El Coco

Cult disco enthusiasts W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder fronted multiple ventures, of which el Coco emerged as the most prominent. The pair composed, arranged, produced, and performed nearly every instrument across the bulk of their recordings. Jazz schooling shaped their singular approach, revealing itself through inventive arrangements, harmonic choices, and a broader sense of musicality and sonic invention. Long before that partnership, Rinder had worked as a session and touring drummer for rock and soul acts while contributing to dates at Motown and Muscle Shoals. He first encountered keyboardist Lewis in Los Angeles during the late ’60s while auditioning for the Standells; the two subsequently joined the rock group Joshua. In 1973 the AVI label recruited them for extended R&B remixes intended for club play. Drawn into the rising disco movement, they began self-producing original material in 1975 and released the album Caravan under the invented name el Coco, a drug reference. Mondo Disco appeared the next year, joined by Let’s Get It Together, the release that marked their commercial breakthrough. Singer Merria Ross co-wrote the title track, which became a major club success and established el Coco within the disco circuit. The title songs from 1977’s Cocomotion and 1978’s Dancing Paradise also fared well, the former—again co-written by Ross—standing as el Coco’s most enduring track. Around this period the duo also scored television themes and launched additional projects on the Butterfly label under the guises Tuxedo Junction, Saint Tropez, le Pamplemousse, Rinder & Lewis, and the Rinlew Allstars. After issuing Dance Man in 1979 they discontinued the el Coco moniker to focus on those other outlets; following the anti-disco reaction they sustained television work into the early ’80s before stepping away from music altogether.