When B&S last spoke to Lanier & Co back in February of last
year (was it really that long ago?!), the group were hoping that their
third single for Willie Mitchell's Waylo label would be the one. While
"Dancing In The Night" can't really be regarded as a hit in terms of
the small U.K. market (having peaked outside of the Top 75 at No.78) it
has at least brought them to the attention of a major label in EMI.
Hopefully the single is selling sufficiently well to convince EMI to go
with a follow-up, and maybe their now-completed album as well.
The phone rings at exactly 2:30pm on a sunny L.A. afternoon, and for any interview to begin precisely on time is, to say the least, unusual. On the other end of the line is Reginald McArthur, lead singer of The Controllers, the Alabama-based group whose recording career began in 1975 with the ever-soulful "Somebody's Gotta Win, Somebody's Gotta Lose".
With a succession of specialist radio and club anthems ("Keep Your Body Working". "Get Tough"' "Intimate Connection" etc. having made Kleeer one of the most consistently acclaimed American funk outfits on the thriving early eighties UK soul scene,
Master drummer/producer Norman Connors has been away from the recording scene for almost six years now but out of studio doesn't mean out work. The man who first brought the likes of Phyllis Hyman, Michael Henderson and Glenn Jones to public attention vai his mid-Seventies albums for Arista and Buddah is quick to point out that he's been performing pretty consistently throughout that time.
You may be forgiven if you think 'Deja' has a sort of familiar ring.
The name may be new, but the duo boast a partnership spanning more than
ten years. And though the name alludes to something we've seen before,
Curt Jones and Starleanna Young are looking forward to the future, not
back to the past. Dropping the name Aurra is a positive move to
exorcise ghosts from the past, and start afresh with a whole new sound.
"AFTER
a series of near misses during his Arista years, 35-year-old {safm}Jeff
Lorber{/safm} has attained that elusive crossover hit first time out on
Warner
Brothers. "Facts Of Love" is the record and it not only provides Jeff
with a slab of gold, it also welcomes two exciting new vocal talents to
an unsuspecting world ? Karyn White and Michael Jeffries.
MUSIC
was far from Mary Davis' mind when we sat down to mega-chat just
recently. The remainder of the SOS Band were off doing their own thing
leaving The Two Davises to chat over sandwiches and coffee.
Currently unattached, he adds that although he welcomes the attention
of young ladies who show romantic interest, "I'm from the old school,
an old-fashioned kind of guy so I can handle myself in the proper way.
Right now though, I'd say my career is my biggest priority I'll deal
with romance later!"