Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence with artists like Erykah Badu under the genre neo-soul.
The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads characterized by the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. and the production of Thom Bell. During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which earned them 5 gold singles and 3 gold albums.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International. The remaining members of the Blue Notes have reunited for Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
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 36-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.
Shalamar is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer Jermaine Stewart. 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.
Jody Vanessa Watley is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and artist, 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 so in the UK. In 1988, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and has been nominated for three Grammy awards.
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 at number two, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. He is also well known for his 1987 song "Say It Again", which reached number 7 in the UK.
SOLAR was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.
Dynasty was an American band, based in Los Angeles, California, created by producer and SOLAR Records label head Dick Griffey, and record producer Leon Sylvers III. The band was known for their dance/pop numbers during the late 1970s and 1980s. Keyboardist Kevin Spencer and vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere originally comprised the group.
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 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.
Lakeside is an American funk band, best known for their 1980 number one R&B hit "Fantastic Voyage".
Jeffrey Glen Daniel 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.
Leon Frank Sylvers III is an American singer, songwriter, disc-jockey, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the family group The Sylvers and became one of the most successful producers in black music in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s through his association with Dick Griffey's SOLAR Records. Artists such as J Dilla, Dr. Dre, and Madlib have sampled songs written and produced by him.
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.
"The Second Time Around" is a 1979 hit by Los Angeles-based group Shalamar. The song is the first single from their album, Big Fun. Released in August 1979, the single went to number one on the soul chart and was their most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, reaching number eight in early 1980. "The Second Time Around" also went to number one on the disco/dance chart in January 1980. The song was produced by Leon Sylvers III, who cowrote the song with William Shelby.
Carolyn Griffey is an American female 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.
Richard Gilbert Griffey was an American record producer and music promoter who founded SOLAR Records, a RAS acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records". The label played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s. As a concert promoter, Griffey arranged bookings for artists such as James Brown, The Sylvers, Aretha Franklin, Jon Gibson, Stevie Wonder and the Jacksons.
Soul Train: The Dance Years is a series of compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1999 and 2000, and spun off from the long-running syndicated television series Soul Train.
"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.
