Fat Larry's Band
| Fat Larry's Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Funk, R&B |
| Years active | 1976–1987 |
| Labels | WMOT, Stax, Fantasy, Omni |
| Past members | "Fat" Larry James (deceased) Art Capehart Doug Jones Jimmy Lee Ted Cohen Tony Middleton Darryl Grant Larry La Bes Erskine Williams Alfonso Smith Bryan Hudson |
Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B/funk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which enjoyed some commercial success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the UK.
Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August 2, 1949 – December 5, 1987) in 1976, band members included trumpeter/flautist Art Capehart, guitarists Ted Cohen and Tony Middleton, percussionist and lead singer Freddie Campbell 1952-January 19th 2013, vocalist Darryl Grant, saxophonist Doug Jones, bassist Larry La Bes, trombonist/alto saxophonist Jimmy Lee, and keyboardist Erskine Williams.
The band's biggest hits were "Act Like You Know", appearing on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Soundtrack, and "Zoom", reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart in October 1982. They had three other hits in the United Kingdom: "Center City", "Boogie Town" and "Looking for Love Tonight".
On December 5, 1987, James died from a heart attack, at the age of 38, and the band folded.
The opening drum break from "Down on the Avenue", from the band's first album, Feel It (WMOT 1976), has been sampled by many hip hop artists, including N.W.A (Straight Outta Compton), Ice-T, Jungle Brothers and Run-D.M.C. The bassline of their 1982 single Act Like You Know was prominently sampled in 1991 in the song Ring Ring Ring by American hip hop band De La Soul.
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