Biography
Session players Ollie E. Brown on drums and Jerry Knight on bass built careers as go-to studio musicians. Both Detroit natives anchored the rhythm section in Ray Parker Jr.’s group Raydio, another Motor City product. Knight handled lead vocals on the band’s gold-certified smash “Jack and Jill,” which climbed to number five R&B and number eight pop.
Recording for A&M, Knight teamed with producer David Kershenbaum to shape an unusual rock/R&B/funk hybrid; the result included the Top 17 R&B single “Overnight Sensation” from his self-titled LP Jerry Knight as well as Super Rare Disco, Vol. 2. Brown, meanwhile, handled production duties for Klique, Patti Austin, Latoya Jackson, and the Rolling Stones.
Polydor executive Russ Regan invited Brown to write material for the soundtrack of the breakdancing film Breakin’. During a pre-release screening, one character’s line—“they can’t stop us”—caught Brown’s ear. Working on the idea with Knight, the pair also reflected on their own industry setbacks. Released under the name Ollie and Jerry, “Breakin’…There’s No Stoppin Us” reached number three R&B and number nine pop during summer 1984. Its 12-inch extended mix offers deeper, more reverberant space and prominent synth bass, backed by an instrumental.
The duo reappeared on the soundtrack to Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, contributing “Electric Boogaloo,” which peaked at number 45 R&B late that year. Knight went on to co-write and produce tracks for the Jets, Bunny DeBarge, Natalie Cole’s Everlasting, and Patrice Rushen’s Watch Out.
“Breakin’…There’s No Stoppin Us” has since appeared on Disco Nights, Vol. 7: DJ Pix, Breaking Homies, Billboard Top Dance Hits:1984, Dance Dance Dance: Dance Hits of the ’60s, ’70s, & ’80s, and Decades of Dance ’60s ’70s & ’80s.
Recording for A&M, Knight teamed with producer David Kershenbaum to shape an unusual rock/R&B/funk hybrid; the result included the Top 17 R&B single “Overnight Sensation” from his self-titled LP Jerry Knight as well as Super Rare Disco, Vol. 2. Brown, meanwhile, handled production duties for Klique, Patti Austin, Latoya Jackson, and the Rolling Stones.
Polydor executive Russ Regan invited Brown to write material for the soundtrack of the breakdancing film Breakin’. During a pre-release screening, one character’s line—“they can’t stop us”—caught Brown’s ear. Working on the idea with Knight, the pair also reflected on their own industry setbacks. Released under the name Ollie and Jerry, “Breakin’…There’s No Stoppin Us” reached number three R&B and number nine pop during summer 1984. Its 12-inch extended mix offers deeper, more reverberant space and prominent synth bass, backed by an instrumental.
The duo reappeared on the soundtrack to Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, contributing “Electric Boogaloo,” which peaked at number 45 R&B late that year. Knight went on to co-write and produce tracks for the Jets, Bunny DeBarge, Natalie Cole’s Everlasting, and Patrice Rushen’s Watch Out.
“Breakin’…There’s No Stoppin Us” has since appeared on Disco Nights, Vol. 7: DJ Pix, Breaking Homies, Billboard Top Dance Hits:1984, Dance Dance Dance: Dance Hits of the ’60s, ’70s, & ’80s, and Decades of Dance ’60s ’70s & ’80s.