close". They are also known for "Wifey", "Butta Love" and "I Still Love You", all of which still receive frequent airplay on Urban Adult Contemporary radio stations in the U.S. and internationally.
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.
"Mambo Italiano" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill in 1954 for the American singer Rosemary Clooney. The song became a hit for Clooney, reaching the Top Ten in record charts in the US and France and No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart early in 1955. The song has shown enduring popularity, with several cover versions and appearances in numerous films.
"If" is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates in 1971. Originally popularized by his group Bread, "If" charted at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single in 1971 and No. 6 in Canada. It also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, and one week at the top of the Canadian AC chart.
"The Tracks of My Tears" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. It is a multiple award-winning 1965 hit R&B song originally recorded by their group, The Miracles, on Motown's Tamla label. The Miracles' million-selling original version has been inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the "Songs of the Century" – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century, and has been selected by Rolling Stone as No. 50 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", among many other awards. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked The Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time."
The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs "In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their later 1993 collaboration "Doggy Dogg World" with Snoop Dogg, a top 20 hit on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40.
"Karma Chameleon" is a song by English band Culture Club, featured on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers. The single was released in the United Kingdom in September 1983 and became the second Culture Club single to reach the top of the UK Singles Chart, after "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me". The record stayed at number one for six weeks and became the UK's biggest-selling single of the year 1983, selling 1.39 million copies .To date, it is the 38th-biggest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling over 1.52 million copies.
"Oh Girl" is a song written by Eugene Record and recorded by American soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, with Record on vocals and also producing. It was released as a single on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album A Lonely Man, "Oh Girl" centers on a relationship on the verge of break-up.
Carl Carlton is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama ".
The Detroit Emeralds are an American R&B/soul vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic hit single, "Feel the Need in Me".
"Float On" is a 1977 song by the R&B/soul group The Floaters. The spoken verses combine two popular trends from the time, star signs and video and phone dating, in lines such as Aquarius and my name is Ralph / Now I like a woman who loves her freedom. The song was co-written by James Mitchell of The Detroit Emeralds group.
"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by American music group the Supremes for the Motown label.
Floaters is the debut studio album recorded by American R&B group The Floaters, released in 1977 on the ABC label.