Slave (band)
Encyclopedia
Slave was an Ohio
funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpet
er Steve Washington and Mark Hicks (Drac) formed the group in Dayton, Ohio
in 1975.
, Starleana Young
, then Curt Jones
and keyboardist Raye Turner came aboard in 1978, with Arrington ultimately becoming lead vocalist. Their first big hit was the single
"Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion Records
, where they remained until 1984. Their best work was usually based on bass licks and the band's general arrangement
s emphasis on the rhythm section and soaring lead vocals.
Other Top Ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. They added Charles Carter on sax and brother Sam Carter on keyboards. Young, Washington, Jones and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1981. Slave added Roger Parker, Delbert Taylor, Jr., and Kevin Johnson as replacements. Arrington himself left in 1982 after the Showtime album. The band continued on, though much less successfully, into the late 1980s.
They moved to Atlantic Records
for one LP
in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta
-based Ichiban Records in 1986. Their most recent release was The Funk Strikes Back in 1992. Rhino issued Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave Featuring Steve Arrington, an anthology
of their finest cuts, in 1994.
Bass player Mark Leslie Adams Sr., a native of Dayton, died Saturday, March 5, 2011 at age 51 in Columbus, Ohio.
Guitar player Mark (Drac) Hicks, a native of Dayton, died on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at the age of 52 in Dayton, Ohio.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er Steve Washington and Mark Hicks (Drac) formed the group in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in 1975.
Career
Trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr. (sax, keyboards), Carter Bradley (trombone), Mark Adams (bass), Mark Hicks (lead and rhythm guitar, lead and background vocals), Danny Webster (rhythm guitar, lead and background vocals), Orion Wilhoite (keyboards), and Tim Dozier (drums). Vocalists Steve ArringtonSteve Arrington
Steve Arrington , is an American singer, songwriter, drummer, record producer, engineer and minister, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio.-Biography:...
, Starleana Young
Aurra
Aurra was a 1980s soul group, who at the time of their biggest success was composed of Curt Jones and Starleana Young. The band started off in 1980, signing to Dream Records and then Salsoul Records...
, then Curt Jones
Aurra
Aurra was a 1980s soul group, who at the time of their biggest success was composed of Curt Jones and Starleana Young. The band started off in 1980, signing to Dream Records and then Salsoul Records...
and keyboardist Raye Turner came aboard in 1978, with Arrington ultimately becoming lead vocalist. Their first big hit was the 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...
"Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
, where they remained until 1984. Their best work was usually based on bass licks and the band's general arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s emphasis on the rhythm section and soaring lead vocals.
Other Top Ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. They added Charles Carter on sax and brother Sam Carter on keyboards. Young, Washington, Jones and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1981. Slave added Roger Parker, Delbert Taylor, Jr., and Kevin Johnson as replacements. Arrington himself left in 1982 after the Showtime album. The band continued on, though much less successfully, into the late 1980s.
They moved to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
for one LP
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...
in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
-based Ichiban Records in 1986. Their most recent release was The Funk Strikes Back in 1992. Rhino issued Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave Featuring Steve Arrington, an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of their finest cuts, in 1994.
Bass player Mark Leslie Adams Sr., a native of Dayton, died Saturday, March 5, 2011 at age 51 in Columbus, Ohio.
Guitar player Mark (Drac) Hicks, a native of Dayton, died on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at the age of 52 in Dayton, Ohio.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | US certifications |
Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1977 | Slave Slave (Slave album) Slave is the debut album by American funk band Slave.-Reception:Released in 1977 the album led by the number one soul Billboard Single "Slide " would chart at number six on Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and would be certifed Gold.- Track listing :... |
22 | 6 | Gold | Cotillion Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded... |
|
| The Hardness of the World The Hardness of the World The Hardness Of The World is the second album by American funk band Slave.-Reception:Released in 1977 the album led by the single "The Party Song" would chart at number twenty two on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart... |
67 | 31 | — | |||
| 1978 | The Concept The Concept The Concept is the third album by American funk band Slave.-Reception:Released in 1978 the album would chart at number eleven on Billboard's Top Soul Albums chart.- Track listing :#"Stellar Fungk" #"The Way You Love Is Heaven"... |
78 | 11 | — | ||
| 1979 | Just a Touch of Love Just a Touch of Love Just A Touch Of Love is the fourth album by American funk band Slave.-Reception:Released in 1979 this would be the first album to feature the vocals of Steve Arrington, Starlena Young and Curt Jones... |
92 | 11 | — | ||
| 1980 | Stone Jam Stone Jam Stone Jam is the fifth album by American funk band Slave. It was released in 1980 on Cotillion Records and reissued in 1997 on Rhino Records. It was produced by Jimmy Douglass and Steve Washington. The album was listed on the Billboard 200, Billboard's 1981 Year-End Chart and was certified Gold by... |
53 | 5 | Gold | ||
| 1981 | Show Time Show Time (Slave album) Show Time is the sixth album by American funk band Slave.-Reception:Released in 1981, Show Time was the last album that singer/drummer Steve Arrington recorded with the band... |
46 | 7 | — | ||
| 1982 | Visions of the Lite | 177 | 46 | — | ||
| 1983 | Bad Enuff | 168 | 30 | — | ||
| 1984 | New Plateau | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | Unchained at Last | — | 56 | — | Ichiban Ichiban Records Ichiban Records was a hip hop record label founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records was distributed by Ichiban. Most of its discography is now out of print. Besides hip hop groups, Ichiban also released albums by... |
|
| 1987 | Make Believe | — | 44 | — | ||
| 1988 | 88 | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | Rebirth | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | The Funk Strikes Back | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | Masters of the Fungk | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | ||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|||||
| 1984 | Best of Slave | — | — | Cotillion Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded... |
||
| 1994 | Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave | — | 44 | Rhino Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes... |
||
| 1997 | Slide and Other Hits | — | — | |||
| 1998 | From the Archives | — | — | T.F.L. | ||
| 2001 | Greatest Hits | — | — | Goldenlane Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music... |
||
| 2003 | Party Lights: More of the Best | — | — | Rhino | ||
| 2006 | The Definitive Groove Collection | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US Dance |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 1977 | "Slide Slide (Slave song) "Slide" was a hit song by R&B/funk band Slave in 1977. Released from their self-titled debut album, it reached number one on the R&B charts in 1977 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.... " |
32 | 1 | — | — |
| 1978 | "The Party Song" | 110 | 22 | — | — |
| "Baby Sinister" | — | 74 | — | — | |
| "Stellar Fungk" | — | 14 | — | — | |
| "Just Freak" | 110 | 64 | — | — | |
| 1979 | "Just a Touch of Love" | — | 9 | 26 | 64 |
| 1980 | "Foxy Lady (Funky Lady)" | — | 55 | — | — |
| "Sizzlin' Hot" | — | 57 | — | — | |
| "Watching You" | 78 | 6 | 23 | — | |
| 1981 | "Feel My Love" | — | 62 | — | |
| "Snap Shot" | 91 | 6 | 21 | — | |
| "Party Lites" | — | — | — | ||
| "Wait for Me" | 103 | 20 | — | ||
| 1982 | "Come to Blow Ya Mind" | — | 81 | — | — |
| 1983 | "Do You Like It...(Girl)" | — | 73 | — | — |
| "Shake It Up" | — | 22 | — | — | |
| "Steppin' Out" | — | 73 | — | — | |
| 1984 | "Ooohh" | — | 41 | — | — |
| 1986 | "Thrill Me" | — | 84 | — | — |
| "All We Need Is Time" | — | 85 | — | — | |
| 1987 | "Juicy-O" | — | 83 | — | — |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | |||||
External links
- Slave at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Slave at Soulwalking
- Slave at Soul Tracks