B.T. Express (originally named Brooklyn Transit Express) was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s.
Background
According to a Record World article in March, 1975, the King Davis House Rockers begat the Madison Street Express which begat Brothers Trucking which begat B.T. Express. At the time, the group consisted of Rich Thompson on lead guitar and Bill Risbrook on tenor saxophone who were the nucleus of King House Rockers. Also in the group were Louis Risbrook on bass, who was the brother of Bill on solo flute, alto sax, piccolo and clarinet. There was also Olando T. Woods on drums and singer Barbara Joyce Lomas. Barbara Joyce Lomas who came from Alabama had been with the Uptights and sang on their single, "Free at Last" b/w "You Git’s None of This", released on Skye Records SKYE 4525.
Beginnings
The group was part of the "Brooklyn sound" of the early 1970s, formed from three players of the group King Davis House Rockers. The House Rockers were a local dance band who had released a couple of obscure singles (1967's "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" on Verve Records, 1972's "Rum Punch"). In 1969, the King Davis produced "What Do I Have to Do" b/w "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes", credited to Rick Thompson was released on Columbia 4-44880. There was also a single by The Visitors, "Holiday in Love" b/w "Rum Punch" which was released on Airways LK-2000. It was composed by L. Risbrook, C. Ward and C. Stephenson. It was co-produced by Stephenson and King Davis. It was also released on Straker's Records S-0046 with "Rum Punch" as the A side.
The three players (guitarist Richard Thompson, tenor sax player Bill Risbrook, and alto sax player Carlos Ward) formed Madison Street Express along with bassist Louis Risbrook (later Muslim-monickered Jamal Rasool), percussionist Dennis Rowe, drummer Terrell Wood, and vocalist Barbara Wood.
Career
The members of Madison Street Express along with producer Jeff Lane signed with production company Roadshow Records to record writer Billy Nichols's "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)". The album hit number 1 on the R&B album chart and number 5 on the Pop album chart of the US.
BT Express released an album per year through 1978. With the third album, Leslie Ming was brought in as drummer and Michael Jones was added as keyboardist. Jamal, who had converted to Islam, gave Jones the name Kashif Saleem, which he used after departing the group, in 1979, to pursue producing ("Mighty M Productions" with Morrie Brown and Paul Laurence Jones) and solo recording ventures. That year, songwriter Billy Nichols and drummer Leslie Ming also departed the group. In 1976 Scepter records was experiencing business difficulties that soon ended the company, and BT Express was given a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which, though it gave them greater exposure, resulted in less attention being paid to their production, since they had so many acts to concentrate on.
Members
Original lineup
- Richard “Rick” Thompson - guitar, vocals
- Bill Risbrook - tenor saxophone, flute, vocals
- Terrell Wood - drums
- Barbara Joyce Lomas - vocals
- Carlos Ward - alto sax, flute, piccolo, woodwind
- Dennis Rowe - percussion
- Louis Risbrook (later known as Jamal Rasool) - bass, vocals
Discography
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ Early related singles
|-
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Act
! scope="col" | Release
! scope="col" | Catalogue
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes #
|-
! scope="row" | King Davis House Rockers<br>featuring<br>Richard Thomas
| "Baby You Satisfy Me" / "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes"
| Verve VK 10492
| 1967
|
! width="35"| US<br>R&B<br>
! width="35"| CAN<br>
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1974
| align="left"| Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)
| 5
| 1
| 43
| 22
| align=left|
- RIAA: Gold
| rowspan="1"| Roadshow/Scepter
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1975
| align="left"| Non-Stop
| 19
| 1
| 60
| 36
| align=left|
| rowspan="1"| Roadshow
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1976
| align="left"| Energy to Burn
| 43
| 11
| 90
| —
| align=left|
| rowspan="4"| Columbia
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1977
| align="left"| Function at the Junction
| 111
| 39
| —
| —
| align=left|
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1978
| align="left"| Shout! (Shout It Out)
| 67
| 16
| —
| 59
| align=left|
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1980
| align="left"| 1980
| 164
| 29
| —
| —
| align=left|
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1982
| align="left"| Keep It Up
| —
| 49
| —
| —
| align=left|
| rowspan="1"| Coast to Coast/Roadshow
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="8"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| US<br/>
! width="35"| CAN<br/>
! width="35"| NL<br>
! width="35"| UK<br/>
|-
| rowspan="3"|1974
| align="left"| "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)"
| 2
| 1
| 8
| 29
| 7
| 33
| 18
| 51
|
- RIAA: Gold
|-
| align="left"| "That's What I Want for You Baby"
| —
| —
| 11
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1975
| align="left"| "Give It What You Got" <small>(A-side)</small>
| 40
| 5
| —
| —
| 41
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="3" align="left"| Non-Stop
|-
| align="left"| "Peace Pipe" <small>(B-side)</small>
| 31
| —
| 3
| —
| 56
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"|1976
| align="left"| "Close to You"
| 82
| 31
| —
| —
| 66
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| align="left"| "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More"
| 52
| 6
| 13
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="2" align="left"| Energy to Burn
|-
| align="left"| "Energy to Burn"
| —
| 37
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1977
| align="left"| "Funky Music (Don't Laugh at My Funk)"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="1" align="left"| Function at the Junction
|-
| align="left"| "Shout It Out"
| —
| 12
| —
| —
| 90
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="2" align="left"| Shout! (Shout It Out)
|-
| rowspan="1"|1978
| align="left"| "What You Do in the Dark"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|1980
| align="left"| "Give Up the Funk (Let's Dance)"
| —
| 24
| 22
| —
| —
| —
| —
| rowspan="2"| 52
|
| rowspan="2" align="left"| 1980
|-
| align="left"| "Does It Feel Good"
| —
| 76
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| align="left"| "Stretch"
| —
| 51
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="1" align="left"| Greatest Hits
|-
| rowspan="1"|1981
| align="left"| "Let Yourself Go"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| rowspan="3" align="left"| Keep It Up
|-
| rowspan="2"|1982
| align="left"| "Keep It Up"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| align="left"| "Star Child (Spirit of the Night)"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1983
| align="left"| "Hangin' Out"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| align=left rowspan="3"
|-
| align="left"| "This Must Be the Night"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="1"|1994
| align="left"| "Express '94"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 67
|
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart
References
External links
- [ Billboard chart history for B.T. Express]