When ballads and groups was in, Smooth SINGING,HARMONIES AND STEPS FROM SHALAMAR Howard, Jody and Jeffrey 1979 BIG FUN Album (#4 R&B/Black Albums, #23 Main Chart) written by Kevin Spencer and Leon Sylvers III Produced by Leon Sylvers lll
Watch it on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSM_hcX3m4s
SHALAMAR Jeffrey Daniel Body Popping Dance Class Cover
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| Shalamar's Jeffrey Daniel On the cover of Melody Maker issue date July 17, 1982
Shalamar's Jeffrey Daniel takes Great Britain by storm and Shalamar to new heights with his impressive body popping in 1982.
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SHALAMAR on SOULTRACKS
Shalamar - Friends (Deluxe Edition Reissue) review on blog Soultracks. The article incorrectly lists breakup of Shalamar as 1984, when the trio with Watley, Daniel ended with Hewett staying behind for an additional two albums according to documented press of the time found here on the blog.
Otherwise, pretty good overview of the reissue now available through amazon.com.
Review,
From 1978 to 1984, former Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, along with Ohio native Howard Hewett, ruled the R&B charts both stateside and abroad as the vocal group Shalamar. Propelled by the sophisticated production finesse of Leon Sylvers, III and Solar Records' "Throwdown Brothers" rhythm section, the energetic trio delivered six
albums' worth of vibrant modern-soul sung with vibrance and grace.
Click here to read full review
Otherwise, pretty good overview of the reissue now available through amazon.com.
Review,
From 1978 to 1984, former Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, along with Ohio native Howard Hewett, ruled the R&B charts both stateside and abroad as the vocal group Shalamar. Propelled by the sophisticated production finesse of Leon Sylvers, III and Solar Records' "Throwdown Brothers" rhythm section, the energetic trio delivered six
albums' worth of vibrant modern-soul sung with vibrance and grace.
Click here to read full review
SHALAMAR The Look Billboard Magazine Advertisement 1983
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| Jeffrey Daniel, Jody Watley, Howard Hewett
Shalamar with a Billboard Magazine back cover full page ad announcing the release of "The Look" on Solar Records, Issue Date August 6,1983
Shalamar had split In July of 1983 prior to album release, see Jeffrey Daniel on Shalamar Split Melody Maker Magazine Issue dated July 16, 1983.
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SHALAMAR Embrace A Trendy New Look In 1983
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| Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel in 1983 |
Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley embrace British fashion World's End Vivienne Westwood, Howard Hewett goes for the tough guy look just before split in 1983 for "The Look" LP.
SHALAMAR A Night To Remember
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| Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel
SHALAMAR Signature single "A Night To Remember" from the album "Friends" released in February 1982. Writers (Nidra Beard, Dana Myers, Charmaine Sylvers) Produced by Leon Sylvers III.
US Billboard Hot 100 Peak #44, Hot Soul Singles, #8, Dance #15, UK #5.
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SHALAMAR True Friends In Blues and Soul
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| Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel Blues and Soul 1982 |
EXCERPT:
Shalamar's leap to super-stardom is one of the great success
stories of 1982. Howard Hewett raps with B&S and explains how the Shalamar
explosion happened, and reveals their immediate and long term plans...
The thing about Shalamar is that you get the distinct
feeling that they would hang out together even if the Shalamar bubble burst
tomorrow - not that there's a whole lot of chance of that happening, you
understand! And not wishing to abuse any clichés but Jeffrey, Howard and Jody
do genuinely appear to like each other.
I recall the first interview personally I had with Shalamar
earlier this year, they seemed to possess a "oneness", a sort of
three into one will go type of aura which was difficult to pinpoint but very
easy to see and feel.
A flicker of the Daniel eye, a twitch of the Watley lip, a
raising of the Hewett eyebrow - everything, which would normally be perfectly
in order seemed to convey a secret message which only they understood.
I recall feeling slightly disoriented at the time but
manfully struggled on and completed the interview--which appeared in B&S
Issue 353.
Glancing through that interview, I note with interest that
their "Friends" album had just been unleashed on an unsuspecting
public, and my comment, although hardly a lone voice in the wilderness was
pretty accurate and prophetic.
The album "Friends" is without a doubt, outrageously
commercial and looks set to endorse the
group's faith in it's own belief. The fact that it was also their debut Solar
album under the WEA banner was also noted.
Shortly thereafter the whole Shalamar "thing" went
into orbit: their recordings, which hitherto had attained pleasing results,
suddenly became essential buys for what
appeared to be the majority of the British record market whilst their live
appearances became sell-out situations everywhere. Shalamar had become a very
hot property indeed.
What happened?
The answer to this, and other questions was answered by
Shalamar's Howard Hewett when I met up with him recently at the WEA offices in
Soho.
"I don't think there is just one simple explanation for
the success we have had this year.: smiles a relaxed, if tired looking Howard.
"I believe one of the major factors was the switch from RCA to WEA Records
which to be a viable and comfortable
move for everyone, certainly as far as we're concerned!" "Naturally,
the 'Friends' album didn't do us any harm either! We put a lot of effort into
making that albumm just right - or what we hoped was just right -- and I guess without appearing too
smug, we managed a reasonable job!"
"These two factors plus that indefinable something ... maybe it's the timing or the ability to catch the
spirit or mood of the people...really made the difference this
year."
Shalamar, of course, have always been an entertaining trio;
their appeal is basic and uncluttered and effective. Howard's lead vocals,
Jeffrey's dancing and Jody's...eh, well, Jody's all around talents have collectively proved to be the smash of
the year..82's formula for success which shows little sign of easing up for 1983.
SHALAMAR In London
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| Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel
The classic trio with this line-up have not toured together since 1983.
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SHALAMAR Jeffrey Daniel Dance Master Samurai
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| British Magazine clipping 1983 |
JEFFREY DANIEL's new group Eclipse obviously know the importance of a good haircut, amongst the styles they sport being a perfect pompadoured Charlie Foxx (as in Inez&..)! Jeffrey tells me that following the break up of Shalamar, Solar succeeded in getting Howard Hewitt to stay singing under the established group name with the two new recruits, instead of going solo -- which surely would have been a more sensible move for Howard?
SHALAMAR JODY WATLEY POSTER GIRL 1982
Shalamar's Jody Watley Cover Girl American Magazine RightON! SUPER SPECIAL Collectors Issue
Poster Book
SHALAMAR Jeffrey Daniel Funky Samarai In 1982
SHALAMAR Cover Black Enterprise July 1982
SHALAMAR: Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel July 1982 EXCERPT: Top Seller for Solar "Among the stable of Acts is Shalamar. gold single "The Second Time Around" and then followed it up with their recent smash "A Night To Remember." With sales of 40.7 million dollars, ten biggest Solar Sellers Include Shalamar at #1 with 1.8 million, the company catapulted to eleventh place in the 1982 Black Enterprise List of Top 100 Black Owned businesses. The only company ahead of Solar is Motown which has held the No, 1 spot since the Black Enterprise List began a decade ago." - By Stephan Gale
SHALAMAR Jody Watley Beauty In Black and White Promotional Photo
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| JODY WATLEY, Three for love album promotional photo, 1980 |
Jody Watley went on to become Grammy winning solo artist with multiple top ten hits in Pop, R&B, and Dance Music.
SHALAMAR BREAKUP Jeffrey Daniel On Shalamar Split 1983 Interview
July 16, 1983
Melody Maker Magazine United Kingdom
Daniel recounts the sudden Shalamar split in the only archived article from any member in 1983.
As Told To Adam Sweeting For Melody Maker, July 16, 1983:
http://www.shalamaronline.blogspot.comHeavy thunder brooded over Soho as I stepped with relief into the sweating street. On my way out of WEA offices, Jeffrey Daniel had touched my arm. "Hey," he said. "I'm glad this was for Melody Maker, cos they wrote the first story about us..that's what started Shalamar off over here." I wished him luck, and he smiled.
Jeffrey had just spent an hour and a quarter trying to describe why and how his personal heaven had suddenly caved in on top of his head. The day before, Shalamar had decided to end a lengthy period of personal and professional discomfort by splitting up the group. There had been friction in the recording studios, friction with their management and with Solar, their Los Angeles based record company. Worst of all, the three members had begun to turn on each other.
"I guess the public is due some explanation." said Jeffrey. "After all, the British public has been exceptionally good to Shalamar. And we actually care about people, i do."
If I'd been Jeffrey's attorney, I'd have certified him unfit to be interviewed this particular Wednesday afternoon. He was badly confused, visibly still reeling from the shock turn of events and struggling desperately to come to terms with a barrage of emotions which at times were clearly too much for him. Still, I guess our conversation - or at least his conversation - was some kind of necessary therapy. Some of the time, I'm not sure if he realised I was there.
With a new album, "The Look", finished and ready to go, and with their latest single "Dead Giveaway" hovering nicely in the top ten, times should have been extremely pleasant for Shalamar. Instead, it seems that "The Look" will serve as a bitter-tasting requiem for the good times which peaked with the success of their 1982 album "Friends" and it's impressive clutch of hits -- "A Night To Remember," "I Can Make You Feel Good," "There It Is" and the title track. So what the hell happened?
It started in 1977, when Jeffrey and his long time friend Jody Watley were regular dancers on the American "Soul Train" TV show. "Soul Train" supremo Don Cornelius formed a record company called "Soul Train Records" in partnership with Dick Griffey, and plucked Jody and Jeffrey off the dancefloor to become two-thirds of Shalamar. After Cornelius bailed out, the record company became Solar and Shalamar followed up their debut album "Uptown Festival", with "Disco Gardens" (1978) and Big Fun ('79).
The arrival of singer Howard Hewett in 1979 replacing Gerald Brown, seemed to complete the magic circle, and 1981's pair of albums "Three For Love", and "Go For It", preceded the chart busting "Friends"...but below the surface all was not well...
On the well tried Motown pattern, Solar had made Shalamar very much a product of company philosophy and regimented studio procedure. Regular producer Leon Sylvers III dominated choice of material and regularly used his own team of musicians, Dynasty. Plainly, the system worked. Equally clearly Jeffrey and Jody are not the same dance-mad kids they were in 1977. They've seen plenty and learned a lot, but their efforts to put their developing skills into practice were brushed aside.
"Well, what it was was we were fooling ourselves, you know, because Shalamar was put together by the company, so that's why...how much can you say about the situation?" Jeffrey Daniel paused, perhaps wondering how much he could say about this whole mess. "But there was always the promise that we would grow into something and in the past six years I have grown into something. Jody has grown into something. And now that we have reached that plateau, the facilities are still closed. When it's time to do a TV show and it's time to be onstage, then that's when they leave it up to Jody and myself and they want our full co-operation, full participation to help their records sell. But when it's time for us to contribute, they're not as open any more. All of a sudden you get a lot of second thoughts and a lotta reasons why it shouldn't be done."
"What I'm looking forward to in the future is just expressing what I do, you know, cos that's all I've ever wanted to do. That's why I joined the record company, so that I can make records and so that I can write records, and create music and musical concepts, so hopefully in the future I'll find those types of facilities. Of course, I resent a lot of decisions that have been made for Shalamar but I don't hold it against my record company or the other participants."
Was this the first time this kind of tension had broken out in the group I wondered?
"No" said Jeffrey, "but it's never become so prevalent.. Because if the fact that Shalamar is becoming an even bigger group, we're going to places we've never been and the snowball is accumulating as it rolls down the hill. And it's just that the people who are responsible for the snowball are getting the short end of it, while the other people continue to roll and grow and accumulate. It just makes you stop and wonder 'who am I doing this for and why am I doing it?'"
Jeffrey Daniel grew up in the housing projects of east LA - "we grew up on welfare, I've never had my father in my family" - and he owes everything he has to the street-dancing which first earned him a break on "Soul Train".
"I was only a street dancer, I was dancing on 'Soul Train' for free. The only reward we got was a box of chicken at lunchtime, okay, bu we were getting national exposure as dancers on television - everybody knew our faces and stuff snd we got popularity, and it helped a lotta other people lead to bigger things by being seen on 'Soul Train', so it was a good outlet for people who took street dancing serious."
As much as anything, it was Jeffrey's flabbergasting bodypopping dance routines which led to Shalamar being taken to enough British hearts for them to pack out Wembley Arena last year. The balance seemed to work effortlessly, with Howard as lead vocalist, and the more athletic and photogenic Jody and Jeffrey tackling the physical projections and backing vocals.
"That never bothered me," said Jeffrey, "because I accept Howard's voice and I think Howard does have a great voice. I've never tried singing more songs than him or anything like that, you know, because I feel that Howard is good at what he does. I feel I'm good at what I do. And Jody had developed into a very good vocalist over the years, and it's just sickening to see that over the last six years she's not getting any more play on our records than she does."
"Y'know, she gets her usual duet with Howard, maybe she gets to lead a song, and fine...but it's 'okay, now let's get the best material and give that to Howard, that type of attitude is what we're being given."
It's especially galling for Jeffrey that it was he who introduced Howard into Shalamar. Much of the cause of Shalamar's sudden demise stems from the fact that Howard has apparently taken steps to ingratiate himself with the group's management and record company, leaving Jeffrey and Jody outside looking in.
"That's even what makes it worse, the company has even made us grow farther apart from pulling Howard to the side and pumping his head with stuff, and then, you know, neglecting Jody and myself -- that's the type of stuff that goes on. Howard's the third singer that was placed in the group so me and Jody have been through this with other singers before, and at this point we just feel that there's no reason to do it any longer. Jody and I have been there from the beginning, and in fact I put Howard in Shalamar --I'm the one who selected him for the group in the first place, and then Jody and I get less amount of consideration.
The fact is that when people you're working for and you're working with don't give you the consideration as a mutual artist or a mutual human being, then that's when you stop the ball and say 'wait a minute', why in the hell am I here?"
I've always told them, when I no longer enjoy this I will never do this for money. I would never just do it for the money. Because I could do other things for money, I can't, you know, just bullshit an audience and the public believe in what I'm doing, and it wouldn't be so important if I didn't believe in it, alright?
If I didn't have a purpose or a cause, and if I wasn't struggling for something, well then it wouldn't matter, it would just be a concept and it would all just be for fun and I'd be making money and the public would enjoy it and everything would be dandy, you know, Solar could do whatever they want to do with Shalamar.:
Jeffrey paused, trying to disentangle his whirling thoughts. "I believe in myself, you know, and after that then I believe in Jody and Howard, then after I believe in them I believe in Shalamar okay? I lost my belief in Shalamar a while back, and here recently I've lost my belief in Jeffrey, Jody and Howard being together. Now before I lose belief in myself I'd better stop things and regroup the situation."
The pressure inside Shalamar had been mounting steadily over the last few days the group had been in England. An interview with Howard appeared in Black Echoes, which contained some veiled digs at Jeffrey and Jody. Howard didn't want to do photo sessions. "Jody and I will be friends for life, okay" I've known her since she was 12 years old and we've been family friends I know her entire family. We've always been close.
"Jody and I have had serious fights. We went through a period when we weren't speaking to each other. We had a fight onstage one time, this was back in the states. We were doing a routine and she kicked me and the audience couldn't tell what was going on you know. It was really funny, but when you love people you can do that, because if we didn't love each other we would have split up the group and went our separate ways back then and we'd no longer be friends now, you know? So that's genuine love. When you love people and care about them then you don't mind fighting to get things right."
Lately, though, attitudes had changed.
"Recently there's come a day that Howard has had the attitude of 'screw you guys, piss off.' I'm not downing Howard, I understand where Howard's coming from because actually, when I selected him to join Shalamar, I think he wanted to purse a solo career then, but I think the best thing he could have done at that moment was to join Shalamar, and that's what he did. And he did it for the money as well, you know, and I don't think he believed in it when he did it, I think he did it to earn a living. He needed work, so of course.."
And, as Shalamar's success grew, the group's earlier intimate relationship with management and with Solar became increasingly distant.
"I remember a time when Dick Griffey, who's our manager and record company president, would come down to the studio with us, when he took us off Soul Train, he'd be there in person, y'know. Once the business started rolling and the money started coming in, I guess for business reasons as well he just drifted farther and farther apart from us, and we spent less time together at that point."
So strained had relations become, claims Jeffrey, that Solar even refused to pay for eight hours of studio time which he used to record some demos.
"it's like they're saying, 'hey okay, fine, yeah you can write, yeah you can do this, but just shuddup and dance. Yeah that's nice Jeffrey, let's get back to rehearsal now.' And that's what we felt when it was time for 'Dead Giveaway' yesterday.
The group did their best to finish the video session at Camden Palace, but it was a little difficult since they couldn't talk to each other.
"I walked over to Howard" Jeffrey recalled, "and stood toe to toe to him and just looked at him. He said 'hey man, what's happenin' Then I just gave him a punch on the arm, y'know, like 'don't worry about it'. So then he came across the stage and punched me on the arm and then walked back to his side, and that was all for the entire evening. It was so strange because at that exact moment I was caught between wanting to...er...y'know, hug him or something or tell him I love him or something..."
Suddenly it all became too much, and I watched in amazement as Jeffrey's face crumpled and tears started to roll down his face.
"I know Howard's not totally responsible for what he's doing, " he sobbed, struggling to regain control. "i think if the management team doesn't pull us apart, yknow..and they're encouraging him. Because they've done it with the other lead singer like 'Jeffrey and Jody and just the kids, they're just that, you are the important thing, you are this, you are this and you are this ..' And they make people believe this stuff, and I can understand why Howard probably feels the way he feels."
After a couple of minutes, Jeffrey was a little steadier. Obviously, you feel betrayed by Howard?
"Yeahm Jody and I both do. And even if he did decide to go back to the management, at least tell us, let us know. I can only respect his reason even if I don't like his reason. I have to respect it cos it's his decision, he's his own person."
Phew. "Crossroads", anyone? With all this brewing up, perhaps it's no surprise that recording sessions for the forthcoming album "The Look" were marred by all kinds of bitterness.
"I'm not pleased with 'The Look', and it's very impersonal to me. " said Jeffrey sharply. "in fact it's the biggest slap in my face for as long as I've been in this business. It was like 'you're gonna accept this whether you want to or not' and then 'after it's put on tape and when the record's released, you're gonna get onstage and perform this stuff, like it or not, and act like you believe in it.' Y'know, you know what your role is and get out there and do your role is so get out there and let's help make this project successful.' I
mean, how can you live like that? How can I sleep like that?
Jeffrey has taken under his wing the six LA kids who comprise the song and dance troupe Eklypse. He's trying to bring them over to England, but on the day we met they were stuck in Paris because British Immigration officials wouldn't let them in. Also, Jeffrey has his alter ego Colonel Pop to think about. The Colonel is the guy Jeffrey always wanted to be with Shalamar but wasn't allowed to, a dancer/singer/writer expressing himself in as many forms as he could find.
"Howard never wanted it to happen," he continued. "He expressed it openly in meetings, and he told that I was just believing in my own bullshit and once you believe in your own bullshit you just get lost. He told me to my face that Eklypse and Colonel Pop and the whole thing was nothing but bullshit.
"But yet there's a 'Flashdance' with people bodypopping in it, and it helped spin off this breaker thing that's going on in New York, and Paul McCartney selected me to be in his film which was great not as a member of Shalamar, he selected me to do this dancing bit in his film which was a great privilege. This bodypopping thing is what established Shalamar over here, y'know, the appearance helped spin it off. But yet at home thet tell me it's just bullshit and forget about it."
At the moment, the future is unclear. Jeffrey says he's going to rescue Eklypse from Paris, then he's going on holiday alone for a couple of weeks to clear his head. The fate of jody and Howard remains to be seen.
"Everyone's kinda lost right now, cos everything happened so bitter at the end." says Jeffrey quietly. "The only thing that I resent is just that the hatred was allowed to accumulate. I don't mind the split because I think that's gonna allow me to do what I always wanted to do.
It's just the hatred and dislike that has grown between the certain individuals, y'know, between the company, between the group itself. That's what I really regret. And I just hope everyone finds their happiness, and I just hope the public accepts what we do in the future. I know a lot of people are gonna be disappointed, because a lot of people believe in us now."
Melody Maker Magazine United Kingdom
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| Pictured: Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett, Jody Watley |
As Told To Adam Sweeting For Melody Maker, July 16, 1983:
http://www.shalamaronline.blogspot.comHeavy thunder brooded over Soho as I stepped with relief into the sweating street. On my way out of WEA offices, Jeffrey Daniel had touched my arm. "Hey," he said. "I'm glad this was for Melody Maker, cos they wrote the first story about us..that's what started Shalamar off over here." I wished him luck, and he smiled.
Jeffrey had just spent an hour and a quarter trying to describe why and how his personal heaven had suddenly caved in on top of his head. The day before, Shalamar had decided to end a lengthy period of personal and professional discomfort by splitting up the group. There had been friction in the recording studios, friction with their management and with Solar, their Los Angeles based record company. Worst of all, the three members had begun to turn on each other.
"I guess the public is due some explanation." said Jeffrey. "After all, the British public has been exceptionally good to Shalamar. And we actually care about people, i do."
If I'd been Jeffrey's attorney, I'd have certified him unfit to be interviewed this particular Wednesday afternoon. He was badly confused, visibly still reeling from the shock turn of events and struggling desperately to come to terms with a barrage of emotions which at times were clearly too much for him. Still, I guess our conversation - or at least his conversation - was some kind of necessary therapy. Some of the time, I'm not sure if he realised I was there.
With a new album, "The Look", finished and ready to go, and with their latest single "Dead Giveaway" hovering nicely in the top ten, times should have been extremely pleasant for Shalamar. Instead, it seems that "The Look" will serve as a bitter-tasting requiem for the good times which peaked with the success of their 1982 album "Friends" and it's impressive clutch of hits -- "A Night To Remember," "I Can Make You Feel Good," "There It Is" and the title track. So what the hell happened?
It started in 1977, when Jeffrey and his long time friend Jody Watley were regular dancers on the American "Soul Train" TV show. "Soul Train" supremo Don Cornelius formed a record company called "Soul Train Records" in partnership with Dick Griffey, and plucked Jody and Jeffrey off the dancefloor to become two-thirds of Shalamar. After Cornelius bailed out, the record company became Solar and Shalamar followed up their debut album "Uptown Festival", with "Disco Gardens" (1978) and Big Fun ('79).
The arrival of singer Howard Hewett in 1979 replacing Gerald Brown, seemed to complete the magic circle, and 1981's pair of albums "Three For Love", and "Go For It", preceded the chart busting "Friends"...but below the surface all was not well...
On the well tried Motown pattern, Solar had made Shalamar very much a product of company philosophy and regimented studio procedure. Regular producer Leon Sylvers III dominated choice of material and regularly used his own team of musicians, Dynasty. Plainly, the system worked. Equally clearly Jeffrey and Jody are not the same dance-mad kids they were in 1977. They've seen plenty and learned a lot, but their efforts to put their developing skills into practice were brushed aside.
"Well, what it was was we were fooling ourselves, you know, because Shalamar was put together by the company, so that's why...how much can you say about the situation?" Jeffrey Daniel paused, perhaps wondering how much he could say about this whole mess. "But there was always the promise that we would grow into something and in the past six years I have grown into something. Jody has grown into something. And now that we have reached that plateau, the facilities are still closed. When it's time to do a TV show and it's time to be onstage, then that's when they leave it up to Jody and myself and they want our full co-operation, full participation to help their records sell. But when it's time for us to contribute, they're not as open any more. All of a sudden you get a lot of second thoughts and a lotta reasons why it shouldn't be done."
"What I'm looking forward to in the future is just expressing what I do, you know, cos that's all I've ever wanted to do. That's why I joined the record company, so that I can make records and so that I can write records, and create music and musical concepts, so hopefully in the future I'll find those types of facilities. Of course, I resent a lot of decisions that have been made for Shalamar but I don't hold it against my record company or the other participants."
Was this the first time this kind of tension had broken out in the group I wondered?
"No" said Jeffrey, "but it's never become so prevalent.. Because if the fact that Shalamar is becoming an even bigger group, we're going to places we've never been and the snowball is accumulating as it rolls down the hill. And it's just that the people who are responsible for the snowball are getting the short end of it, while the other people continue to roll and grow and accumulate. It just makes you stop and wonder 'who am I doing this for and why am I doing it?'"
Jeffrey Daniel grew up in the housing projects of east LA - "we grew up on welfare, I've never had my father in my family" - and he owes everything he has to the street-dancing which first earned him a break on "Soul Train".
"I was only a street dancer, I was dancing on 'Soul Train' for free. The only reward we got was a box of chicken at lunchtime, okay, bu we were getting national exposure as dancers on television - everybody knew our faces and stuff snd we got popularity, and it helped a lotta other people lead to bigger things by being seen on 'Soul Train', so it was a good outlet for people who took street dancing serious."
As much as anything, it was Jeffrey's flabbergasting bodypopping dance routines which led to Shalamar being taken to enough British hearts for them to pack out Wembley Arena last year. The balance seemed to work effortlessly, with Howard as lead vocalist, and the more athletic and photogenic Jody and Jeffrey tackling the physical projections and backing vocals.
"That never bothered me," said Jeffrey, "because I accept Howard's voice and I think Howard does have a great voice. I've never tried singing more songs than him or anything like that, you know, because I feel that Howard is good at what he does. I feel I'm good at what I do. And Jody had developed into a very good vocalist over the years, and it's just sickening to see that over the last six years she's not getting any more play on our records than she does."
"Y'know, she gets her usual duet with Howard, maybe she gets to lead a song, and fine...but it's 'okay, now let's get the best material and give that to Howard, that type of attitude is what we're being given."
It's especially galling for Jeffrey that it was he who introduced Howard into Shalamar. Much of the cause of Shalamar's sudden demise stems from the fact that Howard has apparently taken steps to ingratiate himself with the group's management and record company, leaving Jeffrey and Jody outside looking in.
The fact is that when people you're working for and you're working with don't give you the consideration as a mutual artist or a mutual human being, then that's when you stop the ball and say 'wait a minute', why in the hell am I here?"
I've always told them, when I no longer enjoy this I will never do this for money. I would never just do it for the money. Because I could do other things for money, I can't, you know, just bullshit an audience and the public believe in what I'm doing, and it wouldn't be so important if I didn't believe in it, alright?
If I didn't have a purpose or a cause, and if I wasn't struggling for something, well then it wouldn't matter, it would just be a concept and it would all just be for fun and I'd be making money and the public would enjoy it and everything would be dandy, you know, Solar could do whatever they want to do with Shalamar.:
Jeffrey paused, trying to disentangle his whirling thoughts. "I believe in myself, you know, and after that then I believe in Jody and Howard, then after I believe in them I believe in Shalamar okay? I lost my belief in Shalamar a while back, and here recently I've lost my belief in Jeffrey, Jody and Howard being together. Now before I lose belief in myself I'd better stop things and regroup the situation."
The pressure inside Shalamar had been mounting steadily over the last few days the group had been in England. An interview with Howard appeared in Black Echoes, which contained some veiled digs at Jeffrey and Jody. Howard didn't want to do photo sessions. "Jody and I will be friends for life, okay" I've known her since she was 12 years old and we've been family friends I know her entire family. We've always been close.
"Jody and I have had serious fights. We went through a period when we weren't speaking to each other. We had a fight onstage one time, this was back in the states. We were doing a routine and she kicked me and the audience couldn't tell what was going on you know. It was really funny, but when you love people you can do that, because if we didn't love each other we would have split up the group and went our separate ways back then and we'd no longer be friends now, you know? So that's genuine love. When you love people and care about them then you don't mind fighting to get things right."
Lately, though, attitudes had changed.
"Recently there's come a day that Howard has had the attitude of 'screw you guys, piss off.' I'm not downing Howard, I understand where Howard's coming from because actually, when I selected him to join Shalamar, I think he wanted to purse a solo career then, but I think the best thing he could have done at that moment was to join Shalamar, and that's what he did. And he did it for the money as well, you know, and I don't think he believed in it when he did it, I think he did it to earn a living. He needed work, so of course.."
And, as Shalamar's success grew, the group's earlier intimate relationship with management and with Solar became increasingly distant.
"I remember a time when Dick Griffey, who's our manager and record company president, would come down to the studio with us, when he took us off Soul Train, he'd be there in person, y'know. Once the business started rolling and the money started coming in, I guess for business reasons as well he just drifted farther and farther apart from us, and we spent less time together at that point."
So strained had relations become, claims Jeffrey, that Solar even refused to pay for eight hours of studio time which he used to record some demos.
"it's like they're saying, 'hey okay, fine, yeah you can write, yeah you can do this, but just shuddup and dance. Yeah that's nice Jeffrey, let's get back to rehearsal now.' And that's what we felt when it was time for 'Dead Giveaway' yesterday.
The group did their best to finish the video session at Camden Palace, but it was a little difficult since they couldn't talk to each other.
"I walked over to Howard" Jeffrey recalled, "and stood toe to toe to him and just looked at him. He said 'hey man, what's happenin' Then I just gave him a punch on the arm, y'know, like 'don't worry about it'. So then he came across the stage and punched me on the arm and then walked back to his side, and that was all for the entire evening. It was so strange because at that exact moment I was caught between wanting to...er...y'know, hug him or something or tell him I love him or something..."
Suddenly it all became too much, and I watched in amazement as Jeffrey's face crumpled and tears started to roll down his face.
"I know Howard's not totally responsible for what he's doing, " he sobbed, struggling to regain control. "i think if the management team doesn't pull us apart, yknow..and they're encouraging him. Because they've done it with the other lead singer like 'Jeffrey and Jody and just the kids, they're just that, you are the important thing, you are this, you are this and you are this ..' And they make people believe this stuff, and I can understand why Howard probably feels the way he feels."
After a couple of minutes, Jeffrey was a little steadier. Obviously, you feel betrayed by Howard?
"Yeahm Jody and I both do. And even if he did decide to go back to the management, at least tell us, let us know. I can only respect his reason even if I don't like his reason. I have to respect it cos it's his decision, he's his own person."
Phew. "Crossroads", anyone? With all this brewing up, perhaps it's no surprise that recording sessions for the forthcoming album "The Look" were marred by all kinds of bitterness.
"I'm not pleased with 'The Look', and it's very impersonal to me. " said Jeffrey sharply. "in fact it's the biggest slap in my face for as long as I've been in this business. It was like 'you're gonna accept this whether you want to or not' and then 'after it's put on tape and when the record's released, you're gonna get onstage and perform this stuff, like it or not, and act like you believe in it.' Y'know, you know what your role is and get out there and do your role is so get out there and let's help make this project successful.' I
mean, how can you live like that? How can I sleep like that?
Jeffrey has taken under his wing the six LA kids who comprise the song and dance troupe Eklypse. He's trying to bring them over to England, but on the day we met they were stuck in Paris because British Immigration officials wouldn't let them in. Also, Jeffrey has his alter ego Colonel Pop to think about. The Colonel is the guy Jeffrey always wanted to be with Shalamar but wasn't allowed to, a dancer/singer/writer expressing himself in as many forms as he could find.
"Howard never wanted it to happen," he continued. "He expressed it openly in meetings, and he told that I was just believing in my own bullshit and once you believe in your own bullshit you just get lost. He told me to my face that Eklypse and Colonel Pop and the whole thing was nothing but bullshit.
"But yet there's a 'Flashdance' with people bodypopping in it, and it helped spin off this breaker thing that's going on in New York, and Paul McCartney selected me to be in his film which was great not as a member of Shalamar, he selected me to do this dancing bit in his film which was a great privilege. This bodypopping thing is what established Shalamar over here, y'know, the appearance helped spin it off. But yet at home thet tell me it's just bullshit and forget about it."
At the moment, the future is unclear. Jeffrey says he's going to rescue Eklypse from Paris, then he's going on holiday alone for a couple of weeks to clear his head. The fate of jody and Howard remains to be seen.
"Everyone's kinda lost right now, cos everything happened so bitter at the end." says Jeffrey quietly. "The only thing that I resent is just that the hatred was allowed to accumulate. I don't mind the split because I think that's gonna allow me to do what I always wanted to do.
It's just the hatred and dislike that has grown between the certain individuals, y'know, between the company, between the group itself. That's what I really regret. And I just hope everyone finds their happiness, and I just hope the public accepts what we do in the future. I know a lot of people are gonna be disappointed, because a lot of people believe in us now."
SHALAMAR Friends Reissue Review Classic Pop
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| 2013 Review of ReIssue of Shalamar's monstrous "Friends" album |
SHALAMAR Threatens To Split. Black Beat Magazine 1983
Bulletin by Stephanie Ray, Black Beat Magazine January 1984 "Deep Dish" :
By the time you read this (here we go again), it'll be common knowledge, but at press time, the word is in Hollywood is that the group SHALAMAR is no more. Apparently the differences of the three members, HOWARD HEWETT, JODY WATLEY and JEFFREY DANIELS - were simply too much to hold together. As this is printed, details are still sketchy, but we can only guess that the musical ideas of Hewett and Daniels probably had their final clash. Daniels is more interested in expanding into rock n roll, and while Howard can hang, he's far more comfortable with conventional pop/R&B. Daniels who has been living in London for sometime now, also heads up a dance troupe, (some of whom appeared in the 'Beat It' video).
Last we heard, Watley, whose future generally seems the most questionable, was also considering moving to London. Hewett, we're told, has been retained by the Solar label as a solo artist, while Daniels recording future remains to be seen.
It's ironic that at the time of the group's split, it was enjoying what may be their most successful album to date. This also makes the Shalamar feature in this issue of Black Beat one of the last Shalamar interviews. Curiously, Hewett's dissatisfaction could be detected even then.
As a footnote to the Black Beat Article original stating Jody Watley's future seemed the most questionable; Watley went on to become the break out star of Shalamar winning a Grammy Award as Best New Artist and racking up multiple hits (beginning with her #1 single "Looking For a New Love") in Pop, R&B/Soul and Dance making trending video's and appearing in fashion layouts. She is also noted for her groundbreaking single "Friends" with Eric B and Rakim.
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| Jody Watley, Solo Debut 1987 On Cover of Echoes |
Howard Hewett went on to moderate success in R&B with "I'm For Real, "Stay" and the gospel "Say Amen."
Jeffrey Daniel returned to Solar Records to release his solo debut "Skinny Boy" and worked with music legend Michael Jackson, as one of the teachers of the moonwalk (a street dance originated in bodypopping and backslide moves by the Electric Boog-a Loo' in Los Angeles), and co-choreographing the video's Bad and Smooth Criminal.
SHALAMAR SuperStylin In Record Mirror
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SUPERSTYLIN', SHALAMAR Jeffry Daniel, Jody Watley, Howard Hewett, British Music Magazine, Record Mirror July 2, 1983
SHALAMAR Deep Dish Gossip Black Beat
Bulletin: By the time you read this (her we go again), still it'll be common knowledge, but it was at press time the word is that the group SHALAMAR is no more. Apparently, the differences of the three members--HOWARD HEWETT, JODY WATLEY and JEFFREY DANIELS--were simply too much to hold together. As this is printed, details on the split are still sketchy, but we can only guess that the musical ideas of Hewett and Daniel had their final clash.
Daniels is more interested in expanding into rock n Roll, and while Hewett can hang, he's far more comfortable with conventional pop/R&B. Daniels, who has been living in London for sometime now, also heads up a dance troupe (some of whom appeared in the 'Beat It' video).
Last we heard, Watley whose future seems the most questionable, was also considering moving to London. Hewett, we're told has been retained by Solar as a solo artist, while Daniels recording future is yet to be seen. It's ironic that at the time of the group's split, it was enjoying what may be their most successful album to date. This also makes the Shalamar feature of Black Beat one of the last Shalamar interviews. Curiously, Hewett's dissatisfaction could be detected even then. - By Stephanie Raye
SHALAMAR Jeffrey Daniel | Jody Watley The FACE Style Feature 1983
Former Soul Train stars Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley from The Face Magazine, UK 1983 BY Lesley White were recognized as being on the cutting edge of style since Soul Train and contributed to the distinct appeal of Shalamar with their fashions and dancing along with the singing sounds.
EXCERPT: If Los Angeles soul group Shalamar gave us our first taste of body poppin' and a clutch of truly memorable singles, London has fully reciprocated with the delights of Camden Palace, Kensington Market and Vivienne Westwood, all of which they've adopted as their own. Since their dancing days on American TV's Soul Train, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley-paper thin perfect as models on the best books in town-have been a natural compliment, in or out of the camera's eye.."
The Face Magazine, August 1983
Elvis Costello Cover
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