Kleeer
Encyclopedia
Kleeer was an American
New York
based funk
, disco
and post-disco
band
which was formed in 1972 under the name The Jam Band, as a backup group to different disco bands and vocalists. The group consisted of lead vocalist/keyboardist
Woody Cunningham, percussionist Paul Crutchfield, guitarist
Richard Lee and bassist
Norman Durham.
After a switch to the name Pipeline in 1975, the group also decided to switch to making hard rock
instead of disco. Record label
s competed to sign them but, when they finally ended up at Columbia Records
, their single
"Gypsie Rider" did not fare well commercially.
In 1976 they got the opportunity to become The Universal Robot Band
along with underground disco producers Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael
. This project was more successful than their former projects. They made the single "Barely Breaking Even
" alongside singer Leroy Burgess
, and they also recorded
an album
. The group toured as The Universal Robot Band until 1978.
After 1978, the band decided to make all their music themselves under the new name of Kleeer.
Between 1979 and 1985 the group released seven albums and had several hits
in the US
Billboard Hot 100
and in R&B
charts
. The most mentionable are "Tonight's the Night", "Winners", "Intimate Connection", and "Get Tough." The sound was now more focused on 1980s style funk, and electronic instruments, like vocoder
s and synthesizer
s.
After the 1985's album Seeekret, the band disappeared for unknown reasons. Most of the musicians continued working with other projects. In the 1990s, however, the group re-formed as Kleeer at some occasions.
The group's influence today is best found in many hip hop
songs, where DJ
s have frequently sampled
Kleeer, for example by 2Pac
, Snoop Dogg
, DJ Quik
, Lil Jon
and The Eastside Boys. "Keeep Your Body Workin", which reached number 54 on the Billboard
Hot Dance Club Play Chart in 1979, was "reworked" into an updated recording by Tony Moran
featuring Martha Wash
, under the title "Keep Your Body Working
." The Moran/Wash version reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 2007.
Woody Cunningham died on January 9, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based 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...
, 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...
and post-disco
Post-disco
Post-disco refers to a historically significant period in popular music history beginning with the commercial death of disco music in the late 1970s and ending with the mainstream appearance of house music in late 1980s.The stripped-down musical trends followed from the DJ- and producer-driven,...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
which was formed in 1972 under the name The Jam Band, as a backup group to different disco bands and vocalists. The group consisted of lead vocalist/keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Woody Cunningham, percussionist Paul Crutchfield, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Richard Lee and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Norman Durham.
After a switch to the name Pipeline in 1975, the group also decided to switch to making hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
instead of disco. Record label
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,...
s competed to sign them but, when they finally ended up at Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, their single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Gypsie Rider" did not fare well commercially.
In 1976 they got the opportunity to become The Universal Robot Band
The Universal Robot Band
The Universal Robot Band were an American music group comprising Gregory Carmichael, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, Gregory Tolbert and Woody Cunningham....
along with underground disco producers Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael
Greg Carmichael
Greg Carmichael , is a long standing member of contemporary jazz group Acoustic Alchemy. His primary instrument is the nylon string acoustic guitar....
. This project was more successful than their former projects. They made the single "Barely Breaking Even
Barely Breaking Even
Barely Breaking Even is a British record label started by two DJs, Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly. The name BBE comes from The Universal Robot Band's 1982 track `Barely Breaking Even'. It has two sublabels: Deep Funk, and Urban Theory...
" alongside singer Leroy Burgess
Leroy Burgess
Leroy Burgess is a prolific singer/recording artist, songwriter, keyboard player and producer. He is related to Thom Bell and Kool & The Gang members Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell and Amir Bayyan of the Kay-Gees....
, and they also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. The group toured as The Universal Robot Band until 1978.
After 1978, the band decided to make all their music themselves under the new name of Kleeer.
Between 1979 and 1985 the group released seven albums and had several hits
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...
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and in 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,...
charts
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....
. The most mentionable are "Tonight's the Night", "Winners", "Intimate Connection", and "Get Tough." The sound was now more focused on 1980s style funk, and electronic instruments, like vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
s and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s.
After the 1985's album Seeekret, the band disappeared for unknown reasons. Most of the musicians continued working with other projects. In the 1990s, however, the group re-formed as Kleeer at some occasions.
The group's influence today is best found in many hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
songs, where DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s have frequently 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...
Kleeer, for example by 2Pac
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, DJ Quik
DJ Quik
David Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....
, Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
and The Eastside Boys. "Keeep Your Body Workin", which reached number 54 on the 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...
Hot Dance Club Play Chart in 1979, was "reworked" into an updated recording by Tony Moran
Tony Moran
Anthony "Tony" Moran is a remixer/producer and DJ known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Walk Away" featuring Kristine W.-Career:...
featuring Martha Wash
Martha Wash
Martha Wash is an American R&B, Pop, Soul, House singer/songwriter known for her distinctive and powerful voice.-Early career:...
, under the title "Keep Your Body Working
Keep Your Body Working
"Keep Your Body Working" is a single released in 2008 recorded by Tony Moran featuring Martha Wash. It is the second number one single on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart from Moran's 2-disc CD collection The Event, following "Walk Away." The CD promo-only single reached the top spot on...
." The Moran/Wash version reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 2007.
Woody Cunningham died on January 9, 2010.
Studio albums
- I Love To Dance (1979)
- WinnersWinners (Kleeer album)Winners is the second album by American New York City based Kleeer.-Reception:Released late in 1979 this would be second of two albums the band would release that year.-Track listing:#Winners - 7:09...
(1979) - License To DreamLicense to Dream-Reception:Released in 1981, this album reached number thirteen on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart, and the single "Get Tough" charted at number five on the Dance chart and number fifteen on the Soul Singles chart.-Track listing:...
(1981) - Get ReadyGet Ready (Kleeer album)Get Ready is the fourth album by American New York City based Kleeer.-Track listing:#Get Ready - 5:55 #Pritty Things - 4:02 #Slidin' & Glidin' - 5:25...
(1982) - Taste The MusicTaste the MusicTaste The Music is the fifth album by American New York City based Kleeer.-Track listing:#Taste The Music - 7:23 #I've Had Enough - 4:56...
(1982) - Intimate ConnectionIntimate ConnectionIntimate Connection is the sixth album by American New York City based Kleeer.-Reception:Released in 1984, this would be produced by Eumir Deodato.-Track listing:#Ride It - 5:40...
(1984) - SeeekretSeeekret-Track listing:#Take Your Heart Away 6:14 #You Got Me Rockin' 5:13 #Lay Ya Down Ez 5:07 #Seeekret 6:07 #Do Not Lie To Me 4:57 #Never Cry Again 4:49 #Call My Name 4:23-Personnel:*Norman Durham - Bass, Keyboards, Lead and Backing Vocals...
(1985)