Raydio
| Raydio | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, disco, funk |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1977–1981 |
| Labels | Arista |
| Members |
Ray Parker, Jr. Vincent Bohnam Jerry Knight Arnell Carmichael |
Raydio was an American funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977, by Ray Parker, Jr., with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael.
Career
1970s and Raydio
After securing a record deal, the group scored their first big hit in early 1978 with "Jack And Jill", which was taken from their self-titled debut album. The song peaked at #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] earning a gold record in the process. "Is This a Love Thing" peaked at #27 in the UK in August 1978.[1] Their next successful follow-up hit, "You Can't Change That" was released in 1979, and lifted from their Rock On album. The single made it up to #9 on the Billboard chart that year. In September 1979 they participated in an anti-nuclear concert at Madison Square Garden. Their performance of "You Can't Change That" at this show appears on the No Nukes album.
The 1980s and "Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio"
By late 1980, the group had become known as Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio, and they released two more albums: Two Places at the Same Time (1980), and A Woman Needs Love (1981). These spawned another two Top 40 single hits ("Two Places at the Same Time" - #40 in 1980; and "That Old Song" - #21 in 1981). Their last, and biggest hit, "A Woman Needs Love," was also released in 1981, and went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After acknowledging the band had come to a crossroads, and with Parker wanting to go solo, they quietly broke up in 1981.
Solo careers
Parker then started his solo career, scoring six Top 40 hits throughout the 1980s, including the hit singles "The Other Woman" (Pop #4), and "Ghostbusters". The latter song was the title track of the box office hit movie Ghostbusters. The single went to #1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.
Knight went on to have a moderately successful solo career of his own, later forming Ollie & Jerry, with Ollie E. Brown (who had been a session drummer on all of Raydio's albums) in the mid-1980s. Their two biggest hits also came from soundtracks - "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" was the theme to the motion picture Breakin', and hit #9 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Their second single "Electric Boogaloo" (from the movie Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo), did not enter the Hot 100, but did climb to #43 on the Dance charts.
Discography
All albums and singles listed below were issued on Arista Records.
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [2] |
US R&B [2] |
AUS [3] |
CAN [4] |
SWE [5] | |||
| 1978 | Raydio | 27 | 8 | 43 | 29 | — |
|
| 1979 | Rock On | 45 | 4 | 65 | 42 | — |
|
| 1980 | Two Places at the Same Time | 33 | 6 | — | — | 40 |
|
| 1981 | A Woman Needs Love | 13 | 1 | — | — | — |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [2] |
US R&B [2] |
US A/C [2] |
US Dan [2] |
AUS [3] |
BEL [7] |
CAN [4] |
IRE [8] |
NLD [9] |
NZ [10] |
UK [11] | |||
| 1978 | "Jack And Jill" | 8 | 5 | — | — | 4 | 14 | 5 | — | 24 | 4 | 11 | Raydio |
| "Is This a Love Thing" | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | — | — | 27 | ||
| "Honey I'm Rich" | 102 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "You Can't Change That" | 9 | 3 | 25 | — | 6 | 17 | 9 | — | 12 | 12 | — | Rock On |
| "More Than One Way to Love a Woman" | 103 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Two Places at the Same Time" | 30 | 6 | 34 | — | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | Two Places at the Same Time |
| "For Those Who Like to Groove" | — | 14 | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Can't Keep You from Cryin'" | — | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" | 4 | 1 | 11 | — | 47 | 16 | 8 | — | 9 | 10 | — | A Woman Needs Love |
| "Still in the Groove" | — | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "That Old Song" | 21 | 26 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "It's Your Night" | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 451. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "US Charts > Raydio". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- 1 2 David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- 1 2 "CAN Charts > Raydio". RPM. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "SWE Charts > Raydio". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- 1 2 3 4 "US Certifications > Raydio". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "BEL Charts > Raydio". VRT Top 30. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "IRE Charts Search > Raydio". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ↑ "NLD Charts > Raydio". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "NZ Charts > Raydio". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-21-22. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "UK Charts > Raydio". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
External links
- Raydio at AllMusic
- Arnell Carmichael's MySpace page
- Ray Parker Jr 2012 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com
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