Lonnie Simmons
Encyclopedia
Lonnie Simmons is an American record producer
from Los Angeles
, California. He is founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records
. As a composer, he wrote several #1 R&B songs for his label's major acts, The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples
.
. He obtained a distribution deal with Mercury/Polygram Records in 1977. That same year, he signed a little-known R&B act, the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band. The band, consisting of twelve members, reduced themselves to three brothers and shortened their name to the band's initials, becoming the Gap Band
. Their first Total Experience produced single, 1979's "Shake" went to #4 on the R&B charts.
Simmons' skills as a composer, however, would take the Gap Band to the next level. When they released The Gap Band II
late in 1979, a song Simmons wrote, "Oops Upside Your Head
" not only matched the success of "Shake" on the R&B charts, reaching #4 also, but exceeded it by propelling the album to over half-a-million in sales
. Simmons had co-written only one song on The Gap Band, but co-wrote six of The Gap Band II's seven tracks.
In 1980, Charlie Wilson went on a trip to Texas and came back with 2 new friends: Cavin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples. After a brief audition, Simmons exchanged contact information with them. When they showed up in LA, he suggested they record a demo with the label's other producer, who also served as their songwriter. They recorded the demo, and when he heard it, Simmons had yet another act in his ranks: Yarbrough and Peoples
. That year, Simmons wrote two songs which peaked on the R&B charts at #1 back-to-back: "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
", which was released on The Gap Band III
, and "Don't Stop the Music
" which was released on Yarbrough & Peoples' debut album, The Two of Us. The latter album went gold, while the former went platinum, selling over a million copies.
Simmon's winning streak continued in 1982, when the Gap Band signed to a direct label deal with Total Experience. Gap Band IV
came out and spawned three singles, which all peaked in the top-40 on the dance charts and top-2 on the R&B songs: #1 "Early in the Morning", #2 "You Dropped a Bomb on Me
" (Both of which Simmons helped write), and #1 "Outstanding
, the first two of which Simmons wrote. The album went platinum within a year. Later in 1982, he signed Robert "Goodie" Whitfield to the label. His debut album, Call Me Goodie peaked at #31 R&B.
The Gap Band's 1983 release, Gap Band V: Jammin'
(#2 R&B, #28 Billboard 200) saw Simmons take a reduced writing/producing role, co-writing only one song. The album went gold, headlined by the only Simmons co-penned single, "Party Train
", which went to #3 on the R&B charts. Yarbrough and Peoples released Hearbeats that year, and it peaked at #25 R&B, and the title-track went to #10 R&B. One of their 1984 singles, "Be a Winner", topped the R&B charts.
Even though his two major acts produced hits well into the mid-80s, Total Experience began to falter. During 1984 and 1985, the label expanded from three acts to fourteen, including Bernie Hamilton
& the Inculcation Band and Switch
. Not a single one of the newcomers released more than one album with Total Experience (Two of them only produced one song) and none of them scored any hits. Meanwhile, Yarbrough and Peoples got married and moved back to Texas, and Goodie quit. This left the Gap Band as the label's sole act by 1986.
The Gap Band's subsequent releases, Gap Band VII and Gap Band 8 received chart success due to heavy radio airplay, but sold few actual copies. The Gap Band's final hurrah with Total Experience, Straight from the Heart got a top-40 song from the title track, but failed to sell, causing the Gap Band to leave for Capitol Records
.
With no acts remaining, Lonnie dropped out of music and his company turned to motion picture and video production, which he apparently still does to this day.
and Hip Hop music
. Gap Band songs have been sampled 36 times, and "Don't Stop the Music" has been sampled 16 times.
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...
from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California. He is founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records
Total Experience Records
Total Experience Records was a record label founded in 1977 by Lonnie Simmons. Its two major acts were The Gap Band and Yarbrough & Peoples. It originally began as a production company with a distribution deal through Mercury/PolyGram before becoming a full fledged label in 1981...
. As a composer, he wrote several #1 R&B songs for his label's major acts, The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples
Yarbrough and Peoples
Yarbrough and Peoples was an American R&B duo from Dallas, Texas. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music", a US Billboard R&B chart topper in 1981.-Career:...
.
Career
Lonnie Simmons operated an LA nightclub in the mid-1970s called "The Total Experience". Simmons' nightclub booked R&B-oriented musical acts, and Simmons interest in music led him to buy a studioRecording 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...
. He obtained a distribution deal with Mercury/Polygram Records in 1977. That same year, he signed a little-known R&B act, the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band. The band, consisting of twelve members, reduced themselves to three brothers and shortened their name to the band's initials, becoming the Gap Band
Gap Band
The Gap Band was an American funk band, who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. Comprising brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, the band first formed as the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band in 1967 in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The group shortened its name to The Gap Band...
. Their first Total Experience produced single, 1979's "Shake" went to #4 on the R&B charts.
Simmons' skills as a composer, however, would take the Gap Band to the next level. When they released The Gap Band II
The Gap Band II
The Gap Band II is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1979 on Mercury Records. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's fourth album.-Reception:...
late in 1979, a song Simmons wrote, "Oops Upside Your Head
Oops Upside Your Head
"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance ", , is a 1979 funk anthem recorded by the R&B group The Gap Band and released off their fourth album, The Gap Band II....
" not only matched the success of "Shake" on the R&B charts, reaching #4 also, but exceeded it by propelling the album to over half-a-million in sales
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
. Simmons had co-written only one song on The Gap Band, but co-wrote six of The Gap Band II's seven tracks.
In 1980, Charlie Wilson went on a trip to Texas and came back with 2 new friends: Cavin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples. After a brief audition, Simmons exchanged contact information with them. When they showed up in LA, he suggested they record a demo with the label's other producer, who also served as their songwriter. They recorded the demo, and when he heard it, Simmons had yet another act in his ranks: Yarbrough and Peoples
Yarbrough and Peoples
Yarbrough and Peoples was an American R&B duo from Dallas, Texas. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music", a US Billboard R&B chart topper in 1981.-Career:...
. That year, Simmons wrote two songs which peaked on the R&B charts at #1 back-to-back: "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
"Burn Rubber on Me " is a song originally performed by The Gap Band and written by member Charlie Wilson and producer Lonnie Simmons. In 1981, it peaked at number eighty-four on the Hot 100 but it was a number one hit on the R&B charts...
", which was released on The Gap Band III
The Gap Band III
The Gap Band III is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1980 on Mercury Records. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's fifth album.-Reception:...
, and "Don't Stop the Music
Don't Stop the Music (Yarbrough and Peoples song)
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from the duo's 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. It was released as a single on Mercury Records in 1981....
" which was released on Yarbrough & Peoples' debut album, The Two of Us. The latter album went gold, while the former went platinum, selling over a million copies.
Simmon's winning streak continued in 1982, when the Gap Band signed to a direct label deal with Total Experience. Gap Band IV
Gap Band IV
Gap Band IV is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on Total Experience Records. The album reached #1 on the Black Albums chart and #14 on the Pop Albums chart...
came out and spawned three singles, which all peaked in the top-40 on the dance charts and top-2 on the R&B songs: #1 "Early in the Morning", #2 "You Dropped a Bomb on Me
You Dropped a Bomb on Me
"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is an electrofunk song performed by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons' label, Total Experience Records. It reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts, #39 on the dance charts and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" (Both of which Simmons helped write), and #1 "Outstanding
Outstanding
"Outstanding" is a song originally performed by The Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album Gap Band IV. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, reaching the number one spot on the U.S. R&B Singles Chart in...
, the first two of which Simmons wrote. The album went platinum within a year. Later in 1982, he signed Robert "Goodie" Whitfield to the label. His debut album, Call Me Goodie peaked at #31 R&B.
The Gap Band's 1983 release, Gap Band V: Jammin'
Gap Band V: Jammin'
Gap Band V Jammin' is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1983 on Total Experience Records. The album was reissued on CD by Mercury Records, Total Experience's distributor at the time. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's seventh album.The album reached #2 on the Black...
(#2 R&B, #28 Billboard 200) saw Simmons take a reduced writing/producing role, co-writing only one song. The album went gold, headlined by the only Simmons co-penned single, "Party Train
Party Train
"Party Train" is a 1983 song by The Gap Band, released on their seventh album, Gap Band V: Jammin. It peaked at #3 on the R&B charts. The original release had "I'm Ready " on the A-side and "Party Train" on the B-side...
", which went to #3 on the R&B charts. Yarbrough and Peoples released Hearbeats that year, and it peaked at #25 R&B, and the title-track went to #10 R&B. One of their 1984 singles, "Be a Winner", topped the R&B charts.
Even though his two major acts produced hits well into the mid-80s, Total Experience began to falter. During 1984 and 1985, the label expanded from three acts to fourteen, including Bernie Hamilton
Bernie Hamilton
Bernie Hamilton was an American actor.Hamilton was born in East Los Angeles and attended Oakland Technical High School, where he first became interested in acting. In films from 1950, he laboured in bit roles for years before getting noticed in the film One Potato, Two Potato , the story of an...
& the Inculcation Band and Switch
Switch (band)
Switch was an R&B/funk band that found fame recording for the Gordy label in the late 1970s releasing hit songs such as "There'll Never Be", "I Call Your Name" and "The Best Beat in Town" and influenced bands such as DeBarge, which featured members Bobby and Tommy's siblings.-Early years:Formed in...
. Not a single one of the newcomers released more than one album with Total Experience (Two of them only produced one song) and none of them scored any hits. Meanwhile, Yarbrough and Peoples got married and moved back to Texas, and Goodie quit. This left the Gap Band as the label's sole act by 1986.
The Gap Band's subsequent releases, Gap Band VII and Gap Band 8 received chart success due to heavy radio airplay, but sold few actual copies. The Gap Band's final hurrah with Total Experience, Straight from the Heart got a top-40 song from the title track, but failed to sell, causing the Gap Band to leave for Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
With no acts remaining, Lonnie dropped out of music and his company turned to motion picture and video production, which he apparently still does to this day.
Legacy
Music written by Lonnie Simmons has been sampled heavily in Contemporary R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and Hip Hop music
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...
. Gap Band songs have been sampled 36 times, and "Don't Stop the Music" has been sampled 16 times.
See also
- Total Experience RecordsTotal Experience RecordsTotal Experience Records was a record label founded in 1977 by Lonnie Simmons. Its two major acts were The Gap Band and Yarbrough & Peoples. It originally began as a production company with a distribution deal through Mercury/PolyGram before becoming a full fledged label in 1981...
- The Gap Band
- Yarbrough and PeoplesYarbrough and PeoplesYarbrough and Peoples was an American R&B duo from Dallas, Texas. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music", a US Billboard R&B chart topper in 1981.-Career:...