Stargard was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 three-piece female 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...

, consisting of original members Rochelle Runnells, Debra Anderson, and Janice Williams. Stargard was best known for their 1977 Norman Whitfield

Norman Whitfield

Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...

-penned 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...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 "(Theme Song From) Which Way Is Up?

(Theme Song From) Which Way Is Up?

" Which Way Is Up?" was a hit song by R&B female vocal group Stargard. The song was written and produced by Norman Whitfield and was the main theme from the soundtrack to the Richard Pryor movie, Which Way Is Up? It was also included on the group's self-titled debut album...

" which served as a theme

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 movie of the same name

Which Way Is Up?

Which Way is Up? is a comedy film starring Richard Pryor. It was directed by Michael Schultz, and is a remake of the 1972 Italian film The Seduction of Mimi, which was written and directed by Lina Wertmuller....

 starring Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...

. The 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...

, which also anchored the band's 1978 self-titled debut 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...

 for MCA Records

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

, charted at #1 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...

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,...

 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....

. The Whitfield-penned title track of their follow up album What You Waitin' For was also a Top 10 R&B hit. The group's last hit came after switching to the Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 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,...

 and releasing The Changing Of The Gard, and its standout single "Wear It Out", co-produced

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...

 by Verdine White

Verdine White

Verdine White is the bassist for Earth, Wind & Fire and the younger brother of fellow band member Maurice White. White is known for his high energy and dancing while playing his bass guitar during Earth, Wind & Fire concerts.-Early life:...

 of Earth, Wind, & Fire.

Anderson left the group shortly after The Changing of the Gard album. The remaining members stayed together to release two more albums; Back 2 Back (Warner Bros., 1980) and Nine Lives (MCA, 1982).

Outside of their recorded output, Stargard appeared as 'the Diamonds' in the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a 1978 American musical film. Its soundtrack, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, features new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. The film draws primarily from two of their albums, 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club...

.

Albums

• Stargard (MCA, 1978) - US Billboard 200
  Billboard 200
  The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
  
   #26, US R&B #12
• What You Waitin' For (MCA, 1978) - US R&B #50
• The Changing of the Gard (Warner Bros., 1979) - US R&B #57
• Back 2 Back (Warner Bros., 1980) - US Billboard 200 #186
• Nine Lives (MCA, 1982)

Singles

• "(Theme Song From) Which Way Is Up?
  (Theme Song From) Which Way Is Up?
  " Which Way Is Up?" was a hit song by R&B female vocal group Stargard. The song was written and produced by Norman Whitfield and was the main theme from the soundtrack to the Richard Pryor movie, Which Way Is Up? It was also included on the group's self-titled debut album...
  
  '" (MCA, 1978) - US 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...
  
   #21, US R&B #1, UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The 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 ...
  
  #19
• "Love Is So Easy" (MCA, 1978) - UK #45
• "What You Waitin' For" (MCA, 1978) - UK #39
• "Wear It Out" (Warner Bros., 1979)
• "High On The Boogie" (Warner Bros., 1981)