Fat Larry's Band

Fat Larry's Band was an R&B/funk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed some commercial success in the early 1980s.

Career

Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August 2, 1949 - December 5, 1987) in 1977, band members included trumpeter/flutist Art Capehart, saxophonist Doug Jones, trombonist/alto saxophonist Jimmy Lee, guitarist Ted Cohen, percussionist and lead singer Darryl Grant, bassist Larry La Bes, and keyboardist Erskine Williams. The band's biggest hits were "Act Like You Know" (1982) (which later appeared on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) and "Zoom", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in October 1982. They had three other hits in the UK: "Center City", "Boogie Town" and "Looking for Love Tonight".

Their best known song aesthetically was "Act Like You Know," a 1982 tune with a surging bass line and simple but catchy lyric refrain. James also played with The Delfonics and Blue Magic, and managed the group Slick.

James died on December 5, 1987, and the band folded.

The opening drum break from "Down on the Avenue", from the band's first album, Feel It (Stax 1977), has been sampled by many hip hop artists, including N.W.A (Straight Outta Compton), Ice-T, Jungle Brothers and Run-D.M.C.

Discography

Albums
Feel It (1977)
Off the Wall (1978)
Lookin' for Love (1979)
Stand Up (1980)
Breakin' Out (1982) - UK #58
Tune Me Up (1983)
Straight from the Heart (1983)
Nice (1986)
The Best of Fat Larry's Band (1994)
Fat Larry's Band - Greatest Hits (1995)
I Like Eating Chocolate - Greatest Hits (1999)

Singles
1976: "Center City" #31 UK
1976: "Fascination" #39 U.S. Dance
1977: "Peaceful Journey" #94 U.S. R&B
1979: "Boogie Town" #43 R&B
1979: "Here Comes the Sun" #44 U.S. R&B, #39 U.S. Dance
1979: "Lookin' for Love" #47 U.S. R&B
1979: "Lookin' for Love Tonight" #46 UK
1980: "Can't Keep My Hands to Myself"
1980: "How Good Is Love" #78 U.S. R&B
1982: "Act Like You Know" #67 U.S. R&B, #24 U.S. Dance
1982: "Be My Lady"
1982: "Traffic Stopper"
1982: "Zoom" #2 UK, #89 U.S. R&B
1983: "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" #83 UK
1983: "Straight from the Heart" #88 UK
1983: "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" #93 UK
1986: "Nice"
1986: "Sunrise Sunset"
1986: "Teach Me (There Is Something About Love)"

See also

List of disco artists (F-K)
Post-disco
Ultimate Breaks and Beats