Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Emerging from the Bronx in 1974, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band coalesced around Stony Browder, Jr. (b. 1949), his brother August Darnell (born Thomas Browder in 1951), vocalist Cory Daye (b. 1952), Andy Hernandez (b. 1950), and Mickey Sevilla (b. 1953). The ensemble set out to revive the spirit of a 1930s dance orchestra in the mold of Cab Calloway, pairing sardonic lyrics with contemporary disco rhythms. Those qualities surfaced fully on the self-titled debut album issued in 1976, which yielded the club staple “Cherchez la Femme” and attained gold certification. The follow-up, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Meets King Pennett, met with diminished returns. After the release of the third album, James Monroe HS Presents Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Goes to Washington, the group splintered; Darnell and Hernandez subsequently launched Kid Creole & the Coconuts. Browder later reconstituted the project, omitting the word “original,” and delivered the 1984 album Calling All Beatniks! under the shortened name Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band.