Hailing from Detroit, Sins of Satan operated as a self-contained soul/funk unit whose roster included Lester Williams on lead vocals and guitar, John Brooks handling lead vocals along with congas and percussion, Jerome Barnes contributing background vocals and guitar, Robin Gentry on vocals, bass, and percussion, plus Jess Godfrey on vocals and drums. Their 1976 Buddah Records single “Dance and Free Your Mind” achieved modest commercial traction after being extracted from the same year’s Thou Shalt Boogie Forever album. Al Perkins and Jimmy Roach served as producers on the group’s debut LP, incorporating additional input from the band members themselves. The association with Buddah proved short-lived; by 1977 the act had moved to United Artists Records, which issued the September 1977 single “Love Brings Love” b/w “Mobile” followed by “Change Man” b/w “Be Right Back” in February 1978. Jimmy Roach was no longer involved at that stage, and the subsequent album Future Star suffered from inadequate promotional support. Oliver Cheatham later joined the lineup as lead vocalist; the group subsequently adopted the name Roundtrip for an MCA release before ultimately being billed simply as Oliver after Cheatham’s departure.
