Biography
Dayton, Ohio earned recognition as the funk capital of the world in part because of Faze-O, a group that stood alongside Ohio Players, Slave, and Heatwave. During the second half of the 1970s the quintet registered an immediate Billboard Top Ten R&B success with the relaxed, hypnotic title track from their debut album, Riding High, which appeared in 1978. Their next two Atlantic-distributed LPs, Good Thang and Breakin' the Funk, both arrived before the decade closed and likewise charted on the strength of their laid-back title songs. Across subsequent decades, particularly the 1990s, dozens of hip-hop producers drew from the “Riding High” recording as a sample source.
Faze-O grew out of an earlier Dayton ensemble called Phase Three that included bassist Tyrone Crum. Following several personnel shifts, the band became Faze-O in 1975, its lineup completed by guitarist Ralph Aikens, keyboardist Keith Harrison, percussionist Robert Neal, Jr., and drummer Roger Parker. Vocal responsibilities were shared among most members. While weighing a relocation to Atlanta, the musicians received an offer of production assistance from Ohio Players’ Clarence Satchell. After securing an Atlantic distribution agreement for their own She label, they cut Riding High, issued in 1977. The band and Satchell wrote the title song, which the Ohio Players arranged; it entered Billboard’s R&B chart in March of the following year and reached number nine, while the album itself climbed to number 98 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the R&B albums chart. Good Thang followed late in 1978, peaking at number 40 on the R&B albums tally behind its Rick James-styled title track, a number 43 R&B single. Still collaborating closely with Satchell, Faze-O completed their third and last album, Breakin’ the Funk, released in 1979; its easy-grooving title song served as the lone single and reached number 63.
Following the group’s dissolution, Harrison joined Heatwave in time for Candles and Current and later contributed to Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip,” while Parker moved to Slave during the Show Time period and subsequently performed with Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame. Different lineups of Faze-O continued to appear onstage into the 2010s. Work on a new album was under way in 2021 when Neal died; Parker passed away in 2023.
Faze-O grew out of an earlier Dayton ensemble called Phase Three that included bassist Tyrone Crum. Following several personnel shifts, the band became Faze-O in 1975, its lineup completed by guitarist Ralph Aikens, keyboardist Keith Harrison, percussionist Robert Neal, Jr., and drummer Roger Parker. Vocal responsibilities were shared among most members. While weighing a relocation to Atlanta, the musicians received an offer of production assistance from Ohio Players’ Clarence Satchell. After securing an Atlantic distribution agreement for their own She label, they cut Riding High, issued in 1977. The band and Satchell wrote the title song, which the Ohio Players arranged; it entered Billboard’s R&B chart in March of the following year and reached number nine, while the album itself climbed to number 98 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the R&B albums chart. Good Thang followed late in 1978, peaking at number 40 on the R&B albums tally behind its Rick James-styled title track, a number 43 R&B single. Still collaborating closely with Satchell, Faze-O completed their third and last album, Breakin’ the Funk, released in 1979; its easy-grooving title song served as the lone single and reached number 63.
Following the group’s dissolution, Harrison joined Heatwave in time for Candles and Current and later contributed to Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip,” while Parker moved to Slave during the Show Time period and subsequently performed with Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame. Different lineups of Faze-O continued to appear onstage into the 2010s. Work on a new album was under way in 2021 when Neal died; Parker passed away in 2023.
Albums
