Tyrone Brunson (born Calvin Tyrone Brunson; March 22, 1956 – May 25, 2013)^[1][2] was an American singer and musician, who played the bass guitar. One of his most successful singles was an electro-funk instrumental titled "The Smurf" (1982), which reached #14 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1983 and led to further dance records about The Smurfs.^[3]

Life and career

Calvin Tyrone Brunson was born in Washington, D.C. In his early career he played in several local groups. He was the leader of the mid-1970s funk band The Family. Later he was the bassist for the late-1970s funk band Osiris. His first single, "The Smurf", released in the UK on the Mercury Records label, entered the UK singles chart on December 25, 1982, and reached #52; it remained in the chart for 5 weeks.^[4] "The Smurf" appeared on Brunson's debut studio album, Sticky Situation. In 1983, the follow-up U.S. single, the album's title track, reached #25 on the R&B chart.^[5]

In 1984, Brunson released his second studio album, Fresh. While the title track reached #22 on the R&B chart,^[5] no other singles made a significant dent on the chart. In 1987, Brunson released his third studio album, Love Triangle, but with no successful singles, the album fizzled on the charts. Later on, Brunson was a backing vocalist, most notably for the R&B/pop trio Levert.^[6]

After leaving the music business in the 1990s, he became an IT instructor.

Tyrone Brunson died on May 25, 2013, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 57.^[1][2]

Discography

Albums

Singles