Shalamar (formed in 1977) is an American disco, soul, funk and boogie music group, created by ‘Soul Train’ agent Dick Griffey and the show’s creator Don Cornelius, hailing from Los Angeles, California, U.S.
With a line-up of both singers and dancers Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, Shalamar were joined by producer Leon Sylvers III, and signed with Griffey’s SOLAR Records in 1979 . The same year the group had their debut smash hit with “Take That to the Bank”, which sold over a million copies in the U.S. The single paved the way for a string of subsequent hits in both the U.S. and the UK, including “The Second Time Around” later in 1979, “I Owe You One” in 1980, and “I Can Make You Feel Good” in 1982.
“There It Is”, “Friends” and “A Night to Remember” also became smash hits in 1982, the latter of which popularised the group in the UK for Daniel’s body-popping dancing skills, where he premiered the moonwalk for the first time on the TV show "Top of the Pops". After watching Shalamar on the TV show “Soul Train”, Michael Jackson became a fan of the groups and took his 12 year old sister Janet to see the band perform at Disneyland. In addition Daniel later helped choreograph the iconic moves in Jackson’s “Bad” and “Smooth Criminal” music videos.
The band released three albums with this line-up “Big Fun”, “Three for Love” and “Friends”, representing Shalamar’s golden age. With increasing tensions with Dick Griffey and Solar Records, Watley and Daniel departed the group, making way for Micki Free and Delisa Davis. The change marked a musical move into a more new wave/synth inspired sound, however the band soon found success again. In 1984 the single “Dancing in the Sheets” from the “Footloose” soundtrack saw the band reached the Billboard Top 20 again and “Don’t Get Stopped in Beverly Hills” from “Beverly Hills Cop” earned the band their only Grammy. Hewett left the group shortly after and was replaced by Sydney Justin, although the band quickly sank into obscurity.
In 1996 the original line-up returned alongside LL Cool J and Babyface with the single “This Is for the Lover in You”. The group subsequent played again on “Top of the Pops”, the trio’s first live performance since 1983. Since then with a line-up of Daniel, Hewett and Dick Griffey’s daughter Carolyn Griffey, Shalamar have regularly toured the UK, including as part of “The Ultimate Boogie Nights Disco Concert Series” in 2009.
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