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About Dazz Band


The Dazz Band is an American R&B/funk band most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include "Let It Whip" , "Joystick" , and "Let It All Blow" . The name of the band is a portmanteau of the description "danceable jazz".


The Dazz Band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1976, stemming from the jazz fusion band Bell Telefunk. Founded by Bobby Harris, the Dazz Band has performed since 1976 and continues to perform today. Original Kinsman Dazz/ Dazz Band members included Bobby Harris , Kenny Pettus , Isaac "Ike" Wiley, Jr. , his brother Michael Wiley , and Michael Calhoun . The group was originally named Kinsman Dazz at the suggestion of Ray Calabrese, who later became its manager along with Sonny Jones, owner of The Kinsman Grill, located near the street Harris grew up on, and where the band worked as a house band.


Kinsman Dazz was signed to 20th Century Records in 1977, and the group expanded from the original quintet consisting of Harris, Calhoun, Pettus, and the Wiley brothers and added newcomers Ed Meyers , Wayne Preston , and Les Thaler . In 1977, the group went to Los Angeles to record with producer Marvin Gaye. Due to illness, Gaye was unable to complete the project. Harris requested and got Philip Bailey, the vocalist of Earth, Wind & Fire, to produce the group's first album Kinsman Dazz. They released their first single, "I Might as Well Forget About Loving You" in 1978. Philip Bailey made significant contributions to the group's vocal arrangements and overall sound. He also co-produced the second album Dazz in 1979, when the band achieved their second charting hit, "Catchin' Up on Love".


In 1980, the Kinsman Dazz changed its name to the Dazz Band, after being signed to Motown Records, which simultaneously included a re-organization of members. Wayne Preston and Les Thaler were no longer with the group, and Sennie "Skip" Martin, , Pierre DeMudd , and Kevin Kendricks were added. In 1981, guitarist Eric Fearman was also added.


The Dazz Band's first album for Motown was Invitation to Love . The album's title track began a string of hits starting in March 1981. The group's next album Let the Music Play featured the single "Knock! Knock!" which reached the top 50. The Dazz Band's breakthrough came with the hit "Let It Whip", written and produced by Reggie Andrews, from their Keep It Live album. "Let It Whip" reached No. 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Members of the Grammy Award winning Dazz Band included: Sennie "Skip" Martin, Pierre DeMudd, Bobby Harris, Eric Fearman, Kenny Pettus, Steve Cox, Keith Harrison, Michael Wiley and Isaac Wiley.


On December 31, 1982, during the Dazz Band's New Year's Eve concert at the Front Row Theatre in Cleveland, Mayor George V. Voinovich presented Bobby Harris and the Dazz Band the Key to the City with proclamations from the State of Ohio. The Dazz Band continued to score R&B hits with the songs such as "Party Right Here" , "On the One for Fun" "Joystick" , and "Let It All Blow" .


This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dazz Band", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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