lakeside
fantastic voyage
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Nine-piece soul funk band Formed in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. from the combination of members of two groups - The Montereys and The Nomads. Originally named Ohio Lakeside Express. They met Frank Wilson just before he'd quit Motown and they were signed at ABC Records and they released their debut in 1977 produced by Frank Wilson. In 1978 their manager and friend Dick Griffey founded Solar and signed the group. Norman Whitfield as well had made them an offer for Whitfield Records but Lakeside turned it down. They contributed instead to Willie Hutch' "In Tune" released in Whitfield's label. They also contributed in "Danceland" (from Carrie Lucas' third album in 1979) and produced 7th Wonder's "Stop Before You Break My Heart" (from their third and last album). They would release nine albums at Solar between 1978 - 1990. Their main line up (after several changes) were Otis Stokes (guitar, vocals), Thomas Shelby (lead vocals), Mark Adam Wood, Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Stephen Shockley (guitar), Fred Alexander Jr. (drums), Tiemeyer McCain (lead vocals), Marvin Craig (bass), Fred Lewis (2) (percussion), Norman Beavers (keyboards). They became famous for their flamboyant theatrical costumes on their album covers and for the rich, heavy, uplifting funk soul sound. Their biggest legacy remains their 1980 single "Fantastic Voyage" (No.1 in the r'n'b charts, the closest they came to a crossover success - No.55 in the U.S. pop chart) that was included in the soundtrack of 1992's "South Central" and Coolio covered -among other rappers- in 1994. Other big hits are "It's All The Way Live" (No.4 in 1977, R'n'B charts), their cover on The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (1981, No.5, R'n'B charts), "Raid" (1983, No.8 R'n'B charts) and "Outrageous" (1984, No.7 R'n'B charts).
discogs
Lakeside is an American funk band, best known for their 1980 number one R&B hit "Fantastic Voyage". In 1969, Dayton, Ohio native Stephen Shockley formed the Young Underground after exiting the Monterreys. Vocalist Mark Woods, who was a member of the local band the Nomads, joined up with Shockley to form a more mature-sounding Young Underground. The group initially had a record deal with Curtom Records as a result of winning a talent contest in Chicago. However, Curtom folded shortly thereafter. While in Chicago the group renamed itself Lakeside Express, after the Lakeside Express Newspaper in Chicago. In 1974 the emerging Lakeside Express and another group by the name of Liquid Funk, which featured Dallas native Fred Alexander, Jr. on drums, arrived in Los Angeles around the same time. For the next couple of years the bands performed at events around the greater L.A. area, occasionally crossing paths. The members of Liquid Funk returned to Dallas, but Alexander remained in L.A. Lakeside, who by now had dropped the Express from their name, was seeking additional personnel to solidify their band. After two auditions, Alexander was welcomed into the group. Lakeside inked a deal with Motown, but found no success. Consequently, they released a ballad on ABC Records, but that label went under. The good fortune they were seeking turned out to be at Dick Griffey's Solar Records. The group signed a deal with Griffey, and released their first Top Ten hit on Solar Records, "It's All the Way Live," which peaked at number four on the Billboard R&B charts. Lakeside released a host of songs that scaled the R&B charts, but didn't threaten the position of any other artists. However, in 1980 they went storming up the charts again with their smash number one single, "Fantastic Voyage," which was produced by the self-contained band. They followed the success of "Fantastic Voyage" with another Top Ten R&B single, a remake of the Paul McCartney and John Lennon classic "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The group continued their success with the Billboard Top Ten singles "Raid," "Outrageous," and a string of R&B party songs and ballads. More hits on the R&B charts, such as "Raid" (1983) and "Outrageous" (1984), kept the group going.
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