Mutiny -

Mutiny was an American funk band that released two albums on Columbia in 1979 and 1980, followed by a third on J. Romeo Records in 1983.

Members: Jerome “Big Foot” Brailey (drums, percussion, vocals, production), Raymond Carter (bass, vocals), Marvin Daniels (horns), Darryl Dixon (horns), Melvin El (horns), Lenny Holmes (lead guitar, vocals), Nat Lee (keyboards), Skitch Lovett (guitar, vocals)

Background

Mutiny formed in 1978 when drummer Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey and singer-guitarist Glen Goins, both recently separated from Parliament–Funkadelic, developed a new band while completing the debut album by Quazar, the group Goins formed after his P-Funk departure. Brailey and Goins assembled bassist Raymond “Bro” Carter, keyboardist Nathaniel “Nat” Lee, guitarists Lenny Holmes and Walter “Skitch” Lovett Jr., and horn players Darryl Dixon, Marvin Daniels, and Melvin El.

Brailey began at age seventeen with the Montclairs, a Richmond group formed at Armstrong High School. He later worked with the Unifics, Five Stairsteps, and Chambers Brothers; George Clinton hired him in August 1975 for Parliament-Funkadelic. Brailey co-wrote “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” and left the organization amid a financial dispute with Clinton.

Guitarist Walter Lloyd “Skitch” Lovett Jr. was born October 31, 1951, at Fort Lee Hospital in Virginia. Lovett graduated from Matoaca High School and played college football at Morgan State University and Virginia State University. A left-handed player, he taught himself guitar on a right-handed instrument he received during the 1960s from his parents.

Darryl Dixon studied music at Jersey City State College from 1972 to 1976, where he played in the college jazz band. He moved to Los Angeles in 1976 and prepared lead sheets for A&M and Motown Records. Multi-instrumentalist Buddy Collette subsequently recommended Dixon for an NBC band assignment with Richard Pryor. Dixon then toured for six months with Patrice Rushen before Fred Wesley recruited him for Parliament-Funkadelic. Goins subsequently recruited Dixon as music director for Quazar.

Trumpeter Marvin Daniels returned to Virginia State College following Army service in Germany and formed Southern Energy Ensemble with students who included keyboardist Nat Lee. The band worked clubs, universities, and military bases across Virginia and the Carolinas, then recorded sessions for Black Fire Records.

Brailey and Goins developed the Mutiny concept as work continued on Quazar at Sound Ideas Studios in New York. Goins died from Hodgkin lymphoma on July 29, 1978, and Brailey completed the Quazar album for Arista Records. Brailey carried the Mutiny project forward and secured a deal with Columbia Records. The drummer produced and arranged the first Columbia sessions under executive producer Robert Mittleman. Dixon wrote the horn arrangements. Columbia issued the Brailey–Holmes composition “Funk ’N’ Bop” as a single by September 1979 ahead of Mutiny on the Mamaship.

Discography: