Besides Change other studio concepts emerged from the Little Macho Music factory such as The B.B.&Q. Band. Their debut album The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band continued in the tradition of Change, and not
surprisingly, often sounded like a Change album. Most of the songs were composed, arranged and conducted by Change co-producer Mauro Malavasi and many of the players and background singers also appeared on Change albums. And like Change, the B.B.& Q. Band made dance music that captivated in a forcible, unaffected manner.
The band was a standard faceless aggregation of Little Macho Music staff musicians and American sessioneers. The informal groupmembers depicted on the first album were the American studio musicians Kevin Nance (keyboards), Dwayne Perdue (drums) (see photo right below), Paris 'PeeWee' Ford (bass) (see photo left below), Abdul Wali Mohammed (guitar) and lead singer Ike Floyd. Guitarist William ‘Doc’ Powell turned bassist Paris Ford on to producer Petrus who was looking 
for musicians for a new project. In November 1980 the B.B.& Q. Band were put together by Paris Ford on Petrus’ request and got signed to Capitol records a little later. The acronym B.B.&Q. stands for the New York suburbs Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens, which were the areas where the original members of the group came from. The B.B.&Q. Band later “stabilized” into a self-contained group for two subsequent albums. Only Kevin Nance of the original line-up remained. The other musicians gave preference to session work and lucrative touring engagements with well-known R&B artists. After all there wasn’t much happening with the B.B.&Q. Band once they had left the recording studio. Paris Ford for instance took his place as one of the most enduring 
and groundbreaking session-bassists during the 80s and 90s, playing for lots of R&B stars as Rick James, Glenn Jones, Johnny Gill, Stacy Lattisaw, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Marcus Miller, Norman Connors and Lenny White.
In 1982 the B.B.& Q. Band studio entity comprised Kevin Nance (keyboards), Kevin Robinson (guitarist), Bernard Davis (drums), Tony Bridges (bass) and Chieli Minucci (guitarist). The album sleeves don't show all of the five members, which indicates that the band was a rather loose formation of switchable sessioneers, typical for most of the projects of Little Macho Music. Actually the B.B.& Q. Band never got to the stage of a real band. They never did any live gigs or promotional tours to support their albums because it seems the group was stopped dead by a glitch in the touring budget.
In the early to mid eighties frontman Kevin Robinson (see photo) also worked as a session musician and singer with Change, The Spinners, Stephanie Mills, The Strangers, High Fashion, Lillo Thomas and Mtume. Besides he was a musician with funkgroup Network and co-produced their rare electro-funk album I Need You in 1984. He was likewise producer for Freddie Jackson, B.T. Express, Melba Moore, Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash, Sweet Obession and the Bar-Kays. In 1984, together with Howard King, he produced the Macho III single “Kalimba De Luna” for Jacques Fred Petrus. Robinson is also known as the recording artist Chad on the RCA label (album Fast Music, Love & Promises, 1987).
Chieli Minucci formed the well-known fusion group Special EFX in 1982 and has since been a major force in the world of smooth jazz. Besides Special EFX, he has four solo albums to his credit and has played, recorded with, or produced a number of artists including Dave Grusin, Lionel Richie, Anastacia, Mark Anthony, Jewel, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Noel Pointer, Angela Bofill and Chuck Loeb. He also writes for TV and hopes to get into scoring films.
The Brooklyn Bronx & Queens Band
The B.B.& Q. Band are best remembered for Malavasi’s hypnotic floorfiller “On The Beat” (#3 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart; #8 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), a joyous dance groove driven by funky rhythm guitars. It was the opening track on the spectacularly good debut release The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, released in August of 1981. Though critically acclaimed by disco freaks, their first album never exploded in the US.
The unpretentious excitement of “On The Beat” made the song the best dance anthem of 1981 and a Top Ten R&B hit. The magic of this song is that the beat is never heard - it is felt - so that listeners’ feet are kept moving while their ears are free to concentrate on other parts of the song. A punctuated, Chicesque melody leads into a call-and-response pattern in which the lead singer answers the background vocalists, much like the bridge on Temperton’s “Boogie Nights”. And the lyric, like Temperton’s “Give Me The Night”, celebrates the virtues of music and dancing: “Nobody has a care/’Cause there’s music in the air/It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before”. There is no yearning for strobe lights or gold chains here. Instead, when the vocalists sing “Are you ready or not/It’s only up the street/Everybody’s dancing/And everybody’s on the beat”, they seem to be talking about an all-night party going on under the nearest lamppost.
This album also included “Starlette” which carries the common “treasure the ordinary things in life” theme too, but sounds fresh thanks to some dazzling vocal interplay. The song has two choruses with the vocals perky on one and aggressive on the other - and they converge at the end of the song to create overwhelming exhilaration.
Engaging vocals also makes the swift and elegant “Mistakes” hard to resist. The chorus carries an ABA rhyme scheme, but it is so catchy and the singers so inseparable from each note that the second line sounds like it rhymes with the first and third anyway. The melody changes at the end of the song and the chorus turns into a rap, but the song is so cohesively crafted that when the original chorus returns, it never seems to have left.
In contrast to the immediate appeal of the former three songs, the subtleness of the classy mid-tempo “Time For Love” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart) takes several listens to become accustomed to. The title is sung and followed by another spare guitar riff, and then not much seems to happen. But like Change’s “Hold Tight”, “Time For Love” weaves its way in listeners’ minds so that by the fifth or sixth listen, the song becomes permanently embedded.
The whole set of The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band is filled with lots of hard-stepping guitar, bass, and keyboard bits that propel the tunes with snappingly catchy rhythms throughout.
The tempo slows on the graceful ballads “Don’t Say Goodbye” and “Lovin’s What We Should Do”, all composed by Petrus' Italian musicians Malavasi, Romani, Tansini and Trevisi. Especially “Don’t Say Goodbye” is not a token ballad thrown in just to give dancers a chance to catch their breath. A foreboding piano permeates the song, and when lead singer Ike Floyd (see photo) sings “And I don’t know what I’m gonna do/Next time I see you”, the listener can feel the fear and confusion. A synthesizer break melts into a pleading saxophone solo, which further succeeds in the almost impossible task of bringing the listener down from the incredible high of “On The Beat”. There’s even a reggae tune, “I’ll Cut You Loose”, which is a change of pace and pleasant surprise.
The compelling and clever lyrics written by Tanyayette Willoughby and Paul Slade raised the music to the highest level of disco songcraft. A host of American top session singers handled backup, among them: Luther Vandross, Gordon Grody, Fonzi Thornton, Bobby Douglas, Diva Gray and Robin Clark. Petrus, Malavasi and company came up with another wonderful album, targeted both for the dancefloor and pop and R&B radio, devoid of mechanized garishness and bursting with vigor, proving once again that music for the feet and music for the mind do not have to be separate entities.
B.B.& Q. Band's immortal dance anthem "On The Beat" generated a second moment of radio and club interest in 1987 when the subtle remix "On The Beat - 87 Bronx Mix" was released on the Streetheat label. An updated version that stayed very close to the original.
B.B.&Q. Band 1981
Kevin Nance, Ike Floyd, Paris 'PeeWee' Ford, Abdul Wali Mohammed and Dwayne Perdue
All Night Long
The group's sophomore set All Night Long, released in September of 1982, was a good follow-up brimming with pop potential on "Imagination", "All Night Long" and "The Things We Do In Love". The record featured guitar-player Kevin Robinson on steady lead vocals. The album mixed up some nice keyboards with a spacey early breakdance sound, sounding great over the group's tight rhythm, and surprisingly soulful vocals. All Night Long was a richly-varied, multi-textured vocal/instrumental showcase but lacked an instant smash hit single to propel the record.
All Night Long (# 32 Billboard's Black Albums Chart) included the elektrofunkish hit “Imagination” (#21 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), composed by keyboardist Kae Williams. "Imagination" featured the stellar lead vocals of the latest inductee to the Little Macho Music family: percussionist and vocalist Rick Brennan. Brennan is still confused about this today and has no explanation why Petrus wouldn't let Kevin Robinson sing lead on this track. Slated to become the new voice of B.B.&Q. Band, Brennan was initially informed by Petrus that the original band line-up was being replaced for the upcoming sophomore album sessions. However upon arriving at the studio, Brennan was greeted with a surprise. "When I got to New York and walked in the studio, Kevin Robinson was also there", recalled the Philadelphia native. "Of course it threw Kevin off because he was looking at me like, 'I'm the lead singer, who is this guy??'" After the recording session for "Imagination" with Brennan's "guest vocals", it was ultimately decided that his talents would be best utilized in one of Petrus' other musical incarnations [By the fall of 1982 Rick Brennan would join Change and become the new lead singer of Little Macho's main act]. Yet they were still far from a runaway hit, their following was strictly club, and their sound wasn’t spreading west, but primarily east, to the European dance floors.
Other very enjoyable tunes were “Hanging Out”, "Hard To Get Around", Malavasi's edgy “Children Of The Night”, the gentle “(I Could Never Say) It’s Over” and the punchy, Kevin Robinson-written single “All Night Long (She’s Got The Moves I Like)”.
Malavasi composed half of the album's songs together with Johnny Kemp Jr.. The other half was written by the American musicians Kae Williams, Kevin Robinson and Timmy Allen (bass player with Change). Johnny Kemp, Chieli Minucci (see photo) and Timmy Allen all played with the New York funk outfit Der Kinky Foxx previously.
Davide Romani only contributed as a bass player and this could be the reason why the record somewhat lacked the 'Italian disco chemistry' of the first album which holded songs of a stronger "dancefloor" impact. Just like on the third Change album, the overall sound on All Night Long revealed a change of course. Essential contributions by the American musicians and composers Johnny Kemp Jr., Timmy Allen, Kae Williams and Kevin Robinson steered the B.B.&Q. Band ship deeper into Contemporary R&B waters. Electrofunk-influenced outings like "Desire" and "Imagination" clearly illustrate that evolution. Kevin Robinson said: "Please keep in mind that although we had a great deal of respect for Davide and Mauro as producers and musicians, we were not in awe of them. In fact, the prospective was that they were doing music by Chic, which was popular five years before we came along. We were more influenced by the sounds of Leon Sylvers, Prince, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Time, Rick James, etc.. That would be like studying Rod Stewart instead of Wilson Pickett or Keith Richards instead of B.B. King and Robert Johnson. Elvis instead of Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and James Brown."
Again Petrus spoilt his production with the rich tones of New York's most prestigious background singers. Credited session vocalists were Leroy Burgess, Tawatha Agee, Fonzi Thornton, Gordon Grody, Bobby Douglas, Eric McClinton, Johnny Kemp and Alyson Williams.
Chieli Minucci and the late Johnny Kemp Jr.
Six Million Times
After two good albums, they coughed up a third in 1983. To Petrus & Malavasi standards Six Million Times was a disappointing shot. This project, co-produced by groupmember Kevin Robinson, obviously lacked decent songmaterial and creative direction. It seemed as if mentor Petrus held back the quality songs for his other projects. But the reality was that Petrus' Italian musicians stopped supplying successfull compositions as the good understanding with their boss was missing.
Petrus faced serious economical problems in 1983 and Six Million Times was produced with a tiny budget during five weeks at the Umbi-Maison Blanche studios in the countryside of Modena. Most of the album's songs came from the American groupmember Kevin Robinson, who co-wrote several tracks with NYC top musician Howard King (Mtume, D-Train, Stephanie Mills, The Strangers, Candy Bowman, Karin Jones, Network). Fred gave Kevin Robinson a great deal of freedom to experiment with his creativity and bring up new ideas.
The long-player didn't yield any real highlights though. "Keep It Hot" and the totally redundant Beatles tune “She’s A Woman” were the only singles off the album. “Keep It Hot” was composed by Malavasi and reminisced the funky floorfiller "Let It Whip" by the Dazz Band. “Stay” represented yet another enjoyable moment on a weak album otherwise. Cuts like "We've Got To Do It" or “Downtowne” offered an upbeat contemporary R&B sound with lots of bass and synths in the instrumentation, but they couldn’t excite. "Six Million Times" and "She's A Passionate Lover" heavily flirted with the Minneapolis funk of Prince and The Time. The boys of the B.B.&Q. Band were wild about this hybrid sound that combined funk, rock, pop, synthpop and New Wave. Producing an R&B/funk hit seemed not achievable however.
Whereas the initial B.B.& Q. productions benefited of strong disco compositions and irresistible melodies, Six Million Times suffered of average songs dipped in the heavier kind of electro-funk arrangements that marked many of the dancefloor productions of 1983 and after. But unlike their contemporaries Midnight Star, The Time, D-Train, S.O.S. Band, The System or Kashif, the B.B.&Q. Band scored no hits in 1983 and the group was subsequently dropped from the Capitol roster.
B.B.&Q. Band 1982
Kevin Nance, Tony Bridges, Chieli Minucci and Kevin Robinson
Genie
In 1985 Jacques Fred Petrus formed a new B.B.& Q. Band and released the album Genie which sold well in Europe but couldn’t fulfill the expected success in the U.S..
The album was released first in Europe on different labels in different countries (Denmark, Italy, UK, Netherlands and Germany) and appeared on the U.S. market a year later on Elektra Records. The cover artwork of the European pressing and the American pressing differed completely. The name of executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus wasn’t even printed on the US album. By then he had been accused of tax evasion and his fraudulous US music companies collapsed accordingly. Still, the Genie album got published in America on the Elektra/Pretty Pearl imprint. The name of the executive producer printed on the American sleeve was Earl Monroe who happened to be the executive producer of Curtis Hairston, lead singer on Genie. Hairston had already released a bunch of fairly successful R&B singles on Monroe’s Pretty Pearl record label (“I Want You (All Tonight)” 1983, “Summertime” 1983, “We All Are One” 1984 and “I Want Your Lovin’ (Just A Little Bit)” 1985). After Fred Petrus fled the US, abandoning the music biz, Monroe fixed a record deal via his label -which he initially started up as a vehicle for Curtis Hairston- to get Genie released in the U.S. on a major label.
The album was recorded at the MorningStar Studios in Philadelphia (US), hometown of producer Kae Williams Jr, and at the Morning Studios in Milan (Italy). However, the two releases showed different Italian recording studios on the covers. The US version of Genie was apparently recorded at the Castle Studios in Milan and the original European issue at the Morning Studios in Milan. But there's an explanation! The Castle Studios (a.k.a. The Stone Castle Studios) and the Morning Studios were actually one and the same recording facility, situated in Carimate near Milan. This studio was located inside a beautiful castle built in the 14th Century.
Featured tracks were the sweet “Minutes Away”, the upbeat “Riccochet”, the vibrant dancer “On The Shelf” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), “Dreamer” (#35 Billboard TOP 40), “Won’t You Be With Me Tonight”, the Prince/Minneapolis sound-inspired “Don’t Force It” and the impressive “Genie” (#40 Billboard TOP 40). The mellow title track that bubbled and percolated nicely with a seductively soulful feel, especially on the vocals, became their biggest hit since "On The Beat". Genie was a surprisingly consistent album awash in great keyboards (DX7 Rhodes) and snapping electro beats that were nicely placed between the street and the dancefloor. The hi-tech vibe was ostensibly influenced by the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis productions.
The album was composed, written and co-produced by Kae Williams Jr. (see photo). The musician crew involved were Timmy Allen (bass), Michael Campbell (guitar) and Kae Williams Jr. (keyboards, piano). Kae Williams was formerly keyboardist with the group Breakwater. In 1981 he joined Timmy Allen and other top NY session players to record an album as Hi-Gloss for the Prelude label. A year later Fred Petrus offered Kae Williams session work with Change and B.B.& Q. Band. Williams also composed several songs for these groups. He later moved back to Philadelphia where he worked with artists including Mason, Ian Foster, Phyllis Hyman, George Howard, Miki Howard, Shirley Lites, Peggi Blu, Curiosity, G-Five, Loose Ends, Five Star, Robert Hazard, Pretty Poison, Cashmere, Terri Wells, Joanna Gardner, Bootsy Collins and Sybil Thomas. Producer Kae Williams Jr. deceased on July 11, 2008 due to heart failure at the age of 52.
Genie featured Curtis Hairston (see photo) on lead and background vocals and Ullanda McCullough (see photo) on background vocals, although there were no vocal credits on the sleeves.
Kae Williams would work with Curtis Hairston again in 1986 on his one and only solo album Curtis Hairston which included the popular soul track “The Morning After”, reminiscent of “Genie”. Unfortunately lead singer Curtis Hairston, who severely suffered from diabetes, passed away in January 1996. He was just 34 years old.
Based in New York, Backup singer Ullanda McCullough worked consistently through the ‘70s and early ‘80s as a backing vocalist, particularly with Ashford & Simpson who produced her second solo album Ullanda McCullough for Atlantic in 1981. As Ullanda she already released her first solo album Love Zone in 1979. In 1982 she recorded Watching You Watching Me on the Atlantic label, her last record to date. Elsewhere she recorded backing vocals with Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Melba Moore, Lonnie Liston Smith, Cliff Dawson, Charles Earland, Cerrone, Hi-Gloss, Michael Zager Band, Stephanie Mills, Thelma Jones, Chic, Diana Ross, T-Connection, The Spinners, Chaka Khan and Rainbow Brown among many more.
Occasionally acts have been touring as the B.B.& Q. Band. Rick Brennan, formerly with Change, performed during a 'Tribute To The Funk' concert in Bercy (Paris) in 2003 pretending to be the frontman of the B.B.& Q. Band. The massive audience went wild but unfortunately the whole show was fake!
At the NYC B.B. King Club in August 2008, artists promoted the B.B.& Q. Band along with G.Q. and Change as a genuine 'reunion' tour. Curiously enough the singer had never been involved with the B.B.& Q. Band. And the irony doesn’t stop here, because the only original player from the B.B.& Q. Band onstage was Chieli Minucci, a former B.B.&Q. Band guitarist who actually never performed live with the B.B.& Q. Band. He was a studio cat who just wrote and recorded for Petrus! Kevin Robinson, the original vocalist for B.B.& Q. Band had a falling out with the show organizers 2 days before, so a new “singer” came in and learned everything at the last minute but he couldn’t sing a lick. There was no comparison what so ever with the original lead vocalist Robinson who simultaneously performed B.B.& Q. Band songs at the Sugar Bar in NYC that evening in August 2008.
Surprisingly, in 2009 the original line-up of the B.B.& Q. Band (photos above) consisting of Kevin Nance, Paris Ford, Dwayne Perdue and Ike Floyd reunited for a live gig on the Ron Alexander Show at the Kraine Theater and on the Soul Legends TV Show in NYC. In 2010 they toured as a part of the "Ol' Skool Throw Down" Tour featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King, B.T. Express, Brass Construction, Machine, B.B.&Q. Band, Johnny Kemp and T-Ski Valley. In 2011 they were guest on the Fox 5 'Good Day New York' morning show and played the Newark Symphony Hall in NYC.
On Saturday 2nd of November 2013 the B.B.&.Q. Band performed live in Lyon (France). Line-up included former members Kevin Robinson, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges and Kevin Nance.
B.B.& Q. Band songs and samples appear on:
* Rufige Cru: "Killa Muffin (The Band Dog Mix)" (sample: Dreamer) 12", Reinforced 1992.
* Jeff Redd: “Dreamer” (song: Dreamer) from Down Low, MCA, 1994.
* Seduced: “On Da Beat” (sample: On The Beat) 12", ARS Productions, 2004.
* The Alchemist: “Strength Of Pain (feat. Chinky)” (sample: Lovin's What We Should Do) from 1st Infantry, Koch, 2004.
* DJ Mehdi: “Tunisia Bambaata” (sample: Imagination) 12", Ed Banger, 2008.
* Love & Mind: "Nightlounge" (sample: On The Beat) from French House Maid, 4 disco, 2010.
HIGH FASHION
High Fashion was another of Jacques Fred Petrus bands alongside Change and B.B.&Q. Band. It was a Chic-like concept fronted by the young vocalists Meli’sa Morgan, Alyson Williams — two future urban contemporary stars — and the older Eric McClinton, all from New York. Michael Murphy, who was co-running Petrus' Little Macho office in NYC from 1980 until 1983, came up with the suitable name High Fashion.
The blend of relative youthfulness with seasoned experience worked very well. Alyson Williams was a sought-after session vocalist who had worked on a long list of projects including The B.B.&Q. Band, Melba Moore and Unlimited Touch. She was the daughter of bandleader/trumpeter Bobby Booker. Meli'sa Morgan also was a renowned backing singer on the New York soul scene and had recorded with Kleeer, Weeks & Co., Shades Of Love and Leroy Burgess. Eric McClinton, whose smooth soulful masculine vocals accented High Fashion's sound, first hit the music scene in the mid-sixties as Eric & The Vikings and recorded with his group for various labels until 1973. In the mid-seventies he turned up as a part of the one-time duo Eryke & Arronette. In 1979 he worked together with Mike Theodore - co-producer of High Fashion’s first album - as a singer with the Mike Theodore Orchestra. McClinton also recorded with Jimi Hendrix, Gladys Knight, George Duke and Flora Purim.
High Fashion 1982
Feelin' Lucky
High Fashion's highly acclaimed first album Feelin’ Lucky was released on Capitol records in June of 1982. The High Fashion trio tastefully delivered the musical plan of producers Petrus & Malavasi, with the creative aid of the immensely talented Kashif, Mike Theodore, Dennis Coffey and Fonzi Thornton. The result was a vocal vitality with the music to back it up. Feelin’ Lucky offered sublime dancefloor material steeped in the quality tradition of eighties groove with flair, finesse, panache and soul.
Killer track on Feelin’ Lucky was the irresistible feel-good single “Feelin’ Lucky Lately” (#32 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart). This awesome synth-laden disco hit, written by Malavasi, Davide Romani and Fonzi Thornton, perfectly illustrates the elegant and sophisticated dance music of the Italians. Kashif composed three songs, among which the infectious, upbeat “Hold On” and “Next To You”. Meli’sa Morgan co-wrote the track “You’re The Winner” together with bassist Kevin Jenkins. Jenkins explained that Fred Petrus bought the song, paid them in cash and only ever used the bassline. The soulful gems “When The Lover Strikes” and “I Want To Be Your Everything” — another strong Kashif song by the way— made the album complete.
The brilliant keyboardist and co-producer Kashif developed a complete new synth-based music style that revolutionized R&B music. Around that same time he was already a very in demand musician, songwriter, arranger and producer who could be heard on releases by Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Tavares, Geraldine Hunt, Pleasure, Average White Band, Passion, Howard Johnson and Melba Moore. In 1983 Kashif went on to fame and fortune as a solo artist and remained ubiquitous as a songwriter and producer throughout the '80s and early '90s (George Benson, Kenny G, Meli’sa Morgan, Lillo Thomas, Fonzi Thornton, Nona Hendryx, Stacy Lattisw, Giorge Pettus, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Johnny Kemp, etc.).
Make Up Your Mind
High Fashion released a second album Make Up Your Mind in 1983, featuring the single “Break Up”, the fat groove “Pump On The Pipe”, the gentle and soulful “Just A Little More Love”, "Make Up Your Mind", “You Satisfy My Needs”, "A Little More Time" and “Show Me”, co-written by Mtume’s Tawatha Agee. But none of the album tracks, except "Just A Little More Love" that was written by Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson, matched the outstanding quality of the previous release. The set had electro-soul arrangements very similar to Change but the songcollection in general was the poor man's version of the latter. Background singer Marcella Allen was brought in to replace Mel’isa Morgan. This production was backed up by the members of the B.B.&Q. Band. The sales of Make Up Your Mind were however embarrassing and the group was dissolved.
High Fashion 1983
After the High Fashion projects Meli’sa Morgan and Alyson Williams enjoyed personal success as solo artists. Meli’sa Morgan released her co-written debut Do Me Baby in 1986 on Capitol records. A remake of Prince's "Do Me Baby" yielded a number one R&B hit. Morgan notched two more Top Ten R&B singles: "Do You Still Love Me?" and "If You Can Do It, I Can Too" before moving on to Arista Records in 1987 and hitting with a duet with Kashif ("Love Changes") that reached the number two spot on the R&B charts. After Arista she went with Pendulum Records. Alyson Williams fronted the act The Affair feat. Alyson after her time with High Fashion, a session group including Gwen Guthrie. The Affair released the single "Please Don't Break My Heart" on Easy Street in 1985. In 1989 she signed with Def Jam and delivered Raw including "Sleep Talk" (#3 Billboard R&B Charts). But her solo career ran out of gas in the late '90s. On the Def Jam label, in addition to solo work, she paired with Chuck Stanley on "Make You Mine Tonight" and Oran "Juice" Jones on "How to Love Again." Eric McClinton contributed backing vocals to other Little Macho Music projects, including the B.B.& Q. Band's Six Million Times record and Change's This Is Your Time set. After High Fashion split he turned up twice on Atlantic, in the incarnations of Ze-Brass ("Feels So Good") in 1983 and Deep (“A Good Thing Is So Hard To Find”) in 1985. Both projects were produced by Nicky Kalliongis who had worked as an engineer at the Media Sound studios on several Change and B.B.& Q. Band recording sessions.
High Fashion 1982
ZINC
During the prolific summer of 1982 the powerhouse team of Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi released a string of premium productions. Five hot R&B albums by Change, Ritchie Family, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion and Zinc hit the streets, along with a straight pop LP by Silence. Zinc’s Street Level was the final record to leave the Little Macho Music factory that year. Actually it became their last achievement to be entirely fabricated in NYC, before stormy weather would afflict the very Italian soul of Little Macho Music.
With the Zinc concept, Petrus & Malavasi explored new musical territory and attempted to infiltrate a radically changing dance music scene with a revamped “street level” sound. They noticed that pop music had taken the gravity center of radio programming and DJ culture. Party people danced to the beats of Human League, Soft Cell, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, B-52’s and Tom Tom Club. Even if the funky Little Macho Music signature sound was all over the album, the music style was still pretty avant-garde. Several tracks on Street Level demonstrated the impact of new wave music in those days, flirting with a colder rock sonority. One album cut was even entitled “Punkulation”! In an interview lead singer Gordon Grody admitted the significance of ‘80s pop back then: “One major influence for Zinc was the British superstar band The Police. Their effect is obvious on the Malavasi-Gianolio song “Livin’ In The Boogie Now", combining “white reggae” with new wave and funk."
Zinc wasn’t a real band but just the façade for yet another tasty studio creation instigated by the Italian duo Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi. The cover artwork –designed by Howard Fritzson– displayed a glamorous NYC street scene, with the group’s curious name tagged in robust metallic lettering. Zinc was an experimental fusion of glossy uptown R&B and cool rebellious rock…where the beat meets the street, subtly visualized. The studio group was composed of American and Italian session musicians led by the inevitable Malavasi. The producing and arranging abilities of Mauro Malavasi and the great musicianship of Little Macho Music core member Davide Romani once more shone through on this record. Petrus enlisted the old acquaintances Tanya Willoughby and Fonzi Thornton to provide the song lyrics. Acclaimed singer Gordon Grody (see photo right) fronted Zinc. His more neutral voice seemed adequate for the experiment. He was actually a white male vocalist with the looks of a young rock God and this again emphasized the radical nature of the project from previous Petrus-Malavasi efforts. Grody was a busy studio cat, whose reputation arose in the NYC session scene during the ’70s disco craze (Vicki Sue Robinson, T. Life, Meco, Lemon, Gregg Diamond …). His one solo album Exclusively Yours was released in 1977 on the RCA label. Subsequently the vocal chameleon recorded with heavyweights David Bowie, Debbie Harry, George Benson, Steely Dan, Patti Austin, Change, Sting, Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, Carly Simon and Talking Heads among others. Gordon Grody happened to live in the same building in Manhattan Petrus did, right across the hall. No wonder his talent was easily spotted by the Italian clique. Grody’s involvement with Little Macho Music went back to 1980 when he provided leads for Macho II. Jacques Fred Petrus also hired him as the singer of the pop outfit Silence for two albums. Today Grody is a much solicited and experienced voice/songwriting/performance coach who has worked with Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and many more. “Livin’ In The Boogie Now” featured lead vocalist Steve Daniels who formerly appeared on records of Revanche, Rudy and Change. He also was the drummer and one of the lead singers of the band Platinum Hook.
Street Level was dropped in September 1982 by Zomba-Jive Records, a label known for its alternative releases and at that time the highest-ranked independent record company in the world. Zinc was urban R&B with fascinating touches of pop, kept fairly basic, without too many frills. The emphasis was on the vocals, the lush harmonies and the percolating beat that made you want to bounce to the dancefloor. Though there were over 20 musicians and vocalists involved –including backup singers Fonzi Thornton, Michelle Cobbs and Bobby Douglas– the spare arrangements gave everybody space. Highlights on the album were the utterly ingenious title track and lead single “Street Level” written by ’80s phenomenon Kashif; Romani’s chilly and muscular “Punkulation” and the Chic-influenced gem “This Is Where The Love Is”. Other fine selections included the naughty up-tempo beater “I’ll Never Stop” that echoes American pop standard Huey Lewis & The News, the energetic “I’ll Take My Chances” –flavoured with licks of rock guitar and polyrhythmic percussion– and “Amazon” with its intriguing instrumental airs and tropical chants.
Despite the suitable Jive label and a line-up of top musicians delivering a brilliant product, the Zinc effort was not the anticipated winner and proved that the poppy target market didn't bite. During a recent interview, background singer Bobby Douglas reflected on the album's lack of commercial appeal: “Zinc was so ahead of its time that I knew it wasn't going to be well received, because it was so much better than the schlock that was playing on the radio at the time.” And he added: “It was popularly believed that Zinc would be a kick off boost for the underrated Gordon Grody…Petrus talked about having Grody do the tour or lead the act when the record hit…But no such luck...”
In 1983 the single “I’m Livin' A Life Of Love” was released on Jive Records but there was no forthcoming album. Contractual stipulations had forced Little Macho Music to publish a last track for Jive. This Malavasi composition was sung by Kevin Robinson, lead vocalist of the B.B.&Q. Band, and reminded of “Searching” by group Change. The track was incidentally a leftover from previous B.B.&Q. Band recording sessions in 1982. Actually “I’m Livin' A Life Of Love” had already been released the year before, as a B-side to the US single/12 inch of "Street Level". In 1984 Jacques Fred Petrus embraced Italo-Dance music and recycled the name of Zinc for the Little Macho Music project Zinc feat. Sherwin, which resulted in the singles “State Of The Nation” and “Hollywood City”.
Ritchie Family
RITCHIE FAMILY
The famous disco producers Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo (Ritchie Family, The Village People, Patrick Juvet) submitted their artists to the successful sound of Little Macho Music in 1982. Jacques Fred Petrus produced The Ritchie Family's excellent top 40 R&B album I’ll Do My Best for Morali/Belolo's company Can’t Stop Productions on the RCA label.
This Ritchie Family project surprised because it wasn’t fluffy or too over the top but very funky and substantial which wasn’t in line with their previous output. Mauro Malavasi supervised the project and the Italian-born Philadelphia arranger/producer Giuliano Salerni took care of the artistic production. Salerni had previously composed, arranged and produced the disco projects Ultimate and Hi-Gloss. The Hi-Gloss group comprised incidentally Timmy Allen on bass and Kae Williams on keyboards. Salerni also successfully arranged and mixed for Geraldine Hunt ("Can't Fake The Feeling") and France Joli (album Now!).
The Ritchie Family consisted of the former discodiva trio Vera Brown, Jacqueline Smith-Lee and Theodosia ‘Dodie’ Draher. Vera Brown formerly sang in the group of the Philly soul singer David Simmons and recorded with producer Butch Ingram.
The first single was the brilliant title track “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)” (#27 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart; #17 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart). The song was co-written by Malavasi and Salerni and carried the recognizable Malavasi signature sound. "I'll Do My Best (For You Baby)" was the first time The Ritchie Family enjoyed airplay and clubplay simultaneously in several years. The other tracks were "This Love's On Me", the very melodious “One And Only”, the sweet ballad "You Can Always Count On Me", the smooth, laid-back “Walk With Me”, the irresistible floorshaker “Alright On The Night”, "Tonight I Need To Have Your Love" and "You've Got Me Dancin'".
The heavy workload for Little Macho Music in 1982 forced Fred Petrus to outsource a great deal of the project's songwritings. Unfamiliar but seasoned names like Zenobia Conkerite, David Rose, Jerry Marcellino, Winston Gay, Trevor Veitch and Greg Mathieson were enlisted to compose tracks. Besides “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)”, none of the songs were written by inside components of Little Macho Music. Just four tracks were published by Little Macho Music, three of which were supplied by the American guitar player Herb Smith who also co-wrote "The Very Best In You" for Change.
Petrus' musicians - including members of Change - and a handful of session professionals like Ira Siegel, Herb Smith, Yogi Horton, Kae Williams Jr. and Terry Silverlight simply carried out the songs, providing them with the characteristic texture and elegant style of the Little Macho Music productions.
Ritchie Family 1982
SILENCE
During the early