Foxy was a late '70s Latin dance/disco group from

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

Career

The group initially consisted of singer and guitarist Ish "Angel" Ledesma, percussionist Richard "Richie" Puente, keyboardist Charlie Murciano, bass guitarist Arnold Paseiro, and drummer Joe Galdo, and (for the first album) co-lead vocalist Gary Ortiz. Shortly after the first album was issued, Ortiz was replaced by Carlo Driggs, who contributed vocals/percussion and shared songwriting credits on Foxy's second album, ''Get Off''.Foxy- ''Get Off'' album, tracklist and personnel
/ref> Foxy's biggest hit was " Get Off" in 1978 (written by Ledesma and Driggs), which peaked at #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #1 on the

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

chart for two weeks. The song was a Dutch #1 smash hit single. It was their only release from the 1978 album ''Get Off'', which was released in 1978. In early 1979, the band (and session musician George Terry) were in

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

, Miami, where they played on the backing track of

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

's song " Voulez-Vous", the only time ABBA recorded outside of Sweden. Driggs left shortly before Foxy's third album was recorded and was not replaced. The group's third album ''Hot Numbers'' was released in 1979. The first single, "Hot Number" peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #4 on the Soul chart in 1979. Keyboardist Charlie Murciano departed the band later in 1979, and the group, now a quartet (with session musicians on keyboards), issued one final album ''Party Boys'' before breaking up in 1980. Ish Ledesma later formed the groups Oxo in 1983 and Company B in 1986, the latter with his wife Lori L., her sister Lezlee Livrano, and Susan Johnson. In addition to his involvement and writing credits with Foxy, Carlo Driggs was the lead singer of

Kracker Kracker were an American rock band active in the 1970s. Biography The band was originally formed in South Florida in 1970, but moved to Chicago in April 1971, where they were introduced to producer Jimmy Miller. With Miller, they recorded their ...

, which released three albums. Driggs was also the lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders for over 20 years (from 1983 till 2004). Driggs died in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Florida on May 31, 2017, of a sudden massive heart attack after playing with his band at home at age 67. Puente, who died on July 18, 2004, at age 51, was the son of bandleader

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

. A news report on the website allaboutjazz.com said Richard Puente "was hospitalized after suffering from viral encephalopathy, which was the result of a brain injury during a mugging more than 10 years prior. Since his release from the hospital, Richie had been nonverbal, confined to a bed and wheelchair, and relegated to tube feeding. He resided at home with his 95-year-old grandmother and his mother, Ida Carlini."allaboutjazz.com
/ref>

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxy (Band) American funk musical groups American disco groups Musical groups from Florida 1976 establishments in Florida Musical groups from Miami