Steven Ralph Arrington (born March 5, 1956) is an American

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and minister, who grew up in

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Biography

Arrington played in various local bands before joining and touring with The Murphys, a lounge band out of

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, in 1975. About a year later Arrington relocated from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he learned Latin percussion and drumming as well as playing with Coke Escovedo, Pete Escovedo and

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of her generation; she is known for skills as a multi-instrumental ...

. He joined the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

group

Slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

(founded 1975) on their third LP, called '' The Concept'', in 1978 – originally to play percussion, then later becoming the

and a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

. Eventually Arrington took over lead vocals, singing on the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

s "Just a Touch of Love", "Watching You" (which has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

) and "Wait for Me". Arrington left Slave in 1982, forming Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame, and had hit singles such as "Weak at the Knees" (which was sampled by Three Times Dope,

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

, and others), and "Nobody Can Be You But You". His most successful

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

was his 1985 solo work '' Dancin' in the Key of Life'', whose title track became a top ten R&B hit. The single also spent three weeks at number two on the dance charts, and went to number three on the Radio & Records R&B airplay chart. Another single from the album, "Feel So Real" reached #5 in the UK Singles Chart in May that year. He was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Best Male Artist of 1986. In 1984 Arrington experienced a religious conversion, later becoming a licensed minister and, in 1990, he left

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

until his re-emergence in October 2009, when he released the R&B, Funk, spiritual album ''Pure Thang''. In September 2010

Stones Throw Records Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. ''LA Weekly'' ...

announced that Arrington was working with producer

Dâm-Funk Damon Garrett Riddick (born June 15, 1971), better known by his stage name Dam-Funk (stylized as DāM-FunK; pronounced "Dame Funk"), is an American funk musician, vocalist and producer from Pasadena, California. In 2007, Riddick signed with the ...

on a new album. In February, Arrington did an interview with The Revivalist and told them his new album, "Love, Peace and Funky Beatz", was due out in late summer or early fall 2011. On August 6, 2013, Stones Throw Records released Arrington + Dam-Funk's "Higher". In September 2014 Tummy Touch released the album "Way Out (80–84)", a collection of songs from ''Hall of Fame Vol 1'' and ''Positive Power'', plus unreleased and previously unfinished material. On September 18, 2020,

released a new solo album by Steve Arrington titled ''Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions'' with the single "Keep Dreamin'". The album recording took place in 2019–2020 in collaboration with a cast of a new generation of talented producers orchestrated with the help of Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf. Producers include DJ Harrison, Knxwledge, J Rocc, Shibo,

Jerry Paper Lucas Nathan (born August 7, 1990), best known by the stage name Jerry Paper, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. They began releasing music in 2009, with their first projects being Zonotope™ and the noise music project D ...

, Brian Ellis, Gifted & Blessed, and Benedek.

Discography

Albums with Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame

Solo albums

Singles with Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame

Solo singles

Compilation albums

References

External links

Steve Arrington's official website
* *
Steve Arrington 2012 @ Red Bull Music Academy

Steve Arrington's artist page on Stones Throw Records

Pitchfork 2020 Album Review of Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrington, Steve 1956 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Living people African-American drummers African-American record producers Record producers from Ohio African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American dance musicians American contemporary R&B singers American Protestant religious leaders Singer-songwriters from Ohio Musicians from Dayton, Ohio American funk singers American session musicians Atlantic Records artists Atco Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Drummers from Ohio