Hamilton Bohannon -- Stop And Go / Love Is Fading

Was that really 1973? This track sounds as fresh and danceable today as it sounded 37 years ago. But it is no secret that some things are meant to survive all kinds of fads, fashions, and hypes -- even if they may have been all these things themselves.




Bohannon, born in 1942, was already playing the drums while he was an elementary student. So it shouldn't have been a surprise he'd become an immensely accomplished and popular drummer and percussionist during the 70's. 
Before he got his big chance at success, though, his B. A. in musical education from Clark Atlanta University came in handy. It enabled him to earn a living as a teacher before joining a band in which Jimi Hendrix was playing.
Stevie Wonder discovered him, and Bohannon played with him from 1965 to 1967. During that time he became the top band leader for Motown, in charge of the label's main acts live arrangements.
In 1972 he left Motown for the Dakar/Brunswick label and, a year later, released his first album Stop and Go, from which the first of today's tracks is taken.   

The Stop And Go 

The second track, Love Is Fading, is from his 1975 Insides Out album and shows the artist's dreamy, jazzy, soft side. 

Love Is Fading

In the late 70's Bohannon moved to Mercury, in 1978 releasing his only top 10 hit, Let's Start a Dance, a duet with Carolyn Crawford.  (Later, he also worked with  Liz Lands and Alltrinna Grayson.)
In 1980 he founded Phase II Records, but joined MCA in 1984 to record a number of records, one of which was his 1989 Here Comes Bohannon.