Dazz Band

The Dazz Band first earned widespread notice with their standout 1982 funk track "Let It Whip." Among crossover funk successes the single sits alongside "Fire" and "Fight the Power," Top Ten pop hits issued by fellow Ohio natives the Ohio Players and the Isley Brothers in that order. Promptly inspiring several rap adaptations, "Let It Whip" secured a Grammy for the Cleveland outfit while also claiming the uncommon distinction of adaptations by marching bands and a cappella ensembles plus repeated sampling and covers across later decades. The Dazz Band would retain an undisputed position in the development of funk even without "Let It Whip." Displaying uncommon versatility, the musicians have given equal emphasis to their vocal, horn, and rhythm sections from their late-1970s origins under the name Kinsman Dazz onward. Between 1980 and 1998 the group landed nineteen further singles on Billboard's R&B chart, including "On the One for Fun," "Joystick," and the Top 20 U.K. pop hit "Let It All Blow," while also assembling four consecutive Top 20 R&B albums highlighted by the gold-certified Keep It Live that contained "Let It Whip." The band has sustained live activity well into the 2020s with a roster that includes multiple original and early members.

The Dazz Band traces its beginnings to Mother Braintree and Bell Telephunk, two related groups active from the early through mid-1970s whose studio recordings only appeared in 2017. In 1976 the second of those outfits expanded into Kinsman Dazz, a name drawn from the Kinsman Grill Lounge where they served as house band together with an abbreviation of their "danceable jazz" approach. After signing with 20th Century Fox the musicians issued their 1978 debut Kinsman Dazz, produced by Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson along with Tommy Vicari. They followed with the 1979 album Dazz, which featured contributions from Bailey, Vicari, and Pat Glasser. A ballad from each release, "I Might as Well Forget About Loving You" and then founding member Bobby Harris's "Catchin' Up on Love," reached Billboard's R&B chart and landed in its upper half.

Following two albums as Kinsman Dazz the group moved to Motown and adopted the name the Dazz Band. The lineup comprised saxophonist Bobby Harris, lead vocalist and trumpeter Sennie "Skip" Martin, trumpeter Pierre DeMudd, trombonist Ed Myers, guitarists Michael Calhoun and Eric Fearman, keyboardist Kevin Kendrick, percussionist Kenny Pettus, and brothers Issac Wiley and Michael Wiley on drums and bass respectively. From the outset most members also supplied background vocals, with the group's harmonies forming a central element of their sound. The shift to Motown initiated an enduring collaboration with Reggie Andrews, the educator, producer, songwriter, and musician then recognized chiefly for his work with protégé Patrice Rushen, who coincidentally arranged the strings on Kinsman Dazz. The Dazz Band debuted on Motown in 1980 with Invitation to Love, an album that began to reduce Earth, Wind & Fire comparisons through Harris and Calhoun's "Shake It Up" (number 65 R&B) and the Calhoun and DeMudd ballad "Invitation to Love" (number 51 R&B).

Reggie Andrews and close associate Leon "Ndugu" Chancler next supplied the group with a party anthem realized as the polished "Let It Whip" on their 1982 breakthrough second album Keep It Live. A crossover success, "Let It Whip" topped the R&B singles chart, nearly reached the summit of the dance chart, and peaked at number five on the Hot 100, propelling the parent album to the top of the R&B albums chart, number 14 on the Billboard 200, and eventual gold certification. Call-and-response follow-up "Keep It Live (On the K.I.L)" became a number 20 R&B single, after which "Let It Whip" received Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards. By the close of 1982 the Dazz Band had also issued their third Motown album On the One, which produced three charting A-sides including the number nine R&B hit "On the One for Fun," another Andrews/Chancler composition. Rapid activity during these years brought some membership turnover. Before the breakthrough Ed Myers, Michael Calhoun, and Kevin Kendrick departed, while synthesizer player Steve Cox came aboard. Daytonian keyboardist Keith Harrison, previously of Faze-O and Heatwave, joined between the 1982 albums.

The Dazz Band recorded three additional Motown albums. Reggie Andrews continued producing alongside Bobby Harris for 1983's Joystick and 1984's Jukebox. Typically energetic singles "Joystick," "Swoop (I'm Yours)," and "Let It All Blow," followed by Andrews and Harris's sparkling quiet storm shift "Heartbeat," all charted inside or just outside the R&B Top Ten. The high-tech "Let It All Blow," written by Harris and Keith Harrison, became the band's third Hot 100 single after "Let It Whip" and "Joystick" while performing even better on the U.K. pop chart at number 12. Harris produced the Dazz Band's final Motown album Hot Spot. Issued in 1985, Hot Spot brought ex-Pleasure guitarist Marlon McClain into the fold on a lasting basis in place of departed Eric Fearman. The album narrowly missed becoming the group's fifth straight Top 20 R&B release despite strong chart placement for the title track, which reached nearly the same position on the R&B singles list.

After parting with Motown the Dazz Band signed briefly with Geffen. They released the Bobby Harris-produced Wild & Free in 1986, featuring former New Birth vocalist Jerry Bell in place of Skip Martin as frontman and Kenny Pettus expanding his established percussion duties to replace Isaac Wiley at the drum kit, while Reggie Andrews returned to arrange strings. The swinging "Love M.I.A." and rocking "Wild & Free" both charted in the R&B 40s. Two years later, squarely in the new jack swing period, Rock the Room appeared as the ninth Dazz Band album. The band's sole RCA release generated three charting singles with varied production. "Anticipation," a collaboration with Eumir Deodato, spotlighted new co-lead vocalist Juan Lively, formerly one half of Voyeur alongside Michael Calhoun. The Ish Ledesma-produced "Single Girls" proved most successful, marking the band's last Top 20 R&B hit.

Bobby Harris continued directing the Dazz Band through numerous lineup shifts and occasional recording that updated their signature early-1980s funk sound. In the late 1990s the group returned to the studio and independently issued Under the Streetlights, Double Exposure, and Here We Go Again in successive years. During this stretch the band was co-fronted by new addition Terry Stanton and Skip Martin, who rejoined after time with Kool & the Gang. Original Pleasure bassist Nathaniel Phillips became Marlon McClain's bandmate once more as a fitting replacement for Michael Wiley, who had died in 1993. Around the same period Harris assembled the UWF All-Stars ("United We Funk") with Dazz Band members and peers including the S.O.S. Band, Con Funk Shun, the Bar-Kays, and the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson, aided by presenter Tom Joyner. The Dazz Band resurfaced in 2001 with the studio album Time Traveler, which opened with a cover of Norman Connors' "You Are My Starship." Five years later Stanton was murdered in Los Angeles. Pierre DeMudd died in 2017, followed by Isaac Wiley in 2023. The Dazz Band have extended their legacy with Harris, Skip Martin, Keith Harrison, and McClain forming the core of their ongoing live lineup.