- The Blackbyrds at AllMusic
- The Blackbyrds discography at Discogs
- D’Angelo, Enrico (June 2, 2003). "The Blackbyrds". The Harbus. Retrieved on October 27, 2007.
The Blackbyrds | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | R&B, jazz-funk |
| Years active | 1973–1981, 2012–present |
| Labels | Fantasy |
| Members | Joe Hall Keith Killgo Orville Saunders |
| Past members | Allan Barnes Donald Byrd Barney Perry Kevin Toney Jay Jones Ray Armando Oscar Brashear Perk Jacobs David Williams Wesley Jackson Stephen Johnson Gary Hart |
The Blackbyrds are an American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C., in 1973 and reformed in 2012 by Keith Killgo.[1]
The group was inspired by trumpeter Donald Byrd[citation needed] and featured some of his Howard University students: Kevin Toney (keyboards), Keith Killgo (vocals, drums), Joe Hall (bass guitar), Allan Barnes (saxophone, clarinet), and Barney Perry (guitar). Orville Saunders (guitar), and Jay Jones (flute, saxophone) joined later. Merry Clayton joined them to sing on "Rock Creek Park" and "Happy Music".[2]
The band signed with Fantasy Records in 1973. Their 1975 hit "Walking in Rhythm" received a Grammy nomination and sold over one million copies by May 1975. It was later awarded a gold disc.[3]
Founding member Allan Barnes died on July 25, 2016, aged 66.[4]
The Blackbyrds have influenced the hip-hop generation, with Tupac Shakur, Gang Starr, Da Lench Mob, and Full Force sampling their music.[5] Their song "Happy Music" was issued on 45 rpm 12-inch single as the first club mix release by Fantasy Records, in November 1975, to enable club deejays to drop sequences into a mix.[6] In particular, their 1975 song "Rock Creek Park" from the City Life album has been sampled by groups and artists such as MF Doom, De La Soul, Eric B. & Rakim, Massive Attack, Heavy D, Nas, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Tone Lōc, Mac Dre, and Wiz Khalifa.[7]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US R&B [8] |
US Jazz [8] | |||
| 1974 | The Blackbyrds | 96 | 14 | 6 | Fantasy |
| Flying Start | 30 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1975 | Cornbread, Earl and Me (Soundtrack) | 150 | 19 | 39 | |
| City Life | 16 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1976 | Unfinished Business | 34 | 6 | 5 | |
| 1977 | Action | 43 | 8 | — | |
| 1980 | Better Days | 133 | 40 | — | |
| 2012 | Gotta Fly | — | — | — | K-Wes Indi Records |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US R&B [8] |
US Disco [8] |
US A/C [8] |
UK [9] | ||
| 1974 | "Do It, Fluid" | 69 | 23 | ― | ― | ― |
| "Gut Level" | ― | ― | 9 | ― | ― | |
| 1975 | "Walking in Rhythm" | 6 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| "Future Children, Future Hopes" | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | |
| "Flyin' High" | 70 | 22 | ― | ― | ― | |
| "City Life" | ― | ― | 4 | ― | ― | |
| 1976 | "Happy Music" | 19 | 3 | 6 | ― | ― |
| "Rock Creek Park" | 93 | 37 | ― | ― | ― | |
| "Unfinished Business" | ― | ― | 14 | ― | ― | |
| "Time Is Movin'" | 95 | 15 | ― | ― | ― | |
| "Party Land" | ― | 30 | ― | ― | ― | |
| 1977 | "Soft and Easy" | ― | 20 | ― | ― | ― |
| "Supernatural Feeling" | ― | 19 | ― | ― | ― | |
| "Street Games" | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| 1980 | "What We Have Is Right" | ― | 38 | ― | ― | ― |
| "Love Don't Strike Twice" | ― | 52 | ― | ― | ― | |
| "Dancin' Dancin'" | ― | ― | 59 | ― | ― | |
| 2002 | "Mysterious Vibes" (remix, originally released in 1977) |
― | — | ― | ― | 97 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||