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

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 gen ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and minister, who grew up in

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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 and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, in 1975. About a year later Arrington relocated from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. "Pete Escovedo Biography & Awards" With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke ...

and

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

. 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 m ...

group

Slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

(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 us ...

. Eventually Arrington took over lead vocals, singing on the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a 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: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

) 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 Three Times Dope was an American hip hop/rap group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania consisting of EST ( Robert Waller), Chuck Nice (Walter Griggs) and Woody Wood (Duerwood Beale). 3xD, as they were called for short, were a part of the Hilltop Hu ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

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

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

was his 1985 solo work '' Dancin' in the Key of Life'', whose title track became a top ten R&B

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

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 Weekl ...

announced that Arrington was working with producer

Dâm-Funk Damon Garrett Riddick (born June 15, 1971), better known by his stage name Dâm-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 Christopher George Manak (born October 8, 1969 ), better known by his stage name Peanut Butter Wolf, is an American disc jockey and record producer from San Jose, California. He is based in Los Angeles, where he moved to in 2000. He is the found ...

. Producers include

DJ Harrison Devonne Andre Harris, more commonly known by his stage name DJ Harrison, is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer from Richmond, Virginia. Early life The son of a radio deejay, Harris was born in Petersburg and grew up in C ...

Knxwledge Glen Earl Boothe (born March 8, 1988), professionally known as Knxwledge (pronounced "knowledge"), is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Since 2009, he has had over 100 releases via Bandcamp. His ...

J Rocc The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in turntablism. Established in 1992 in Orange County, California by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. Th ...

, 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 @ Discogs

Steve Arrington's Hall Of Fame @ Discogs

Steve Arrington 2014 Interview on Soulinterviews.com

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 Living people African-American drummers African-American record producers Record producers from Ohio African-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 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers