Xavier -

Xavier was an American soul-funk band that released the 1982 Liberty album Point of Pleasure and scored R&B hits with “Work That Sucker to Death” and “Do It to the Max.”

Members: Ayanna Little, Chuck Hughes, Emonie Branch, Ernest Smith, Jeffrey Mitchell, Lyburn Downing, Ralph Hunt, Timothy Williams

Background

Xavier evolved from Shades of Direction, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, by singer Ernest “Xavier” Smith, a veteran of the Midwest R&B circuit.

Smith first recorded with the Fabulous Flames, a Cleveland doo-wop combo that cut the 1958–60 singles “Josephine” and “Lonely Lover” and masqueraded as the Big Five and the Five Superiors. In the mid-Sixties, Smith toured with a latter-day Coasters lineup. Between 1969 and 1974, he played bass in the Midnight Movers, the touring band of Wilson Pickett. As an autonomous unit, they made two albums: Do It in the Road and Follow the Wind. In 1978, Smith served as guitarist, bassist, and co-arranger on Trouble With the Operator, a gospel-soul album by Bill Spivery & The Operators.

Shades of Direction morphed into Xavier and LUV (Life’s Universal Vibration). They secured a Liberty contract as Xavier, an eight-piece band with lead singer Ayanna Little, bassist Ralph Hunt Jr., drummer Timothy Williams, guitarist Jeffrey Mitchell, percussionist Lyburn Downing, and vocalists Emonie Branch and Chuck “Buffalo Chuck” Hughes.

Point of Pleasure

Xavier released their debut album, Point of Pleasure, in March 1982 on Liberty.

The album blends clipped dance-funk with keyboard-bass figures and chant-led vocal parts across seven songs with keyboardist Rahni Harris credited on each title. Ayanna Little and Ernest “Xavier” Smith front the album.

“Work That Sucker to Death” rides a bass-forward dance pattern, with clipped group replies locked to the title refrain. “Rock Me, Sock Me” snaps against a faster backbeat and places its vocal lead over hard-accented ensemble hits. “Dial The Love Man (634-5789)” settles into a slow call-song, with the lead vocal drawn around the phone-number refrain. “Do It To The Max” slinks through a low-slung midtempo track, with the vocal line pressed close to the beat. “What Goes Around” smacks the second side into a straighter dance pace, with a simple title response at the front of the arrangement.

A1. “Work That Sucker to Death” (6:56) – Mitchell, Harris, Hunt Jr., Philips
A2. “Rock Me, Sock Me” (5:25) – Dunlap, Harris
A3. “Dial the Love Man (634-5789)” (5:22) – Smith, Harris

B1. “Do It to the Max” (5:56) – Little, Smith, Harris, Philips
B2. “What Goes Around” (4:39) – Wilson, Harris
B3. “Truly Devoted” (4:28) – Harris
B4. “Love Is on the One” (4:42) – Little, Harris, Philips

Sessions occurred with veteran producer Terry Philips (Black Ivory, Both Worlds, Larry Young’s Fuel, Orchestra Julian) and engineer Joshua Harris, a recent soundman for J.R. Funk & The Love Machine and Caribbean soca star Mighty Arrow. Rahni Harris co-produced and arranged Point of Pleasure in sequence with 1982/83 albums by Bootsy Collins, Dayton, George Clinton, and Melba Moore.

Liberty issued Point of Pleasure in a sleeve with art direction by WM. Burks and design by Roy R. Guzman. John Ford photographed the group, and Tom “Snoopy” Gibson photographed the front and back cover images. The front cover shows a large manicured hand, a pale profile outline, colored line paths, and small portrait blocks across a gridded surface.

Liberty lifted “Work That Sucker to Death” as a January 1982 single (b/w “Love Is on the One”), which reached No. 6 on Billboard Hot Soul Singles and No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart. “Do It to the Max” became the second single (b/w “Rock Me, Sock Me”) and reached No. 59 on Billboard Hot Soul Singles.

Point of Pleasure reached No. 129 on the Billboard 200 and No. 16 on Billboard R&B Albums.