Hamilton Bohannon

Hamilton Frederick Bohannon (March 7, 1942 – April 24, 2020), He worked with Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Wah Wah Watson, Ray Parker Jr., the Counts and Carolyn Crawford.

Life and career He was born in Newnan, Georgia, and learned the drums at school. He began playing in local bands, one of which featured guitarist Jimi Hendrix, before graduating from Clark College with a degree in music and secondary education. After a brief period as a schoolteacher, he was recruited in 1964 as drummer in 13-year-old Stevie Wonder's touring band. He moved to Detroit in 1967, where he was employed by Motown as the leader and arranger of Bohannon & The Motown Sound, who provided backing for many of the label's top acts on tour, including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops and others. He signed in 1972 with the Dakar label run by producer Carl Davis, and released his debut album Stop & Go in early 1973. This was followed by five more albums for the label over the next two years, on which he "perfected his formula of heavy, thudding bass accents and aggressive rhythms". "Let's Start the Dance" featured singer Carolyn Crawford, whose subsequent albums Bohannon went on to produce. In 1981, he released a new mix of "Let's Start the Dance" called "Let's Start II Dance (Rap Version)", featuring rap by Dr. Perri Johnson, a legendary Philadelphia R&B DJ. It was successful, peaking at #41 on the R&B charts and #49 on the UK Singles chart.

He died on April 24, 2020, at his home in Atlanta at the age of 78.

Discography Studio albums Label Year Title Catalog # Peak chart positions US Pop US R&B Dakar Records 1973 Stop & Go DK 76903 — — — 1974 Keep On Dancin''' DK 76910

Insides Out| DK 76916

Bohannon| DK 76917

Dance Your Ass Off| DK 76919

Gittin' Off| DK 76921

1977 Phase II| SRM-1-1159

On My Way| SRM-1-3710

Summertime Groove SRM-1-3728

Cut Loose| SRM-1-3762

Too Hot to Hold| SRM-1-3778

1980 Music in the Air| SRM-1-3813

1980 One Step Ahead| JW 36867

Going for Another One| JW 37076

Alive| JW 37699

1982 Bohannon Fever| JW 38113

Make Your Body Move| CPL-1-1003

The Bohannon Drive| CPL-1-1005

MCA Records 1989 Here Comes Bohannon'' MCA 42310 — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums Label Year Title Catalog # Southbound 1990 It's Time to Jam SEW 033

Alternative name album releases Label Year Title Catalog # Original title Brunswick Records 1974 South African Man 640 050 Keep On Dancin''' 1975 The Mighty Bohannon| 840 073 Bohannon''

Singles Year Single Chart positions US Pop US R&B CAN D.U. UK 1973 "Stop & Go" — — — — 1974 "South African Man" — 78 — 22 1975 "Foot Stompin Music" 98 39 — 23 "Disco Stomp" — 62 — 6 "Happy Feeling" — — — 49 1976 "Bohannon's Beat" — 65 — 58 1977 "Bohannon Disco Symphony" — 67 — — 1978 "Let's Start the Dance" 101 9 1 56 1979 "Me and the Gang" — 82 — — "Cut Loose" — 43 — — "The Groove Machine" — 60 — — 1980 "Baby I'm for Real" — 54 — — "Throw Down the Groove" — 59 — — "Dance, Dance, Dance All Night" — 76 — — 1981 "Don't Be Ashame to Call My Name" — 54 — — "Goin' for Another One" — 91 — — "Let's Start II Dance Again"feat. Dr. Perri Johnson — 41 — 49 1982 "I've Got the Dance Fever" — 72 — — "The Party Train" — 69 — — 1983 "Make Your Body Move" — 63 — — "Wake Up" — 87 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.