Eddie Drennon (born Edward Allen Drennen,[1] 1940)[2] is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and arranger. His range of musical genres has included R&B, pop, disco, Latin music, salsa, jazz, funk, and charanga.[1] He is best known for his transatlantic hit single, "Let's Do the Latin Hustle", recorded in 1975 with his then backing group, B.B.S. Unlimited. The track was written, produced and arranged by Drennon. Other works of that period, including "Do What You Gotta Do", have been sampled by more contemporary musicians such as Grandmaster Flash, The Avalanches, Biz Markie,[3] and Shaggy.[4]
Drennon was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States, and after leaving school began working with local bands. From 1959 to 1963, he studied violin techniques with Louia Vaughn Jones and music composition with Mark Fax at Howard University in Washington, D.C.[1] Initially a working musician in Washington, he was encouraged by bandleader Lou Perez to move to New York City in the mid-1960s, and worked with Pupi Legarreta, Super Tipica De Estrellas, Tipica Ideal and Charanga America.[5][6]
In 1975, he met and started working with record producer Joe Bana, who owned Friends & Co. Records.[6] Drennon's fusion of Latin and disco brought his major hit, "Let's Do the Latin Hustle", which was also the first hit for the label. The track entered the US BillboardR&Bchart, peaking at number 36. It also reached number 4 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[8] It peaked at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1976.[9] A cover version of the track by the M and O Band reached number 16 in the UK chart, slightly out performing the original.[10] With his backing ensemble B.B.S. Unlimited, Drennon recorded three albums between 1975 and 1979 for Casablanca Records.[5]AllMusic noted that "Drennon's second Casablanca album [It Don't Mean a Thing] uses the same formula as the first that spawned his biggest hit "Latin Hustle": Latinish pop rhythms topped by female vocals and accented with strings. The title track is a hustle gem, truly worthy."[11]
Drennon continued to work as a violinist on recording sessions in New York.[6] He also composed, arranged and produced for Esther Williams ("Last Night Changed It All").[4] In 1981 and 1982, he produced the New York based salsa and charanga band, Orquesta Novel.[4] In 1983, he released Eddie Drennon and Charanga Soul. Drennon scored a scene for the film, In the Line of Fire (1993), and composed the music for the 1997 Helen Hayes based musical, Torn from the Headlines.[12][13] His string quartet played on Soldiers of Jah Army's Get Wiser and the Get Wiser Live DVD (2006); and the 2009 Born in Babylon album.[14][15]
Eddie Drennon & The B.B.S. Unlimited discography at Discogs
April 14, 2024
eddie, drennon, born, edward, allen, drennen, 1940, american, musician, songwriter, record, producer, arranger, range, musical, genres, included, disco, latin, music, salsa, jazz, funk, charanga, best, known, transatlantic, single, latin, hustle, recorded, 197. Eddie Drennon born Edward Allen Drennen 1 1940 2 is an American musician songwriter record producer and arranger His range of musical genres has included R amp B pop disco Latin music salsa jazz funk and charanga 1 He is best known for his transatlantic hit single Let s Do the Latin Hustle recorded in 1975 with his then backing group B B S Unlimited The track was written produced and arranged by Drennon Other works of that period including Do What You Gotta Do have been sampled by more contemporary musicians such as Grandmaster Flash The Avalanches Biz Markie 3 and Shaggy 4 Eddie DrennonBirth nameEdward Allen DrennenAlso known asEddie Dee 1 Born1940 age 83 84 Newark New Jersey United StatesGenresR amp B pop disco Latin music salsa jazz funk charangaOccupation s Musician songwriter record producer arrangerInstrument s ViolinYears active1960s presentWebsiteeddiedrennon wbr com Contents 1 Life and career 2 Discography 2 1 Albums 2 2 Singles 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editDrennon was born in Newark New Jersey United States and after leaving school began working with local bands From 1959 to 1963 he studied violin techniques with Louia Vaughn Jones and music composition with Mark Fax at Howard University in Washington D C 1 Initially a working musician in Washington he was encouraged by bandleader Lou Perez to move to New York City in the mid 1960s and worked with Pupi Legarreta Super Tipica De Estrellas Tipica Ideal and Charanga America 5 6 He became Bo Diddley s music director in 1966 playing as his electric violinist until 1967 5 He performed on one track on Bo Diddley s His Best album 7 Drennon also operated as a sideman for Mongo Santamaria Ray Barretto and Ike amp Tina Turner 5 In 1975 he met and started working with record producer Joe Bana who owned Friends amp Co Records 6 Drennon s fusion of Latin and disco brought his major hit Let s Do the Latin Hustle which was also the first hit for the label The track entered the US Billboard R amp B chart peaking at number 36 It also reached number 4 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart 8 It peaked at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1976 9 A cover version of the track by the M and O Band reached number 16 in the UK chart slightly out performing the original 10 With his backing ensemble B B S Unlimited Drennon recorded three albums between 1975 and 1979 for Casablanca Records 5 AllMusic noted that Drennon s second Casablanca album It Don t Mean a Thing uses the same formula as the first that spawned his biggest hit Latin Hustle Latinish pop rhythms topped by female vocals and accented with strings The title track is a hustle gem truly worthy 11 Drennon continued to work as a violinist on recording sessions in New York 6 He also composed arranged and produced for Esther Williams Last Night Changed It All 4 In 1981 and 1982 he produced the New York based salsa and charanga band Orquesta Novel 4 In 1983 he released Eddie Drennon and Charanga Soul Drennon scored a scene for the film In the Line of Fire 1993 and composed the music for the 1997 Helen Hayes based musical Torn from the Headlines 12 13 His string quartet played on Soldiers of Jah Army s Get Wiser and the Get Wiser Live DVD 2006 and the 2009 Born in Babylon album 14 15 In the 1980s and 1990s Drennon worked as a teacher at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Howard University as well as acting as music director at the Everyday Theater in Washington D C 6 He currently plays with the Umoja String Quartet and serves on the faculty at the George Washington University and Levine School of Music 1 Discography editAlbums edit Year Title US R amp B 8 Record label Notes1975 Collage 53 Friends amp Co Despite being a LP it also appeared in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart 8 1977 Would You Dance to My Music Casablanca1978 It Don t Mean a Thing 1983 Eddie Drennon and Charanga Soul Kim RecordsSingles edit Year Title Peak chart positionsUS R amp B 16 US Dance 8 UK 9 1975 Let s Do the Latin Hustle 36 4 20 Do It Nice and Easy 14 1976 Let s Do It Again 10 Please Stay 10 1977 Would You Dance to My Music 1978 Disco Jam denotes releases that did not chart References edit a b c d e The Official Website Eddie Drennon Archived from the original on May 30 2013 Retrieved February 5 2013 Rhapsody Copyrightencyclopedia com Retrieved February 5 2013 Coleman Brian 2007 Check the Technique Liner Notes for Hip Hop Junkies New York Villard Random House ISBN 978 0812977752 a b c DiscoMusic com Eddie Drennon Musician b 1945 to present DiscoMusic com Archived from the original on November 29 2014 Retrieved February 5 2013 a b c d Harris Craig Eddie Drennon Music Biography Credits and Discography AllMusic Retrieved February 5 2013 a b c d Eddie Drennon biography at DiscoMuseum net Archived from the original on March 27 2013 Retrieved February 6 2013 Credits The Definitive Collection by Bo Diddley United States AllMusic Retrieved December 3 2010 a b c d Eddie Drennon Eddie Drennon Awards AllMusic Retrieved February 5 2013 a b Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 168 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 335 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Hamilton Andrew It Don t Mean a Thing Eddie Drennon Songs Reviews Credits Awards AllMusic Retrieved February 5 2013 Torn from the headlines VHS tape 1996 WorldCat org February 17 1996 OCLC 54366288 Retrieved February 5 2013 Eddie Drennon The Umoja String Quartet Archived from the original on November 21 2008 Retrieved February 5 2013 Soldiers of Jah Army Devils feat The Eddie Drennon String Quartet Discover music at Last fm January 15 2013 Retrieved February 5 2013 Anderson Rick Get Wiser Soldiers of Jah Army Songs Reviews Credits Awards AllMusic Retrieved February 5 2013 Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 1995 Record Research p 124 ISBN 9780793566754 External links editOfficial website Archived May 30 2013 at the Wayback Machine Eddie Drennon discography at Discogs Eddie Drennon amp The B B S Unlimited discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eddie Drennon amp oldid 1194348081, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
