The Olympic Runners
Encyclopedia
The Olympic Runners were a 1970s British
funk
band
, put together by record producer
Mike Vernon
who also played percussion
, and fronted by singer George Chandler. They also included multi-instrumentalist Pete Wingfield
, and had a number of hit single
s in both the US and UK.
, to be recorded at Olympic Studios
in London
. The musicians included keyboard player and vocalist Pete Wingfield, singer George Chandler, guitar
ist Joe Jammer, bassist
DeLisle Harper, and drummer
Glen LeFleur, of whom Chandler, Harper and LeFleur were also members of jazz-funk band Gonzalez
. When Dawkins' arrival was delayed, the musicians recorded a funk track in the spare studio time. Vernon then sold the track, "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is", credited to The Olympic Runners, to London Records
in New York
, and in 1974 it became a hit on the US R&B Chart, reaching # 72.
Following its success the musicians recorded an album, including the track "Grab It" which also made the R&B charts. They recorded a second album, Out in Front, in 1975, shortly before Wingfield had his own massive solo hit single, "Eighteen With A Bullet". A third album, Don't Let Up, soon followed, together with a succession of singles. The 1976 album Hot To Trot has been cited as their finest. Wingfield described the recording process:
, written by Jackie Collins
and starring her sister Joan Collins
.
The group split up in 1979. Vernon and Wingfield later joined Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, and the other band members continued as session musicians. Several Olympic Runners tracks have been sample
d by later artists, including Everlast
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, 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...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, put together by 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...
Mike Vernon
Mike Vernon (producer)
Mike Vernon is an English record producer. He produced albums for British blues artists and groups during the late 1960s, working with the Bluesbreakers, David Bowie, Duster Bennett, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John Mayall, Christine McVie and...
who also played percussion
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 fronted by singer George Chandler. They also included multi-instrumentalist Pete Wingfield
Pete Wingfield
Pete Wingfield is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist.-Career:...
, and had a number of hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a 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...
s in both the US and UK.
History
In 1973, Mike Vernon, a British record producer and founder of Blue Horizon Records, put together a group of session musicians to play on an album with blues musician Jimmy DawkinsJimmy Dawkins
James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues.-Career:...
, to be recorded at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The musicians included keyboard player and vocalist Pete Wingfield, singer George Chandler, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Joe Jammer, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
DeLisle Harper, and 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...
Glen LeFleur, of whom Chandler, Harper and LeFleur were also members of jazz-funk band Gonzalez
Gonzalez (band)
Gonzalez were a British R&B and funk band. They became well known as a backing band for touring R&B, funk and soul stars. Their eponymous album was released in 1974 and they recorded a total of six albums before disbanding in 1986,...
. When Dawkins' arrival was delayed, the musicians recorded a funk track in the spare studio time. Vernon then sold the track, "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is", credited to The Olympic Runners, to London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and in 1974 it became a hit on the US R&B Chart, reaching # 72.
Following its success the musicians recorded an album, including the track "Grab It" which also made the R&B charts. They recorded a second album, Out in Front, in 1975, shortly before Wingfield had his own massive solo hit single, "Eighteen With A Bullet". A third album, Don't Let Up, soon followed, together with a succession of singles. The 1976 album Hot To Trot has been cited as their finest. Wingfield described the recording process:
"Barry Hammond the engineer would always keep a 2-track quarter-inch tape running so as to catch us jamming between takes - then we'd use that jamming as the basis for the next track. It was painless, we made album after album that way, it only took a couple of weeks out of the year, and we were selling records! For the first few years the band were completely anonymous - people assumed we were a US act..."Their commercial success diminished in the US at the same time as it grew in the UK, and their biggest successes in the UK charts came in 1978-79, with the hit singles "Get It While You Can" and "Sir Dancealot". In 1979 they also provided the music for the movie The Bitch
The Bitch (film)
The Bitch is a British film released in 1979. It is a sequel to The Stud , and both films were based on novels by British author Jackie Collins. Like its predecessor, the film starred her sister, Joan Collins, as Fontaine Khaled.-Plot:...
, written by Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...
and starring her sister Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
.
The group split up in 1979. Vernon and Wingfield later joined Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, and the other band members continued as session musicians. Several Olympic Runners tracks have been sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
d by later artists, including Everlast
Everlast (musician)
Erik Francis Schrody , better known by his stage name Everlast, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and songwriter, known for his solo hit "What It's Like" and as the front-man for rap group House of Pain. He is also part of the hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of...
.
Singles
- "Do It Over" / "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is" (1974) - US R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot 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,...
#72 - "Grab It" (1975) - US R&B #73
- "Drag It Over Here" (1975) - US R&B #92
- "Sproutin' Out" (1975)
- "Party Time Is Here To Stay" (1976) - US R&B #97
- "Keep It Up (1977)
- "Whatever It Takes" (1978) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#61 - "Get It While You Can" (1978) - UK #35
- "Sir Dancealot" (1979) - UK #35
- "Whatever It Takes" (1979)
- "The Bitch" (1979) - UK #37
Albums
- Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is (1974)
- Out in Front (1975) - US R&BTop R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop 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...
#49 - Don't Let Up (1975)
- Hot to Trot (1977)
- Keeping It Up (1978)
- Puttin' It on Ya (1978)
- Out of the Ground (1979)
- It's a Bitch (1979)