Hot (vocal group)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hot was a vocal trio from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1976. Its members were Gwen Owens (born 19 June 1953),Cathy Carson (born 8 October 1953) and Juanita Curiel (born 25 February 1953).[1] [2]
The lead singer Gwen Owens was a native of Detroit where she'd begun singing in church and - after being discovered at a high school talent show - recorded for local labels from the mid-60s. Owens also performed in local concerts mostly headlined by Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Originals and Edwin Starr; she also performed with Al Green.
Relocating to Los Angeles in the early '70s, Owens began a session singing career which eventually would find her backing such recording artists as David Axelrod, Randy Brown, Stanley Clarke, Randy Crawford, Coke Escovedo, Willie Hutch, Billy Preston and Al Wilson; she provided live support for such acts as Ann-Margret, Jose Feliciano, the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, Nancy Sinatra and Raquel Welch. In 1972 Owens was signed to a production contract with Muscle Shoals Sound Studio session men Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford who recorded Owens at Muscle Shoals as the inaugural artist for a projected southern division of Motown Records. Ultimately Motown decided not to proceed with "Motown South" dropping Owens whose five completed Muscle Shoals tracks Ivey and Woodford shopped to other labels with the newlyformed Casablanca Records picking up the tracks "You Better Watch Out" and "Everybody Needs Love" for release on an overlooked single in 1973; the same single was re-issued in 1974 on Warner Bros. Records - then a Casablanca affiliate - without garnering attention. [1]
By the mid-70s Owens was performing with Cathy Carson as Sugar & Spice: the duo toured with the Wolfman Jack Shock & Rock Review and in 1976 appeared on television first that summer on The Diahann Carroll Show and then that fall on Cos.[2] Owens was still signed with Ivey and Woodford but as Motown was not interested in Owens, Ivey and Woodford were unable to record her until after ending their affiliation with the label in 1976, at which point Ivey and Woodford opened their own Muscle Shoals recording facility Wishbone Studios where Owens, Carson and the newly recruited Juanita Curiel began work on an album as Hot. Ivey was the keyboardist and Mac McAnally played guitar.
"Angel in Your Arms" - which Ivey and Woodford had written with local songwriter Tommy Brasfield - was given to the group to record after Gwen Owens asked if they could record a C&W song. Picked up by Big Tree Records for release, "Angel in Your Arms" accrued sufficient airplay to by February 1977 to enter the Billboard Hot 100, entering the Pop Top 40 that April to peak that July at #6; the track also charted R&B (#29) and Easy Listening (#9). Certified a RIAA certification gold record for U.S. sales of one million units, "Angel in Your Arms" was also a hit for Hot in Australia (#27), Canada (#3) and New Zealand (#7).
Although Curiel had been added to the lineup as it was felt her Hispanic background coupled with the ethnic backgrounds of the African-American Owens and the white Carson would garner their group media attention, [3] Hot received little noticeable promotion beyond their million selling single "Angel in Your Arms". The single's success did briefly boost its parent album Hot on to the charts with a #125 peak and two other tracks released as singles appeared in the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100: "Right Feeling at the Wrong Time" and "You Brought the Woman Out of Me" (the latter a minor hit for Evie Sands in 1975).
Hot had two more album releases - both recorded at Wishbone Studios with Ivey and Woodford producing - before Big Tree Records was closed by its parent company Atlantic Records in 1980.[4] Woodford & Ivey also produced a solo single by Owens: "I Don't Want to Dance No More / Hold Me Like You Never Had Me", released on Big Tree in 1979. [5] In 1980 Owens, Carson and Curiel starred in a B-movie about a female vocal group alternately known as Makin It, Runnin' Hot and Smokey and the Judge. [6]
In 1982 Boardwalk Records released the single "Tonight" credited to Hot; of the original lineup only Curiel's participation can be verified.[7]
After returning to session work, Owens retired as a professional musician but remained active singing in her local church in the San Fernando Valley; in 1999 she and three fellow choir members formed the group Melodious who had the CD Ephesian 5:19 released in 2004. In 2008 Owens was reported to be employed in the music industry in a non-performing capacity working for HDH Records.
[edit] Discography
- Hot (Big Tree Records, 1977) U.S. #125, U.S. Black Albums #28[3]
- If That's the Way You Want It...You Got It (Big Tree, 1978)
- Strong Together (Big Tree, 1980)
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[4] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pop Singles | U.S. Black Singles | Various | ||
| 1977 | "Angel in Your Arms" | 6 | 29 | A/C#9  #27  #3  #7 |
| "The Right Feeling at the Wrong Time" | 65 | 58 | ||
| 1978 | "You Brought the Woman Out of Me" | 71 | ||
[edit] References
- ^ "AMG". http://allmusic.com/. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
- ^ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
- ^ Billboard, Allmusic.com
- ^ Billboard Singles. Allmusic.com.
