Jaco Pastorius (1951–1987) was an American bassist renown for his fretless style. He exploded onto the scene in 1976 with a star-backed solo album and guest appearances on titles by Joni Mitchell (Hejira) and Pat Metheny (Bright Size Life). That year, he joined Weather Report for a six-album stint. Background He was born John Francis […]
Betty Wright (Dec. 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020) was an American soul singer from Miami. She cut her debut album, My First Time Around, at age 14 in 1968. Her 1972 Alston release I Love the Way You Love spawned the Billboard Top 10 hit “Clean Up Woman.” She issued six further Alston albums […]
Bobby Caldwell (August 15, 1951 – March 14, 2023) was an American blue-eyed soul singer and songwriter known for the hits “What You Won’t Do for Love” and “Don’t Lead Me On.” Between 1978 and 2015, he released fifteen studio albums. His style evolved soft-rock and jazz-pop to retro R&B and big-band sounds. Background He […]
Raw Soul Express was an American soul-funk band from Miami that released a self-titled album on T.K.-subsidiary Cat Records in 1976. Members: Albie Manno (bass, backing vocals), Chris Perkins (organ, piano), Christopher Booker (trumpet, backing vocals), John McMinn (tenor saxophone), Martel Williams (trumpet), Rickey Washington (lead vocals, flute, baritone saxophone), Tommy Johnson (guitar) Inception Raw […]
Gwen McCrae (December 21, 1943 – February 21, 2025) was an American soul singer who first performed and recorded during the 1960s with then-husband George McCrae. As a solo singer, she cut multiple singles for Columbia and Cat during the 1970s. Her first album, Rockin’ Chair, spawned a charting hit with the moaning title-track. Background […]
Milton Wright is an American soul-funk musician, songwriter, and producer who made the 1975 Alston album Friends and Buddies, followed in 1977 with Spaced. He was the brother of soul singer Betty Wright. Background Milton Wright was born Milton L. Wright Jr. on January 28, 1944, in Miami, Florida. Wright grew up in a musical […]
Latimore is an American soul singer who released eleven albums between 1973 and 1987 and scored R&B hits with “Let’s Straighten It Out,” “Keep the Home Fire Burnin’,” “Somethin’ ‘Bout ‘Cha,” and “I Get Lifted.” Background Latimore was born Benjamin Latimore on September 7, 1939, in Charleston, Tennessee. His mother sang in the Baptist church […]
Washington Jamb Band was an American soul-funk band that issued two 1976 singles and the 1977 album Gonna Get Your Cherry on Leo Records, the self-press of singer/producer Leo Washington. The band subsequently backed vocalist Virgie Williams on a pair of 1978/79 singles and released two further shortplayers between 1981 and 1983, the last on […]
Shandi Sinnamon (1954–July 4, 2024) was an American singer and songwriter from Miami who released two self-titled albums between 1976 and 1980 on Asylum and Dreamland. She later wrote and sang “He’s a Dream” for Flashdance and supplied songs for further film projects. Background Shandi was born Shandra Sinnamon in Miami, Florida. She left high […]
Crane was an American hard-rock recording project built around singer and guitarist Chuck Kirkpatrick, a Criteria Studios engineer who used the Chuck Crane name for a Capitol contract. Capitol issued the 1977 advance single “Oh Dancer” and released the self-titled album Crane in January 1978 on Capitol Records. Members: Chuck Crane (guitar, lead vocals, backing […]
Mighty Ryeders were an American soul-funk band from Florida that released the 1978 album Help Us Spread the Message on Sun Glo Records Inc. Members: Rodney Mathews (lead vocals), Carl Crowder, Lionel H. Harrison Inception Mighty Ryeders formed in Miami in April 1977 around lead singer Rodney Mathews and partners Carl Crowder and Lionel H. […]
Blue Mitchell (March 13, 1930 — May 21, 1979) was an American post-bop/jazz-funk trumpeter from Miami. He emerged through 1950s work with Earl Bostic, Lou Donaldson, and Cannonball Adderley, then led Riverside albums including Big 6, Out of the Blue, and Blue Soul. Mitchell spent the 1960s with the Horace Silver Quintet on albums including […]
Teri DeSario (born Nov. 27, 1951) is an American pop vocalist from Miami who emerged on Casablanca Records with the 1978 album Pleasure Train and the Barry Gibb-penned hit “Ain’t Nothing Gonna Keep Me from You.” She followed with Moonlight Madness and scored a major US hit in 1980 with “Yes, I’m Ready,” a duet with […]
Foxy was an American Latin-funk band from Miami that made four albums between 1976 and 1979 on Dash/T.K. They charted with the 1978/79 singles “Get Off” and “Hot Number.” Singer/guitarist Ish “Angel” Ledesma later surfaced in OXO. Members: Ish “Angel” Ledesma (vocals, guitar), Richie Puente (percussion), Charlie Murciano (keyboards), Arnold Pasiero (bass guitar), Joe Galdo […]
Seven Seas were an American jazz-funk ensemble that released one album, The Miami Sound, in 1976 on Glades. Background Seven Seas emerged from the T.K. Productions studio operation in Hialeah, Florida, in 1975 as a group assembled from company musicians. House producer Willie Clarke worked with permanent T.K. rhythm sections whose players backed multiple artists […]
Mother’s Finest was an American funk-rock band from Atlanta that made a 1973 self-titled album on RCA Victor, followed by five studio albums and a live disc between 1976 and 1983 on Epic. They reappeared with a 1989 Capitol release and sporadic later activity. Members: Joyce Kennedy (lead vocals, percussion), Glenn “Murdock” Bailey (lead vocals, […]
Antique was an American Latin-rock band from Miami behind the 1968 album Va Cayendo una Lagrima on Audio Latino, followed by the 1973/74 Funny Records albums Sincerely Antique and Antique Sorcery and the 1976 Teca title The Antiques Experience. Each album featured a modified nameplate: Antique Formula, Sincerely Antique, Antique Sorcery, The Antiques. Members: Alberto […]
