Keep It Live

1982 third & best selling album from the Cleveland soul/funk group Dazz Band. Bobby Harris formed the group in the late '70s, merging two Cleveland funk bands, Bell Tele funk and Mother Braintree. Harris and lead songwriter/guitarist Mike Calhoun's concept for the group was danceable jazz; he shortened the description to dazz and called the group Kinsman Dazz. The Kinsman Dazz became the Dazz Band in 1980. They had their first hit with Shake It Up in 1980. We called the third album Keep it live', Bobby Harris says, because if it didn't happen we'd be gone from Motown. I said 'We've got to stay positive. That became the theme of the record. We were on a mission. We weren't going to validate who we were until we had a dance hit'. That turned out to be Let it Whip, 'which Reggie wrote with West Coast percussion great Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler, introducing a high-tech funk groove that would be the sound of choice for the era'. Includes their breakthrough hit Let It Whip - which reached No. 1 (and stayed there for 5 weeks) on the R&B charts and No 5. in the USA HOT 100. In 1983 Dazz Band won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The follow up single was 'Keep it live (On the K.I.L.)' and peaked at No. 20 in the R&B single charts. The highest position of the album Keep it live was No. 1 in the US R&B album Chart and # 14 in the US 200 Album Chart. Includes an exclusive bonus track 12 Inch Mix!