It is safe to say that, if sheer talent and vocal ability, was ever the
true yardstick of an artist?s popularity someone like David Sea would
be massive, a worldwide musical phenomenon.
OFTEN, when a lead vocalist leaves a successful group, it comes as
surprise to the rest of the world. However, there are usually very
strong underlying reasons that simply didn't come to the attention of
the public. Certainly, that was true of the Lionel
Richie-Commodores and Jeffrey Osborne-LTD
splits. And, to a lesser degree, it's the case in the {safm}Howard
Hewett{/safm}-Shalamar parting of ways.
It's not very often that a group hits the top spot on any chart with
their first record but Levert (Sean and Gerald Levert and Marc Gordon)
did just that last year with "(Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" when the
record, taken from their debut album entitled "Bloodline", became a
black music No. 1. A little over a year later, with a solid stint on
the road behind them, Levert are threatening to repeat their initial
success with "Casanova", the insistent, hypnotic ditty produced by
Reggie Calloway.
FINDING out that Atlantic Starr? whose music has marked them as a real
staple in anyone's black music diet for the past 9 years ? have only
ever had one gold album came as a shock to me when keyboardists
Jonathan Lewis revealed that very information during the course of our
recent interview, held in conjunction with the forthcoming release of
the group's Warner Brothers' debut, "All In The Name Of Love". You
could, as they say, have knocked me down with a pennyfeather ? or some
kind of feather!