Shadow was a music group in 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 ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

genre that was a spin-off from the

Ohio Players Ohio Players are an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models f ...

. They released three albums on the Elektra label. They were ''Love Lite'' in 1979, ''Shadow'' in 1980, and ''Shadows in the Street'' in 1981. They also released a number of singles over the period from 1979 to 1981. There seems to be a degree of mystery as to who the actual members of the group were.

Background

The group was made up by three former members of the Ohio Players. They appeared to deliberately disguise their identity. On one of their performances in 1980, they were playing in the shadows which added to their somewhat secretive image portrayal. They were probably made up of James "Diamond" Williams on drums, William "Billy" Beck on keyboards, and guitarist Chet Willis. Those were the main members. Other musicians that played on the recordings were, Daniel Zazurus on keyboards, Kenneth Williams on drums. Others were Robert Bryant,

Garnett Brown Garnett Pompilius Brown (January 31, 1936 – October 9, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist who worked with The Crusaders, Herbie Hancock, Lionel Hampton, Earth Wind and Fire and others. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he graduated from the U ...

, Ernie Fields, Delbert Taylor, Azar Lawrence, and

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

. In spite of the mystery surrounding the make up of the group, two members of the group were pictured in an October, 1981 issue of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chatting in a studio with

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" a ...

, bassist for

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

and sound engineer

Art Stewart Arthur Stewart (February 6, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was an American baseball front-office executive and scout. He began his Major League Baseball (MLB) scouting career with the New York Yankees in 1953. He later joined the Kansas City Roya ...

Album releases

In 1979, they released the album ''Love Lite'' on Electra 6E-233. It was produced by Kenneth Williams, Willie Beck, Clarence Willis and Don Mizell. The credited musicians on the album were Daniel Lazarus on keyboards, Kenneth Williams on drums and percussion, Clarence Willis on vocals, guitars and bass. On horns were Robert Bryant Snr, Garnett Brown, Ernie Fields Jnr, Delbert Taylor, Azar Lawrence and Fred Wesley. The string section was made up of Bill Henderson and his Strings, Don Palmer, Janise Gower, Jerome Webster,

Sid Page Sid Page is an American violinist who has been active in many genres of music since the late 1960s. He has been a member of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. From 1973 to 1974, he was a member of Sly and the Family Stone and appeared on their album ...

and Pam Gates. Willie Beck, Clarence Willis, and James Williams were the credited composers. Their second album ''Shadow'' was released in 1980 on Elektra 6E-293. It featured "I Can't Keep Holding Back (My Love)" which was written by Linda Clay and "Beyond the Finish Line". The single off the album, "Mystery Dancer" was released in July 1980. Their third album '' Shadows in the Street'' was released in 1981 on Elektra 6E-345. Most of the lead vocals were sung by Willis. The album included "Born to Hustle", "Best Lady" and Piece of Cake", and "Clouds". The single from the album was "Party in the Streets". The album was produced by

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

and the engineer was

Discography

Albums

Singles

Musicians (listed alphabetically)

* William "Billy" Beck - keyboards * Garnett Brown * Robert Bryant * Ernie Fields * Azar Lawrence * Delbert Taylor * Fred Wesley * James "Diamond" Williams - drums * Kenneth Williams - drums * Clarence "Chet" Willis - guitar * Daniel Zazurus aka Lazarus / Zarus etc. - keyboards

References

External links

* {{Authority control American funk musical groups American soul musical groups