Ollie E. Brown
Encyclopedia
Ollie E. Brown is an American
drummer
, percussionist
and record producer
. A prolific session musician
, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop
duo
Ollie & Jerry
, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
" in 1984.
in 1952. By 1976 he had already performed as a drummer or percussionist on a dozens of albums, including I Can Stand a Little Rain
by Joe Cocker
, 1990 and A Song for You
by The Temptations
, It's My Pleasure
by Billy Preston
, and Black and Blue
by The Rolling Stones
. In the 1970s Brown also performed on albums by Diana Ross
, Van Morrison
, Leo Sayer
, and Sly and the Family Stone.
Along with Preston and pianist
Ian Stewart
, Brown was also part of The Rolling Stones' touring band in the mid 1970s.
's self-titled debut album
. This led to a partnership with Raydio bassist and fellow Detroit native Jerry Knight
, who was also a prolific session musician.
Together, the two formed the duo Ollie & Jerry, and recorded the song "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" for the 1984 breakdancing-themed film Breakin'
. The song was successful, reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100
in 1984.
Ollie & Jerry also performed on the soundtrack for the 1984 Breakin' sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
. Their single "Electric Boogaloo
" was the lead track from the soundtrack, but was less successful than its predecessor, reaching only number 45 on the R&B chart
, and not charting at all on the Billboard Top 40.
The Breakin' 2 soundtrack album itself, however, did chart, reaching number 25 on the Billboard R&B Albums
chart, and number 52 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
by Michael Jackson
, and the Ray Parker, Jr.
single "Ghostbusters
", which Brown produced. In the 1980s, Brown also produced or performed on albums by Blondie
, The Jacksons, DeBarge
and Quincy Jones
.
Brown currently works in the real estate
industry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, percussionist
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. A prolific session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
Ollie & Jerry
Ollie & Jerry
Ollie & Jerry was an American dance-pop duo active in the 1980s, consisting of drummer Ollie E. Brown and R&B singer Jerry Knight.Despite releasing no studio albums under their own name, they are still widely known for their hit single "Breakin'.....
, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" is a dance-pop song by American music duo Ollie & Jerry. Released in 1984 as a single from the soundtrack to the film Breakin, the song reached No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It is the theme song to the film Breakin...
" in 1984.
Early years
Brown was born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in 1952. By 1976 he had already performed as a drummer or percussionist on a dozens of albums, including I Can Stand a Little Rain
I Can Stand a Little Rain
I Can Stand a Little Rain is the fourth studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1974 .-Track listing:#"Put Out the Light" - 4:11#"I Can Stand a Little Rain" - 3:33...
by Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, 1990 and A Song for You
A Song for You (Temptations album)
A Song for You is a 1975 album by The Temptations. The album features two R&B number-one hits, "Happy People" , and "Shakey Ground", one of the group's final R&B number-one songs....
by The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, It's My Pleasure
It's My Pleasure
It's My Pleasure is the tenth studio album by Billy Preston, released in 1975. This album marked the modernisation of Preston's music, placing a heavier emphasis on synthesizers. It also marked his first collaborations with singer Syreeta Wright who sings on one track...
by Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, and Black and Blue
Black and Blue
Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1976. It was the band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor...
by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. In the 1970s Brown also performed on albums by Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...
, and Sly and the Family Stone.
Along with Preston and pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (musician)
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, Brown was also part of The Rolling Stones' touring band in the mid 1970s.
Raydio and Ollie & Jerry
In the late 1970s Brown performed on RaydioRaydio
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:...
's self-titled debut album
Raydio (album)
Raydio is the self-titled debut album by the group Raydio, formed by session guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Ray Parker, Jr.-Reception:Released in 1978 on Arista Records, it featured two hit pop singles: "Jack and Jill" and "Is This A Love Thing"...
. This led to a partnership with Raydio bassist and fellow Detroit native Jerry Knight
Jerry Knight
Jerry Knight was an American R&B vocalist and bassist in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Along with Ray Parker Jr., he was a founding member of the group Raydio, singing vocals on their early hit, "Jack and Jill"...
, who was also a prolific session musician.
Together, the two formed the duo Ollie & Jerry, and recorded the song "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" for the 1984 breakdancing-themed film Breakin'
Breakin'
Breakin', released as Breakdance: The Movie in some countries, is a 1984 breakdancing-themed film directed by Joel Silberg. The film setting was inspired by a German documentary entitled Breakin' and Enterin set in the Los Angeles multi-racial hip hop club Radiotron, based out of Macarthur Park in...
. The song was successful, reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1984.
Ollie & Jerry also performed on the soundtrack for the 1984 Breakin
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is the 1984 sequel to the breakdancing film Breakin. It was first released in the same year as its predecessor by TriStar Pictures, and by Cannon Films the year after...
. Their single "Electric Boogaloo
Electric Boogaloo (song)
"Electric Boogaloo" is a dance-pop song by American music duo Ollie & Jerry. Released in late 1984 as the lead single from the soundtrack to the film Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, the song reached number 45 on the R&B chart.- Background :...
" was the lead track from the soundtrack, but was less successful than its predecessor, reaching only number 45 on the R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, and not charting at all on the Billboard Top 40.
The Breakin' 2 soundtrack album itself, however, did chart, reaching number 25 on the Billboard R&B Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
chart, and number 52 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Later work
During and after his work with Ollie & Jerry, Brown continued his prolific behind-the-scenes work, producing or performing on dozens of albums between 1980 and 2000. Highlights include the number-one album BadBad (album)
Bad is the seventh studio album by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic/CBS Records, nearly five years after Jackson's previous studio album, Thriller, which went on to become the world's best-selling album...
by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, and the Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...
single "Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks...
", which Brown produced. In the 1980s, Brown also produced or performed on albums by Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, The Jacksons, DeBarge
DeBarge
DeBarge was a sibling music group of American origin whose repertoire included R&B, soul, funk, and later gospel. Active as a professional recording group from 1979 and 1989, the group was one of the few recording acts to bring success to the Motown label during the 1980s.-Background:Hailing from...
and Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
.
Brown currently works in the real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
industry.