Hamilton Bohannon
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| Hamilton Bohannon | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hamilton Frederick Bohannon |
| Also known as | Bohannon |
| Born | March 7, 1942 Newnan, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | R&B, disco, funk |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | vocals, drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1965–83 |
| Labels | Dakar/Brunswick Records Mercury Records |
| Associated acts | Carolyn Crawford |
Hamilton Bohannon (born Hamilton Frederick Bohannon, March 7, 1942, Newnan, Georgia) is an American percussionist, band leader and record producer, who was one of the leading figures in 1970s disco music.[1] After 1980 he was usually credited simply as Bohannon.
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[edit] Career
After graduating from Clark College, Atlanta and playing in local bands, he was hired as drummer in the touring band of 13-year-old Stevie Wonder. He moved to Detroit in 1967 and was employed by Motown as band leader and arranger for many of the label’s top acts. When Motown moved from Detroit in 1972, he stayed behind to form his own band. His band featured members of the Detroit band, The Fabulous Counts.
He signed with Dakar/Brunswick Records and in early 1973 released the album, Stop & Go. This was followed by five more albums for the label over the next two years, on which he perfected his formula of heavy, thudding bass accents and aggressive rhythms. Although several of his tracks were club hits, he had limited chart success – however, in 1975 "Disco Stomp" made the Top Ten in the UK, and "Foot Stompin’ Music" later that year scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Top 40.
In 1976, Bohannon signed to Mercury Records and two years later had his biggest success with "Let’s Start The Dance." It made the R&B Top Ten and featured the singer Carolyn Crawford, whose subsequent albums Bohannon went on to produce.
Although he continued to release records through the 1980s using new vocalists Liz Lands and Altrinna Grayson, he met with diminishing success. Nevertheless, more recently his music has been widely sampled, most notably Chicago DJ/Producer Paul Johnson's 1999 hit "Get Get Down" which heavily sampled Bohannon's "Me and the Gang."
His name was mentioned in the Tom Tom Club song "Genius of Love."
Bohannon is a devout Christian and dedicated his album "Dance Your Ass Off" to "God and His Son, Jesus Christ". The album also included a disclaimer that "The word 'ass' is not used here in the sense of profanity." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_%26_Go
[edit] Discography
[edit] Chart singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop[2] | US R&B[3] |
UK[4] | ||
| 1974 | "South African Man" | - | 78 | 22 |
| 1975 | "Foot Stompin Music" | 98 | 39 | 23 |
| "Disco Stomp" | - | 62 | 6 | |
| "Happy Feeling" | - | - | 49 | |
| 1976 | "Bohannon's Beat" | - | 65 | - |
| 1977 | "Bohannon Disco Symphony" | - | 67 | - |
| 1978 | "Let's Start the Dance" | 101 | 9 | 56 |
| 1979 | "Me and the Gang" | - | 82 | - |
| "Cut Loose" | - | 43 | - | |
| "The Groove Machine" | - | 60 | - | |
| 1980 | "Baby I'm For Real" | - | 54 | - |
| "Throw Down the Groove" | - | 59 | - | |
| "Dance, Dance, Dance All Night" | - | 76 | - | |
| 1981 | "Don't Be Ashame To Call My Name" | - | 54 | - |
| "Goin' For Another One" | - | 91 | - | |
| "Let's Start II Dance Again" feat. Dr. Perri Johnson |
- | 41 | 49 | |
| 1982 | "I've Got the Dance Fever" | - | 72 | - |
| "The Party Train" | - | 69 | - | |
| 1983 | "Make Your Body Move" | - | 63 | - |
| "Wake Up" | - | 87 | - | |
[edit] References
- ^ Ronnie Reese, "Future Rhythms: Bohannon set the stage for modern dance music by keeping four on the floor," Wax Poetics, January/February 2011, 88-96.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 68. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 38.
- ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 92. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
