Manchild

Throughout much of the opening and middle stretch of the 1970s, Manchild built experience through repeated appearances at neighborhood venues until Chi-Sound Records offered them a contract in 1977. Their funk and soul approach finally located an audience, yet the surrounding disco climate kept their recordings from breaking through, yielding only a modest chart entry that year with the single "Especially for You." The imprint continued supporting the band across a pair of albums, yet by the close of the decade Manchild again found themselves without a label. Among the former members, Kenneth Edmonds, better known as Babyface, rose to prominence as a best-selling performer and highly accomplished producer and songwriter who scored numerous successes, including collaborations with Gladys Knight, throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Lead singer and guitarist Reggie Griffin sustained his own path, beginning with membership in West Street Mob before assembling Reggie Griffin & Technofunk, a project that later shortened its name to Griffin (distinct from the unrelated industrial act sharing the title). Griffin has since contributed to projects involving Babyface along with Boyz II Men, the Bee Gees, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Phyllis Hyman, the Isley Brothers, the Sugarhill Gang, and Chaka Khan.