Song:Let's Start the Dance
album:The Collection
Hamilton Bohannon was a Motown drummer and bandleader who stayed in Detroit when Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972. He had some success mostly on the R & B and Dance charts in the 70s. Let's Start The Dance was his biggest hit in 1978. He was born Mar. 7, 1942 in Newnan, GA and graduated from Clark College in Atlanta with a degree in music. He became Stevie Wonder's drummer in 1964 and moved to Detroit in 1967. He led Motown's touring band Bohannon & The Motown Sound. He arranged and led the band that backed up all Motown acts when they performed live. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Bohannon stayed in Detroit and signed with Brunswick Records' Dakar label. He recorded five funk albums for Dakar and had some Dance chart success with songs like South African Man, Foot Stompin' Music and Disco Stomp. He moved to Mercury Records in 1976 and Let's Start The Dance reached #9 on the R & B Singles chart in 1978. It was Bohannon's biggest hit. Singer Carolyn Crawford recorded for Motown in the 60s and was replaced by Anita Baker in the group Chapter 8 in 1976. After her work with Bohannon, she moved to England and is a big favourite on the Northern Soul circuit. After Bohannon left Mercury in 1979, he was never able to recreate the success of Let's Start The Dance. You can get all his Mercury hits on this comp from the British label Spectrum. Bohannon's music gets sampled a lot by hip hop guys so he can live off of songwriting royalties. He has occasionally produced other artists including his son Hamilton Bohannon II. Here's a video for Let's Start The Dance by Bohannon.
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