Atlantic Starr mp3

Atlantic Starr was among the top urban contemporary acts of the 1980s and fared well in the adult contemporary market as well, but their roots were 1970s soul music and funk. The East Coast outfit was formed in White Plains, New York, in 1976 by three brothers: lead singer/guitarist David Lewis, lead singer/keyboardist Wayne Lewis (b. 13 April 1957), and trombonist/percussionist Jonathan Lewis. After the Lewis Brothers hired lead singer Sharon Bryant (who was later replaced by Barbara Weathers), trumpeter William Sudderth, saxophonist Damon Rentie (who was replaced by Koran Daniels in 1981), bassist Clifford Archer, drummer Porter Carroll Jr., and percussionist/flautist Joseph Phillips, Atlantic Starr's original nine-person line-up was in place.

Influenced by 1970s funk/soul bands like Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, New Birth, and L.T.D., Atlantic Starr started playing around the Northeastern U.S. They had only been together for about two years when they signed with A&M and started working with Bobby Eli, a well-respected record producer/songwriter from Philadelphia.

A syrupy adult contemporary ballad, "Always" reflected the Lewis Brothers' desire to have the type of crossover success that Whitney Houston and Lionel Richie had been enjoying in the 1980s. They got their wish when "Always" soared to Number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B chart in the spring of 1987.