His mighty tenor sax squawking and bleating with wild-eyed abandon, Big Jay McNeely blew up a torrid R&B tornado from every conceivable position -- on his knees, on his back, being wheeled down the street on an auto mechanic's "creeper" like a modern-day pied piper. As one of the titans who made tenor sax the solo instrument of choice during... [+] Read More

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Like Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & the Gang before them, Crown Heights Affair artfully bridged the gap between funk and disco, guaranteeing their records new life via sampling by successive generations of rappers and DJs. Originally dubbed New Day Express, the group formed in Brooklyn, NY, in 1967, originally comprising lead vocalist Philip... [+] Read More

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Dyke & the Blazers were one of the first acts -- possibly the first notable act -- to play funk other than James Brown. Indeed, they often sounded like a sort of junior version of Brown and the JB's, playing songs in which the rhythms and riffs mattered more than the tune. Similarly, vocalist Dyke Christian sang/grunted words that mattered more... [+] Read More

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Singer Evelyn "Champagne" King first came to fame with the million-selling '70s disco smashes "Shame" and "I Don't Know If It's Right." Born July 1, 1960, in the Bronx, NY, she had a showbiz lineage. Her uncle was actor/singer/dancer Avon Long, who first played Sportin' Life in the play Porgy and Bess and later starred in the '70s play Bubblin'... [+] Read More

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Along with wife Gwen McCrae, Miami-based artist George McCrae was a prime mover on the early disco front with his own R&B chart-topper "Rock Your Baby" in 1974. With disco kings Harry Casey and Richard Finch of KC & the Sunshine Band producing and writing his output on Henry Stone's T.K. label, McCrae rapidly returned with the double-sided hit... [+] Read More

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Best remembered for her number one R&B hit "Rockin' Chair" from 1975, Gwen McCrae was a gutsy Southern soul diva with a particular affinity for dance tracks. Along with her husband George ("Rock Your Baby"), Gwen was part of the Miami-based T.K. Records stable, which laid a great deal of groundwork for the disco explosion. Born Gwen Mosley in... [+] Read More

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Completely cosmopolitan with international grooves to spare, Heatwave emerged as one of the disco era's funkiest dance groups. American serviceman brothers Johnnie Wilder and his brother Keith Wilder were based in Germany when they first began performing, and upon their discharge from the Army, the duo stayed in that country. Both singers, the... [+] Read More

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The Bee Gees may have been the undisputed disco kings of the late '70s, but KC & the Sunshine Band weren't far behind. From the mid- to late '70s, the multi-member and racially integrated group led by bandleaders Harry Wayne "KC" Casey and Richard Finch racked up some of the era's biggest and instantly recognizable dance hits. Casey and Finch... [+] Read More

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Washington, D.C., vocalist Ronnie Dyson enjoyed both stage and R&B success. He was the lead actor in the Broadway production of the musical Hair, and his initial hit was a song from the off-Broadway musical Salvation. "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You" was both Top Ten R&B and pop in 1970, and "I Don't Wanna Cry" was... [+] Read More

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Charles "Packy" Axton, a tenor saxophonist and son of Stax co-owner Estelle Axton, formed his own band in the mid-'60s. He was previously in the Mar-Keys. They reworked an old tune, "Hole in the Wall," and landed a number five R&B hit in 1965. It was their lone chart entry. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

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