Steve Arrington (b. 1956) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, songwriter, drummer, and
ministerIn Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform clergy functions such as teaching of beliefs; performing services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community.-Minister:The minister...
who grew up in
DaytonDayton a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States.Dayton may also refer to:-United States:*Dayton, Alabama*Dayton, California, in Butte County*Dayton, Lassen County, California*Dayton, Idaho*Dayton, Indiana...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
.
Arrington played in various local bands before joining and touring with The Murphy's, a lounge band out of Toledo, Ohio, in 1975. Approximately a year later, Arrington relocated from
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
to
San FranciscoSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
where he learned Latin percussion and drumming from Coke Escovedo and
PetePeter "Pete" Michael Escovedo III is a Mexican-American musician percussionist.-Biography:With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Santana hired Pete and Coke Escovedo for his group....
and
Shelia EscovedoSheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American musician, perhaps best known for her work with Prince and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...
. He joined the
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
group
SlaveSlave was an Ohio funk band popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter Steve Washington and Mark Hicks formed the group in Dayton, Ohio in 1975.-Career:Trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr...
(founded 1975) in 1978 originally to play percussion, then became the
drummerA drummer is a person who plays drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays classical or Latin percussion. Most bands for Rock, Pop, Jazz, R&B etc...
and a
backing vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
. Eventually Arrington took over lead vocals on such
hit songsA hit single is a recorded track or single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay and/or significant...
as "Just a Touch of Love", "Watching You", and "Wait for Me". Arrington left Slave in 1982, forming Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame and had hit singles such as "Weak At The Knees" and "Nobody Can Be You But You". His most successful
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
was his 1985 solo album,
Dancin' in the Key of Life, whose title track became a Top Ten
R&BRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
hitA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, while another single from the album, "Feel So Real" reached #6 in the UK national singles chart in May that year. He was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Best Male Artist of 1986. In 1984 Arrington experienced a religious conversion, by 1990 he had left
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
, and is now a minister near Dayton.
Albums With SlaveSlave was an Ohio funk band popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter Steve Washington and Mark Hicks formed the group in Dayton, Ohio in 1975.-Career:Trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr...
- 1978: The Concept - Atlantic
- 1979: Just a Touch of Love - Cotillion
- 1980: Stone Jam - Cotillion
- 1981: Showtime - Cotillion
Releases as Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame
- 1982: Way Out" / "Pocket Full Of Air" - (12") - Konglather
- 1983: Hall of Fame - (LP) - Atlantic
- 1983: Way Out" / - (12") - Atlantic
- 1983: Weak At The Knees" - (12") - Atlantic
- 1983: Nobody Can Be You" - (12") - Atlantic
- 1984: Positive Power - (LP) - Atlantic
- 1984: 15 Rounds (12") - Atlantic
- 1984: Hump To The Bump - (12") - Atlantic
Solo Releases
- 1980: Summertime Lovin'" / "Special Effects From Mars" - (12") - Salsoul
- 1985: Dancin' In The Key Of Life - (LP) - Atlantic
- 1985: Dancin' In The Key Of Life - (12") - Atlantic
- 1985: Feel So Real - (12") - Atlantic
- 1985: She Just Don't Know - (12") - Atlantic
- 1985: Turn Up The Love - (12") - Atlantic
- 1986: The Jammin' National Anthem - (LP) - Atlantic
- 1986: The Jammin' National Anthem - (12") - Atlantic
- 1986: Homeboy" - (12") - Atlantic
- 1987: Jam Packed - (LP) - EMI-Manhattan
- 1987: Stone Love - (12") - EMI-Manhattan
- 1988: Lost And Found (You Can Find Me Present) - (12") - Nubian
- 1991: No Reason - (12") - RCA
Various
- 1994: Stellar Fungk : The Best Of Slave Featuring Steve Arrington - Atlantic Rhino Entertainment Company
- 2003: Party Lights - Rhino / Atlantic -
- 2006: Slave
External links