Robert Philip Orlando also known as Bobby Orlando or just Bobby O, is an American record producer, indie record label owner, songwriter, and musician. He is regarded as an innovator in the

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

genre for developing his signature sound, using a "powerful beat" and " new wave-style" vocals with the help of synthesizers, piano, guitars, cowbells and a "heavy ynthesizerbass".

Early life

The son of a suburban New York schoolteacher, Orlando declined a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

scholarship to pursue his then current musical interest,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

. In the late 1970s, his professional interests turned to

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and shortly thereafter, he established his own record label, "O" Records.

Music career

Bobby Orlando has been active as music producer, songwriter, musician, and record label impresario. Orlando is credited as one of the founding fathers of

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

dance music. His productions are easily identifiable by their dense synthesizers, rolling bass lines, and resounding percussion. He has played multiple instruments on his tracks including electronic keyboards, guitars, bass, synthesizers, drums, piano, assorted percussion, trumpet and saxophone. The ringing cowbell percussion lines and robotic sequencers heard in "She Has a Way", "The Best Part of Breakin' Up" and "Native Love (Step by Step)" have been described as defining his trademark sound. As a solo artist, Bobby O scored hits with tracks "She Has a Way", "How to Pick Up Girls", "Suspicious Minds", and "I'm So Hot for You". He created his project concept

The Flirts The Flirts are a project concept group formed by Bobby "O" Orlando to front his performances as an artist, musician and songwriter. The group consisted of Orlando and featured a revolving roster of female session singers and models. Under The F ...

, to further front his performances as an artist, musician and songwriter. With an ever revolving roster of female session singers and models, Orlando churned out the hits "

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

", "

Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Island ...

", and " Helpless". His association with underground film star

Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

resulted in classic club anthems "

Native Love (Step by Step) "Native Love (Step by Step)" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1982. The song also appeared on Divine's first album, '' Jungle Jezebel'' (titled ''My First Album'' in some territories), in 1982 and was later ...

" (featuring Orlando's voice in the chorus), "

Love Reaction "Love Reaction" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1983. The song was later included on the 1984 compilation album ''The Story So Far''. It has been noted for its similarity to New Order's song " Blue Monday" ...

", and "

Shoot Your Shot "Shoot Your Shot" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1982. The song appeared on Divine's first album, '' Jungle Jezebel'' (titled ''My First Album'' in some territories), in 1982 and was later included on the ...

". Orlando also produced The Fast, later to be known as

Man 2 Man Man 2 Man (later known as Man to Man) was an American hi-NRG band from New York City that formed in the early 1980s. It was best known for their hit singles "Male Stripper", "Energy Is Eurobeat" and "I Need a Man". Beginnings: The Fast The Fa ...

. When

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for '' Smash Hits'', and assist ...

, then an assistant editor at ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'', and later a member of

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

, was sent to interview

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

in 1983 in New York, he sought out Orlando. Both Tennant and fellow Pet Shop Boy

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Christopher Sean Lowe was born and raised in Bla ...

admired Orlando's sound and productions – "Passion" by

the Flirts The Flirts are a project concept group formed by Bobby "O" Orlando to front his performances as an artist, musician and songwriter. The group consisted of Orlando and featured a revolving roster of female session singers and models. Under The F ...

, being a particular favorite. Orlando decided to produce a Pet Shop Boys album and released their first two earliest 12-inch singles including the original 1984 version of "

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London wh ...

" and " One More Chance". Orlando and the Pet Shop Boys recorded twelve tracks together, most of which never saw release, including the original versions of "

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...

", "

Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, '' Please'' (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity ...

", and "I Get Excited". Orlando's songs frequently deal with philosophical themes such as "Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man)", which was given a contemporary twist when it was re-recorded by Pet Shop Boys in 2003 (see '' Disco 3''). Many of Orlando's lyrics describe unrequited love, private despair, personal angst and a truth-seeking perspective. Orlando frequently etched philosophical maxims into vinyl records featuring his songs; these adages being literally cut into the grooves near the "lead out" and "lock grooves" of the vinyl. His music has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'', '' Wigstock: The Movie'', ''

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy crime film written and directed by Shane Black (in his directorial debut), and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The script is ...

'', ''

Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, f ...

'', ''Dark Mirror'', ''Flying'', ''High Risk'', ''Rappin'', ''Underground'','This Is The Night'' and Eric. French

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

duo Miss Kittin & the Hacker mention Orlando in their song "Walking in the Sunshine" from their 2001 release, ''First Album'' ("I love men like Bobby Orlando / The Flirts composer a long time ago / It makes me laugh a lot, you know / But I don't want to show"). Orlando has influenced various

Eurodisco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is a genre of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s, incorporating elements of pop music, pop and rock music, rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

("EDM") and hi-NRG releases. He has been cited by music historians for his contribution to dance music.

Production discography

Bobby Orlando productions:

Oh Romeo discography

Oh Romeo, was a concept group created by Bobby Orlando. Each release featured different session singers. *The song "One More Shot" was also featured on the 1994

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

album ''Super Eurobeat Presents Hi-NRG '80s''. *In 1991, the Hot Productions label released their

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, ''These Memories: The Best of Oh Romeo''.[]. Allmusic. Retrieved on July 26, 2009

Notes

External links

Discogs Bobby Orlando discography

MassiveDance2010: YouTube channel with recent releases
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlando, Bobby Record producers from New York (state) American dance musicians American hi-NRG musicians Musicians from New York City Living people 1958 births Singer-songwriters from New York (state)