Nytro

Drawing inspiration from the Bar-Kays and the Ohio Players, the little-known funk and soul group Nytro teamed with producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield during the late 1970s. Whitfield, who had crafted major hits for artists ranging from Edwin Starr to Rose Royce, enjoyed a well-earned reputation for consistent commercial success at the time. Even so, that Midas touch did not extend to the horn-powered Nytro, whose two albums on his Whitfield label—Nytro in 1977 and Return to Nytropolis in 1979—failed to sell. The LPs moved between gritty funk and jazz-inflected quiet storm styles, yet neither found an audience, and the band disbanded in 1980. Nytro’s roster featured lead singer Robert Justice, trumpeters Kenneth Scott and LaMorris Payne, saxophonist Chris Powell, guitarist Earnest Reed Jr., bassist Theodore Willingham, keyboardist Benjamin Wilber, and drummer Daniel Smithson.