Shalamar
Encyclopedia
Shalamar ˈʃæləmɑr was an American
music
group
, primarily of the 1970s and 1980s, that was originally a disco
-driven vehicle created by Soul Train
booking agent Dick Griffey
and show creator Don Cornelius
. They went on to be an influential dance
trio
, masterminded by Soul Train producer
Don 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 collective name 'Shalamar' was picked by Griffey.
was the 1975 Motown
-inspired production
"Uptown Festival," and released on Soul Train Records
the success of which inspired Griffey and Don Cornelius
to replace session
singers with popular Soul Train
dancers Jody Watley
and Jeffrey Daniel
to join original Shalamar lead singer Gary Mumford. Gerald Brown would take over the spot vacated by Mumford in 1978 for the Disco Gardens
album which featured the hit "Take That To The Bank". After conflicts over lack of payment from Dick Griffey
and Solar Records
, Brown would leave the group. Brown was replaced by Howard Hewett
in 1979.
The group was joined up with producer
Leon Sylvers III
in 1979, signed with Griffey's SOLAR Records
and scored a US
million seller with "The Second Time Around
".
In the UK
the group had a string of hits with songs such as "Take That to the Bank" (1978), "I Owe You One" (1980) and 1982's "I Can Make You Feel Good", "A Night to Remember", "There It Is" and "Friends". The album of the same title Friends
was also a big seller in the UK in 1982 crossing the genres of pop
, disco and soul
. The band's record sales in the UK increased when Daniel demonstrated his body-popping
dancing skills on BBC Television
's music programme, Top of the Pops
, premiering the Moonwalk
on television for the first time. Michael Jackson
was a fan
of the group, in particular, Daniel and his dance moves, after watching him on Soul Train. Jackson and Daniel met after, and Jackson took his then 12 year old sister Janet
to see Shalamar perform at Disneyland. Daniel co-choreographed Jackson's "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal
" videos
.
The group took a knock when Watley and Daniel separately left the band over conflicts within the group and other issues. Adding to the subsequent departure was Watley's increasing frustration with SOLAR Records and Dick Griffey shortly after the release of their next album
, The Look
, in 1983. Nonetheless, the album yielded a number of UK hit single
s including "Disappearing Act", "Dead Giveaway" and "Over and Over". The album itself moved Shalamar into a more new wave
/synthpop
direction, with rock guitar
s to the fore. But The Look generally was not the success that Friends had been the previous year.
With a mid 1980s line-up change with Delisa Davis and Micki Free
, Shalamar returned to the US Top 20 in 1984 with "Dancing in the Sheets" from the Footloose
soundtrack
, peaking at #17, and they won a Grammy
for "Don't Get Stopped in Beverly Hills" from Beverly Hills Cop
in 1984
.
But when Hewett left for a solo
career in 1985, and was replaced by Sydney Justin, the band faded into temporary obscurity. The group recorded 1987's Circumstantial Evidence
, which was a commercial disappointment, and faded away soon after the release of 1990s Wake Up
.
Jody Watley
launched her own influential solo career in 1987, winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist
Her hits include "Looking for a New Love
" and "Friends
" featuring Eric B & Rakim noted to be the first Pop/R&B crossover single to include a rapper with the customized 16 bar verse later becoming a popular formula in commercial music.Along with Janet Jackson
and Madonna
, Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards
most nominated female artists.
Watley rejoined with Hewett and Daniel, plus LL Cool J
, on Babyface's 1996 million-selling single "This Is for the Lover in You"; a cover
of a hit single from Shalamar's 1980 album Three for Love
. Watley was also one of the few American
singers to perform on the original Band Aid
record
recorded
by mostly British
singers in November 1984. Micki Free was mentioned on Chappelle's Show
, under Charlie Murphy
's 'True Hollywood Stories' when playing basketball
with Prince.
Shalamar reformed in 2005, for the UK television series
, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, with original member Daniel and Hewett, and with new member Carolyn Griffey
(a long time friend and fan
of the original band, and daughter of Shalamar founder and Solar Record boss Dick Griffey). Carolyn's mother is Carrie Lucas
for whom Watley sang backing vocals. They reached the grand final of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in May 2005, ultimately losing out to Shakin' Stevens
.
Shalamar scored a total of three gold albums
in the US; with Big Fun, Three for Love (which eventually went platinum
) and Friends.
Also in 1980, the band made a promotion of "The Second Time Around" for the radio station
KJR
in Seattle, called "The Sonics Came to Play"; dedicated to the Seattle SuperSonics
who had won the NBA Championship
, the previous year.
Shalamar was more recently featured in a segment of TV One's series Unsung
, in which Watley, Daniel and Hewett shared their stories about the lack of payment and royalties from Solar Records, success, egos, and breakup of the group. During the interview, Daniel revealed that he played a major role in teaching Michael Jackson the Moonwalk dance, and that the dance was originally called the "backslide."
In October 2009, the reformed Shalamar of Hewett, Daniel and Griffey, performed as a part of "The Ultimate Boogie Nights Disco Concert Series", at IndigO2 within O2 Arena
Entertainment Avenue in London
. This prompted their return to the UK in April 2010 for a tour.
Hewett, Griffey and Daniel, returned to IndigO2 in October 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, primarily of the 1970s and 1980s, that was originally a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-driven vehicle created by Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
booking agent Dick Griffey
Dick Griffey
Richard Gilbert "Dick" Griffey was an American record producer and promoter who founded SOLAR Records, an acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records", which played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s...
and show creator Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius is an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993...
. They went on to be an influential dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
, masterminded by Soul Train producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius is an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993...
. 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Their collective name 'Shalamar' was picked by Griffey.
Career
Their first hitHit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
was the 1975 Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
-inspired production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
"Uptown Festival," and released on Soul Train Records
Soul Train Records
When Soul Train creator Don Cornelius & his partner Dick Griffey launched Soul Train Records in 1975, they had one smashing group of their own called The Soul Train Gang...
the success of which inspired Griffey and Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius is an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993...
to replace session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
singers with popular Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
dancers Jody Watley
Jody Watley
Jody Vanessa Watley is an American, singer, songwriter, record producer, and founder of Avitone Records whose music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul....
and Jeffrey Daniel
Jeffrey Daniel
Jeffrey Daniel is an American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, most notable for being a member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria he is best known as an Idol series judge...
to join original Shalamar lead singer Gary Mumford. Gerald Brown would take over the spot vacated by Mumford in 1978 for the Disco Gardens
Disco Gardens
Disco Gardens is the second album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1978 on the SOLAR label. It features the line-up of Gerald Brown, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley, and was the only Shalamar album on which Brown appeared....
album which featured the hit "Take That To The Bank". After conflicts over lack of payment from Dick Griffey
Dick Griffey
Richard Gilbert "Dick" Griffey was an American record producer and promoter who founded SOLAR Records, an acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records", which played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s...
and Solar Records
SOLAR Records
S.O.L.A.R. Records 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.-Company history:In 1975, Soul Train Records was founded by Dick Griffey and...
, Brown would leave the group. Brown was replaced by Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett is an American R&B and gospel singer and former lead vocalist of the R&B group Shalamar.Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles. He would eventually meet Soul Train dancer and future first wife Rainey Riley-Cunningham, then a secretary of the show's creator and original...
in 1979.
The group was joined up with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Leon Sylvers III
Leon Sylvers III
Leon Frank Sylvers III is an American singer, songwriter, 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...
in 1979, signed with Griffey's SOLAR Records
SOLAR Records
S.O.L.A.R. Records 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.-Company history:In 1975, Soul Train Records was founded by Dick Griffey and...
and scored a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
million seller with "The Second Time Around
The Second Time Around (Shalamar song)
"The Second Time Around" is a 1979 hit by Los Angeles-based R&B group, Shalamar. The song is the first single from their album, Big Fun. 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...
".
In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the group had a string of hits with songs such as "Take That to the Bank" (1978), "I Owe You One" (1980) and 1982's "I Can Make You Feel Good", "A Night to Remember", "There It Is" and "Friends". The album of the same title Friends
Friends (Shalamar album)
Friends is the sixth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1982 on the SOLAR label. The album, which features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up , topped the R&B chart and peaked at #35 on the Billboard chart.In the United Kingdom Friends gained impetus from a now-legendary demonstration...
was also a big seller in the UK in 1982 crossing the genres of pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, disco and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. The band's record sales in the UK increased when Daniel demonstrated his body-popping
Popping
Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit...
dancing skills on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's music programme, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, premiering the Moonwalk
Moonwalk (dance)
The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became most popular around the world after Michael Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25:...
on television for the first time. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
was a fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
of the group, in particular, Daniel and his dance moves, after watching him on Soul Train. Jackson and Daniel met after, and Jackson took his then 12 year old sister Janet
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
to see Shalamar perform at Disneyland. Daniel co-choreographed Jackson's "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal
Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Michael Jackson's 1987 Bad album. The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth" assailant. It was released as a single on October 24, 1988 and peaked...
" videos
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
.
The group took a knock when Watley and Daniel separately left the band over conflicts within the group and other issues. Adding to the subsequent departure was Watley's increasing frustration with SOLAR Records and Dick Griffey shortly after the release of their next album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, The Look
The Look (Shalamar album)
The Look is the seventh album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1983 on the SOLAR label. It is the last Shalamar album to feature the line-up of Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley, as both Daniel and Watley would leave the group shortly after its release.The Look peaked at No....
, in 1983. Nonetheless, the album yielded a number of UK hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s including "Disappearing Act", "Dead Giveaway" and "Over and Over". The album itself moved Shalamar into a more new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
/synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
direction, with rock guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s to the fore. But The Look generally was not the success that Friends had been the previous year.
With a mid 1980s line-up change with Delisa Davis and Micki Free
Micki Free
Micki Free is a Grammy-winning Native American guitarist and singer, and a two-time Native American Music Award winner. He is also the director of Promotions & Special Events for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, owners of Hard Rock International.-Biography:...
, Shalamar returned to the US Top 20 in 1984 with "Dancing in the Sheets" from the Footloose
Footloose (soundtrack)
Footloose is the original soundtrack of the Paramount motion picture Footloose. The original nine-track album was released in 1984 and reached Number One on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart on April 21, 1984, where it stayed until June 30, 1984. When it was re-released in 1998, four bonus tracks...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, peaking at #17, and they won a Grammy
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
for "Don't Get Stopped in Beverly Hills" from Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...
in 1984
Grammy Awards of 1984
The 26th Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1984, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1983...
.
But when Hewett left for a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career in 1985, and was replaced by Sydney Justin, the band faded into temporary obscurity. The group recorded 1987's Circumstantial Evidence
Circumstantial Evidence (Shalamar album)
Circumstantial Evidence is the ninth album by American R&B group Shalamar, produced by L.A. Reid & Babyface, Jerry Peters, and Bernadette Cooper. Released in 1987 on the SOLAR label...
, which was a commercial disappointment, and faded away soon after the release of 1990s Wake Up
Wake Up (Shalamar album)
Wake Up is the tenth and last album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1990 on the SOLAR label. It is the second Shalamar album to feature the line-up of Delisa Davis, Micki Free and Sidney Justin....
.
Jody Watley
Jody Watley
Jody Vanessa Watley is an American, singer, songwriter, record producer, and founder of Avitone Records whose music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul....
launched her own influential solo career in 1987, winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
Her hits include "Looking for a New Love
Looking for a New Love
"Looking for a New Love" is the first single from Jody Watley's eponymous debut album. "Looking for a New Love" became one of the biggest pop and R&B singles of 1987...
" and "Friends
Friends (Jody Watley song)
"Friends" is the second single from Jody Watley's second album, Larger Than Life. "Friends", like her previous single "Real Love", became a multi-format top-10 smash, reaching the top ten of the pop, R&B and dance charts in the U.S., as well as being her biggest single in the UK since her debut,...
" featuring Eric B & Rakim noted to be the first Pop/R&B crossover single to include a rapper with the customized 16 bar verse later becoming a popular formula in commercial music.Along with Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
most nominated female artists.
Watley rejoined with Hewett and Daniel, plus LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
, on Babyface's 1996 million-selling single "This Is for the Lover in You"; a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of a hit single from Shalamar's 1980 album Three for Love
Three for Love
Three for Love is the fourth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1980 on the SOLAR label. It was produced by Leon Sylvers III and features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up ....
. Watley was also one of the few American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singers to perform on the original Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by mostly British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singers in November 1984. Micki Free was mentioned on Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22,...
, under Charlie Murphy
Charlie Murphy
Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and writer notable as being a cast member and writer on the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show...
's 'True Hollywood Stories' when playing basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
with Prince.
Shalamar reformed in 2005, for the UK television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, with original member Daniel and Hewett, and with new member Carolyn Griffey
Carolyn Griffey
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....
(a long time friend and fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
of the original band, and daughter of Shalamar founder and Solar Record boss Dick Griffey). Carolyn's mother is Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas, is an American female R&B musician, born in Carmel, California. In 1976 she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas made six albums over seven years with Soul Train and Solar Records.-Career:...
for whom Watley sang backing vocals. They reached the grand final of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in May 2005, ultimately losing out to Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
.
Shalamar scored a total of three gold albums
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in the US; with Big Fun, Three for Love (which eventually went platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
) and Friends.
Also in 1980, the band made a promotion of "The Second Time Around" for the radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
KJR
KJR-FM
KJR-FM is a Seattle, Washington,radio station that is broadcasting a classic hits format. It operates at 95.7 MHz at 98 kW, and also on the Internet via streaming audio. KJR-FM is owned by Clear Channel Communications, Inc.- KJR :...
in Seattle, called "The Sonics Came to Play"; dedicated to the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
who had won the NBA Championship
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, the previous year.
Shalamar was more recently featured in a segment of TV One's series Unsung
Unsung (TV series)
Unsung, is an hour-long music documentary program that airs on TV One. Premiering in the fall of 2008, the series uncovers the stories behind once well-known R&B and soul music artists, bands or groups who exploded onto the Billboard music charts with a string of hits, only to have their career...
, in which Watley, Daniel and Hewett shared their stories about the lack of payment and royalties from Solar Records, success, egos, and breakup of the group. During the interview, Daniel revealed that he played a major role in teaching Michael Jackson the Moonwalk dance, and that the dance was originally called the "backslide."
In October 2009, the reformed Shalamar of Hewett, Daniel and Griffey, performed as a part of "The Ultimate Boogie Nights Disco Concert Series", at IndigO2 within O2 Arena
The O2 (London)
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
Entertainment Avenue in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This prompted their return to the UK in April 2010 for a tour.
Hewett, Griffey and Daniel, returned to IndigO2 in October 2011.
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- List of disco artists
- List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
- List of performers on Top of the Pops