Shalamar



Shalamar  is an American R&B and soul music vocal group, active in the mid-1970s and throughout the 1980s, that was originally a disco–driven vehicle created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and show creator and producer Don Cornelius. They went on to be an influential dance trio, masterminded by Cornelius. As noted in the British Hit Singles & Albums, they were regarded as fashion icons and trendsetters, and helped to introduce "body-popping" to the United Kingdom. Their collective name, "Shalamar", was picked by Griffey.

Career
Their first hit was Uptown Festival (1977), released on Soul Train Records. Its success inspired Griffey and Don Cornelius to replace session singers with popular Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, to join original Shalamar lead singer Gary Mumford. Gerald Brown took over the spot vacated by Mumford for the group's second album, Disco Gardens (1978), which featured the hit "Take That To The Bank". After conflicts over lack of payment from Dick Griffey and Solar Records, Brown left the group. Howard Hewett replaced Brown in 1979. The group was joined up with producer Leon Sylvers III in 1979, signed with Griffey's SOLAR Records, and scored a US million seller with "The Second Time Around" (1979).

In the UK, the group had a string of hits with songs such as "Take That To The Bank" (1978), "I Owe You One" (1980), and songs from the Friends (1982) album: "I Can Make You Feel Good" (1982), "A Night To Remember", "There It Is", and the title track "Friends". The album, which crossed the genres of pop, disco, and soul, was also a big seller in the UK in 1982. The band's record sales in the UK increased when Daniel demonstrated his body-popping dancing skills on BBC Television's music programme, Top of the Pops, which had premiered the Moonwalk on television for the first time. Michael Jackson was a fan of Shalamar's, in particular, Daniel and his dance moves, after watching him on Soul Train. Jackson and Daniel met afterward, and Jackson took his then 12-year-old sister Janet to see Shalamar perform at Disneyland. Daniel and Jackson co-choreographed Jackson's "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" videos from the album Bad (1987).

The "classic" lineup of Shalamar (Hewett, Watley, and Daniel) scored a total of three gold albums in the US with Big Fun (1979), Three for Love (1980) - which eventually went platinum) - and Friends (1982). The group took a knock when Watley and Daniel separately left the band over conflicts within the group, and other issues with Dick Griffey and Solar Records. Adding to Watley's impetus to depart was Watley's increasing frustration with SOLAR Records and Dick Griffey, shortly after the release of their next album, The Look (1983). Nonetheless, the album yielded a number of UK hit singles, including "Disappearing Act", "Dead Giveaway", and "Over and Over". The album itself moved Shalamar into a more new wave/synthpop direction, with rock guitars to the fore. But The Look generally was not the success that Friends had been the previous year.

With a mid 1980s line-up change, adding Micki Free and Delisa Davis, Shalamar returned to the US Top 20 in 1984 with "Dancing in the Sheets" (1984) from the Footloose soundtrack. The song peaked at #17, and the group won a Grammy for "Don't Get Stopped In Beverly Hills" from Beverly Hills Cop (1984) in 1984.

In 1985, Kool & the Gang, Midnight Star, Shalamar and Klymaxx performed at the Marriott Convention Center in Oklahoma City. That year Hewett departed to begin his solo career, and was replaced by Sydney Justin. Following Hewett's departure, the band began to lose popularity; Circumstantial Evidence (1987) did not sell well, and the band broke up shortly after Wake Up (1990) was released.

Reunions
In 1996, Watley rejoined with Hewett and Daniel, plus LL Cool J, on Babyface's million-selling single "This Is for the Lover in You"; a cover of a hit single from Shalamar's album Three for Love (1980). A music video was shot in which the three former members of Shalamar were digitally reunited on screen. Hewett, Watley, and Daniel subsequently joined Babyface and LL Cool J to perform the song on the UK's Top of the Pops in 1996. They are credited on this single release under their individual names; however, it marked the classic trio's first and only live performance together since 1983.

In 1999, Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel reformed Shalamar and played in Japan. This was followed by UK tours in 2000, 2001, and 2003. From 2003, Shalamar continued touring with the line up of Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Daniel, and Carolyn Griffey. In 2005, this lineup appeared on the UK television series, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, with original members Daniel and Hewett, and with Carolyn Griffey (a long-time friend and fan of the original band's, and daughter of Shalamar founder and Solar Record boss Dick Griffey's). Carolyn's mother is Carrie Lucas, for whom Watley sang backing vocals. Shalamar reached the grand finale of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in May 2005, ultimately losing out to Shakin' Stevens. This was followed by annual concert tours in the UK, Cannes, USA, Nigeria, and Japan.

Shalamar was featured in a segment of TV One's series Unsung, in which Watley, Daniel, and Hewett shared their stories about the group's creation, the lack of payments and royalties from Solar Records, success, egos, and the breakup of the classic lineup. Dick Griffey, Micki Free, Delisa Davis, and Sydney Justin were also interviewed for the episode. In October 2009, the reconstituted Shalamar of Hewett, Daniel, and Griffey, performed as a part of "The Ultimate Boogie Nights Disco Concert Series", at IndigO2, within O2 Arena Entertainment Avenue in London. This prompted their return to the UK in April 2010 for a tour. Shalamar returned to IndigO2 in October 2011, December 2012, December 2013 and December 2014. Shalamar performed a series of eight UK tour dates in April 2015 and another tour of four UK dates in July 2015.

Personnel
Shalamar
 * Jeffrey Daniel - vocals, guitar (1977-1983, 1996-1997, 1999–current)
 * Jody Watley - vocals (1977-1983, 1996-1997)
 * Gary Mumford - vocals (1977-1978)
 * Gerald Brown - vocals (1978-1979)
 * Howard Hewett - vocals, piano, guitar (1979-1985, 1996-1997, 1999-current)
 * Delisa Davis - vocals, keyboards (1983-1991)
 * Micki Free - vocals, guitar (1983-1991)
 * Sydney Justin - vocals, keyboards (1985-1991)
 * Carolyn Griffey - vocals (2001-current)