Lakeside was the first full-on band to be signed to SOLAR. Hailing from Dayton, Ohio – a well-documented music breeding ground – the band trekked a long, circuitous path to funk immortality. Lakeside was created from the marriage of two existing groups: a four-piece band called The Young Underground (led by guitarist Stephen Shockley) and a four-member singing group called The Nomads (led by Mark Wood). Lakeside quickly became LARGER THAN LIFE after scoring radio hits with jams like Pull My Strings, Raid and Outrageous, but fans knew they had stellar ballads such as Say Yes and a slowed-down Top 5 reinterpretation of the Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand. Their secret formula: authentic soul vocal harmony atop funk grooves. Towering over all of their hits, however, is the atomic party-starter Fantastic Voyage, which sat at #1 R&B for two weeks in the winter of 1980. It has since been co-opted by rapper Coolio for a Platinum-selling remake in 1994 and tapped for everything from a P. Diddy PEPSI ® TV commercial campaign to comedian Sinbad’s family comedy, First Kid.

With a name that conjures visions of the brightest constellation in the galaxy at “high moon,” Midnight Star sent the world on celestial journeys of dancing and romancing across the eight albums they recorded for SOLAR between 1980 and 1990. Patterned after “positive energy” ‘70s soul bands such as Earth Wind & Fire and the Commodores, the group wound up among the last successful acts from that mold.

After introducing member Reggie Calloway at the production helm, Midnight Star went back to the laboratory, re-thought their sound and began incorporating these “fresh/def” new elements into their mix. As summer began in 1983, they came back sounding like a whole new band, putting their own spin on electric boogaloo with a number called Freak-A-Zoid – a playfully sexy slice of sci-fi funk that captured the imaginations of young and old across cultural lines. The throbbing bass line, video game sound effects, electronic beats and percolating synth melodies sent break dancers into a flurry of hyperkinetic activity. It was a phenomenal record that sat at #2 on the R&B chart for four straight weeks, finally giving the band a bona fide, long-coming and hard-earned hit!

Shalamar’s fans didn’t just want to buy their albums. They wanted to BE them – traveling the globe, singing, dancing, closing down clubs, shopping, even stopping to ride some dolphins along the way. It takes one-of-a-kind chemistry to effect that kind of ardor, and it can’t be manufactured (as the beginning and end of their story proves). Effervescent but never bubblegum, Shalamar had the priceless ability to make absolutely anyone feel young at heart.

Don Cornelius plucked dancers Jody Watley (Chicago) and Jeffrey Daniel ( Los Angeles ) straight outta “The Soul Train Line” to join studio singer Gary Mumford, who was later replaced by Gerald Brown (who sang the hit Take That To The Bank). However, the real magic happened when Akron, Ohio-native Howard Hewett took over as lead singer just in time for their third album, Big Fun.