The Rimshots
Encyclopedia
The Rimshots were an American
funk
and disco
band
, popular in the late 1970s. The group started out as the house band
for the labels
All Platinum Records
and in particular, Stang Records in the early 1970s. The (then nameless) rhythm section recorded for the artists signed to the company (including Hank Ballard
, Donnie Elbert
, Shirley & Company
, Chuck Jackson
, Brook Benton
, Solomon Burke
, Brother to Brother, Eleanor Mills, The Moments
, and Etta James
). Along with King Curtis
, they recorded the original theme song
for the 1971 hit television show, Soul Train
.
From 1972 to 1976, this studio
band recorded over fifty projects for Platinum-Chess Records. The group also had the ability to accurately replicate rhythm tracks previously recorded by other artists. Joe Robinson, the company's president, had the group reproduce an American hit
, "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)", and released the single in Europe under the artist name 'The Rimshots'; and that is when the rhythm section's new identity was launched. The group became a reluctant new artist and began touring internationally as The Rimshots, appearing twice on the UK
's BBC Television
, Top of the Pops
, and other international venues. Despite their unwitting success as a disco group, their studio discography is unparalleled by their limited recordings under this name.
Their original music tended toward a hard funk
sound, mainly influenced by three musicians who formed the core of the group. Guitarist Walter Morris, bassist Jonathan Williams, and drummer Clarence Oliver (all from the Richmond, Virginia
area) were the original stage band for The Moments
. Keyboardist, Bernadette Randle (St. Louis, Missouri
), was brought to the studio by owner, Sylvia Robinson
and the record producer
, Michael Burton ("Pillow Talk" collaborators). Rhythm guitarist, Tommy Keith (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
) was under contract to the recording company as a writer and producer. Organist, Mozart Pierre Louis (Haiti
) performed with the group on stage, but did not record with them in the studio. In this six-man configuration, they toured as The Moments' band throughout the 1970s. By the mid 1970s, however, the group became recognized as a disco
band, due in large part to the European success of the "Blow Your Whistle" cover. They also scored a few chart
hits of their original tunes. "Do What You Feel (Part 1)" (written by Walter Morris) reached #93 on the US
Billboard
charts, and "Super Disco" (written by Tommy Keith) reached #49 R&B
, and #7 on the Disco Singles chart. When Randle left the company, she was replaced by Sammy Lowe, Jr. during the year or so the group remained intact. (His father, Sammy Lowe, Sr., was the Platinum-Chess orchestrator for over ten years.)
The group was eventually sampled
extensively by hip-hop artists.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
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...
, popular in the late 1970s. The group started out as the house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
for the labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
All Platinum Records
All Platinum Records
All Platinum Records was one of the labels which was started by Sylvia Robinson before she started Sugar Hill Records.All Platinum purchased Chess Records in the early 1970s after the latter fell into bankruptcy; however, All Platinum was a much smaller label and was unable to keep releasing steady...
and in particular, Stang Records in the early 1970s. The (then nameless) rhythm section recorded for the artists signed to the company (including Hank Ballard
Hank Ballard
Hank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
, Donnie Elbert
Donnie Elbert
Donnie Elbert was an American soul singer, who had a prolific career from the mid 1950s to the late 1970s...
, Shirley & Company
Shirley & Company
Shirley & Company was an American disco group, consisting of Shirley Goodman , Jesus Alvarez, Walter Morris, Bernadette Randle, Seldon Powell, Jonathan Williams and Clarence Oliver....
, Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson is an R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961...
, Brook Benton
Brook Benton
Brook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.He made a comeback in 1970...
, Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
, Brother to Brother, Eleanor Mills, The Moments
Ray, Goodman & Brown
Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me "...
, and Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
). Along with King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
, they recorded the original theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for the 1971 hit television show, Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
.
From 1972 to 1976, this studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
band recorded over fifty projects for Platinum-Chess Records. The group also had the ability to accurately replicate rhythm tracks previously recorded by other artists. Joe Robinson, the company's president, had the group reproduce an American hit
Hit record
A 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...
, "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)", and released the single in Europe under the artist name 'The Rimshots'; and that is when the rhythm section's new identity was launched. The group became a reluctant new artist and began touring internationally as The Rimshots, appearing twice on the UK
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...
's BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, and other international venues. Despite their unwitting success as a disco group, their studio discography is unparalleled by their limited recordings under this name.
Their original music tended toward a hard 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...
sound, mainly influenced by three musicians who formed the core of the group. Guitarist Walter Morris, bassist Jonathan Williams, and drummer Clarence Oliver (all from the Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
area) were the original stage band for The Moments
Ray, Goodman & Brown
Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me "...
. Keyboardist, Bernadette Randle (St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
), was brought to the studio by owner, Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia Robinson was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive, most notably known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. She is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre...
and the 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...
, Michael Burton ("Pillow Talk" collaborators). Rhythm guitarist, Tommy Keith (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) was under contract to the recording company as a writer and producer. Organist, Mozart Pierre Louis (Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
) performed with the group on stage, but did not record with them in the studio. In this six-man configuration, they toured as The Moments' band throughout the 1970s. By the mid 1970s, however, the group became recognized as a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
band, due in large part to the European success of the "Blow Your Whistle" cover. They also scored a few chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hits of their original tunes. "Do What You Feel (Part 1)" (written by Walter Morris) reached #93 on the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, and "Super Disco" (written by Tommy Keith) reached #49 R&B
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 #7 on the Disco Singles chart. When Randle left the company, she was replaced by Sammy Lowe, Jr. during the year or so the group remained intact. (His father, Sammy Lowe, Sr., was the Platinum-Chess orchestrator for over ten years.)
The group was eventually sampled
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...
extensively by hip-hop artists.
Members
- Walter Morris - lead guitar
- Tommy Keith - rhythm guitar
- Clarence Oliver - drums
- Jonathan Williams - bass
- Bernadette Randle - keyboards
- Mozart Pierre Louis - organ