Billy Joel is an American pianist, singer, and songwriter from the Bronx who released the album Cold Spring Harbor on Family Productions Inc. in 1971, followed by eleven studio albums on Columbia between 1973 and 1993. Prior to his solo career, he recorded two albums with psych-rockers The Hassles, which splintered into the 1970 hard-rock […]
Laura Nyro (Oct. 18, 1947 — April 8, 1997) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist from the Bronx. She debuted with the 1967 album More Than a New Discovery on Verve Folkways, then signed to Columbia for the 1968–70 albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, New York Tendaberry, and Christmas and the Beads of […]
Evelyn “Champagne” King is an American soul-funk singer who released eight albums between 1977 and 1985 on RCA Victor. She emerged with Smooth Talk (1977), which featured the gold-certified hit “Shame” produced by Theodore Life. She reached new heights in the early 1980s working with Kashif on I’m in Love (1981) and Get Loose (1982), […]
Angela Bofill (May 2, 1954 – June 13, 2024) was an American soul singer/songwriter who released seven albums between 1978 and 1985 on Arista. She landed early hits with “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “What I Wouldn’t Do (For the Love of You),” and “Something About You.” Her career peaked in 1983 with the R&B […]
Carly Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer/songwriter from the Bronx who released eight albums between 1971 and 1979 on Elektra, followed by 1980s titles on Warner, Epic, and Arista. Simon first charted with “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” an evergreen ballad that won her the 1972 Best New […]
Melissa Manchester is an American singer–songwriter who released two 1973–74 albums on Bell Records, followed by nine albums between 1975 and 1983 on Arista. She first emerged under the auspices of Barry Manilow and Bette Midler and co-wrote many songs with Carole Bayer Sager. Manchester’s best known songs include “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Midnight Blue,” […]
The Blues Magoos were an American garage-rock/psych band from the Bronx that released three albums through 1968 on Mercury. Their 1966 debut, Psychedelic Lollipop, spawned “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet,” a Top 5 hit and later Nuggets classic. After a four-fifths lineup overhaul, two further albums appeared in 1969/70 on ABC. Guitarist/singer Peppy Castro (the […]
Steve Reid (Jan. 29, 1944 — April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader who made the 1976 albums Rhythmatism and Nova. Background Steve Reid was born on Jan. 29, 1944, in the South Bronx, New York City. His father played piano and organ and had performed with Chick Webb before marriage. Reid’s […]
The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band — commonly billed as the B. B. & Q. Band — was an American soul-funk band whose members hailed from the three namesake boroughs of New York City. They released the 1981–83 Capitol albums Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, All Night Long, and Six Million Times, followed by the […]
GQ was an American soul-funk band from the Bronx that released three albums on Arista between 1979 and 1981. The band evolved out of The Rhythm Makers, which issued a small-press album in 1976. Members: Emanuel “Rahiem” LeBlanc (guitar, vocals), Herb Lane (keyboards, vocals), Keith “Sabu” Crier (bass, vocals), Paul Service (drums, vocals, 1978-79), Kenny […]
Yvonne Fair (Oct. 21, 1942 — March 6, 1994) was an American soul singer who emerged in the James Brown Revue. She released thirteen singles between 1962 and 1976 and scored R&B hits with “Funky Music Sho’ ‘Nuff Turns Me On,” “Walk Out the Door If You Wanna,” and “Love Ain’t No Toy,” all included […]
The Skull Snaps were an American soul-funk band from the Bronx that released a 1973 self-titled album on GSF. Members: Ervan Waters (vocals, guitars), George Bragg (vocals, drums, percussion), Sam Culley (vocals, bass, percussion), Les Waters, Oscar Waters Background Samm Culley and Ervan Waters came from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and moved to Newark […]
Spice was an American soul group from the Bronx that cut multiple tracks released without their knowledge on the 1976 album Let There Be Spice. Members: Richard Brown Jr., Cedric Clemens, Charles Dunn Background Richard Brown Jr. formed Spice in the Bronx after early music study in the Soundview neighborhood. As a child, Brown learned […]
Dave Valentin (April 29, 1952 — March 8, 2017) was an American jazz-funk and Latin-jazz flutist from the Bronx. He emerged through late-1970s work with Ricardo Marrero, Noel Pointer, and Angela Bofill, then became one of the first artists signed to GRP with Legends in 1978 and a run of albums including Land of the […]
Mark Sherman (born April 17, 1957) is an American malletist from the Bronx. Discography: Fulcrum Point (1980) A New Balance (1986)
Mike Mainieri (born July 4, 1938) is an American vibraphonist from the Bronx, N.Y.C., who entered professional music as a teenager with Buddy Rich. He led the Mike Mainieri Quartet on Blues on the Other Side and Insight, then directed the large jazz-rock ensemble White Elephant amid extensive New York session and production work. Mainieri formed […]
Sounds of the City Experience were an American soul-funk quintet from the Bronx, N.Y., that released three singles on self-press Sounds of the City Music during the mid-1970s. The band’s singular, self-titled album appeared on tax-scam label Tiger Lily in 1976. Background Sounds of the City formed in 1963 in New York City around musician-composer […]
The Rhythm Makers were an American soul-funk band from the Bronx that released the album Soul on Your Side on Vigor Records in 1976. The band morphed into GQ for three further albums between 1979 and 1981. Members: Emanuel “Rahiem” Leblanc (lead vocals, guitar), Keith Crier (vocals, bass), Kenny Banks (vocals, drums), Herb Lane (vocals, […]
The Persuaders were an American soul group from the Bronx that made four albums through 1976 and scored R&B hits with “Love Gonna Pack Up (And Walk Out),” “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” “Peace in the Valley of Love,” and the 1971 chart-topper “Thin Line Between Love and Hate.” Members: Douglas “Smokey” Scott (vocals, […]
Sylvia Striplin (born March 1954) is an American soul singer who released the 1981 album Give Me Your Love and sang beforehand with Aquarian Dream and Eighties Ladies. Background Sylvia Striplin was born in March 1954 in New York City and spent her early childhood in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. Her family relocated […]
Valerie Simpson is an American R&B singer and songwriter, best known as part of the husband/wife singing duo Ashford & Simpson. Between their spans as 1960s Motown staff writers and ’70s/80s recording artists, Valerie made the 1971/72 solo albums Exposed and Valerie Simpson on Tamla. Valerie Simpson was born on August 26, 1946, in the […]
