Shalamar

When R&B impresario Dick Griffey, owner of the SOLAR label and booking agent of the classic TV dance-party SOUL TRAIN, wanted to put together a singing group to capitalise on the growing disco trend, he didn't need to look any further than show regulars and dance partners Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel. (The third member of Shalamar, Howard Hewett, was married to a SOUL TRAIN dancer.) The good-looking trio had strong, soulful voices and great dance moves--it's been said that Daniel created the "Moonwalk"--and had several high-charting hits between 1978 and 1984, after which both Watley and Daniel left for solo careers. Hewett defected for a successful solo run in '86. Although the latter-day group, with vocalists Delisa Davis and Micki Free, won a Grammy, Shalamar never quite recovered the popularity or hit-making power of their disco heyday, and the band folded in 1990.

• pop
• r&b/soul