The group released a single, "The Crown" on 23 July 1983 written by Gary Byrd and Stevie Wonder.[1][2] According to Byrd, it was the only release on Stevie Wonder's short-lived U.S.-based Wondirection record label (part of Motown Records) that celebrated African heritage in a motivational rap featuring both Byrd and Wonder.[3] Due to lack of sufficient promotion,[citation needed] it only reached number 69 on the Billboard R&B chart.[1] In the UK, it was released on the Motown label, entered the UK Singles Chart on 23 July 1983 at number 21, and rose to a high of number 6; it remained in the chart for 9 weeks.[4] It also reached number 7 in the Swiss Hitparade,[5] number 14 in the German GfK Entertainment charts[6] and number 21 in the Irish Singles Chart.[7]
The 12" version of "The Crown" ran for 10 minutes 35 seconds, making it one of the longest tracks ever to chart in the UK. It was written by Gary Byrd and Stevie Wonder, and presented a wide-ranging historical narrative of human progress (beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing to the present day) with an emphasis on African heritage. It featured spoken/rapped verses by Byrd, an American DJ, with one verse sung by Wonder and Crystal Blake. Byrd described the song at the time thus: "The idea is not that black, white or anyone is better, but that we all have our place. We've all made contributions - and mistakes too. Wearing the crown is reaching the top of your potential. You could be a writer or you could be a mechanic, but you can still wear the crown."[8]
Gary Byrd
Gary Byrd (born 1954, Buffalo, New York)[9] also worked as a DJ in the UK and presented a gospel music programme on BBC Radio 1 called "Sweet Inspirations". He often played the more obscure gospel sounds from groups such as Earth, Wind and Fire of whom he was a big fan. It was broadcast on Sunday evenings (11 pm to midnight) in the early 1980s on MW and stereo FM using the BBC Radio 2 transmitters.
Prior to this, Gary Byrd released the single "Every Brother Ain't A Brother", the album The Gary Byrd Experience and the single "Soul Travelin' (Inside the G.B.E.)" on RCA, whose intro was sampled by Soul to Soul on the song "Jazzie's Groove". He also collaborated with Wonder on the songs "Black Man", "Village Ghetto Land", "Dark and Lovely" and "Misrepresented People."
References
^ ab"Gary Byrd & the GB Experience Top Songs". musicvf.com. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
^"The Crown (song by Gary Byrd & the GB Experience) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
^"Imhotep Gary Byrd". 1190 AM WLIB - Your Home for Gospel, Inspiration & Information. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
gary, byrd, experience, american, male, female, vocal, instrumental, group, originunited, statesgenrespop, musicyears, active1980slabelsmotownhistory, editthe, group, released, single, crown, july, 1983, written, gary, byrd, stevie, wonder, according, byrd, on. Gary Byrd and the GB Experience was an American male female vocal instrumental group Gary Byrd and the GB ExperienceOriginUnited StatesGenresPop musicYears active1980sLabelsMotownHistory EditThe group released a single The Crown on 23 July 1983 written by Gary Byrd and Stevie Wonder 1 2 According to Byrd it was the only release on Stevie Wonder s short lived U S based Wondirection record label part of Motown Records that celebrated African heritage in a motivational rap featuring both Byrd and Wonder 3 Due to lack of sufficient promotion citation needed it only reached number 69 on the Billboard R amp B chart 1 In the UK it was released on the Motown label entered the UK Singles Chart on 23 July 1983 at number 21 and rose to a high of number 6 it remained in the chart for 9 weeks 4 It also reached number 7 in the Swiss Hitparade 5 number 14 in the German GfK Entertainment charts 6 and number 21 in the Irish Singles Chart 7 The 12 version of The Crown ran for 10 minutes 35 seconds making it one of the longest tracks ever to chart in the UK It was written by Gary Byrd and Stevie Wonder and presented a wide ranging historical narrative of human progress beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing to the present day with an emphasis on African heritage It featured spoken rapped verses by Byrd an American DJ with one verse sung by Wonder and Crystal Blake Byrd described the song at the time thus The idea is not that black white or anyone is better but that we all have our place We ve all made contributions and mistakes too Wearing the crown is reaching the top of your potential You could be a writer or you could be a mechanic but you can still wear the crown 8 Gary Byrd EditGary Byrd born 1954 Buffalo New York 9 also worked as a DJ in the UK and presented a gospel music programme on BBC Radio 1 called Sweet Inspirations He often played the more obscure gospel sounds from groups such as Earth Wind and Fire of whom he was a big fan It was broadcast on Sunday evenings 11 pm to midnight in the early 1980s on MW and stereo FM using the BBC Radio 2 transmitters Prior to this Gary Byrd released the single Every Brother Ain t A Brother the album The Gary Byrd Experience and the single Soul Travelin Inside the G B E on RCA whose intro was sampled by Soul to Soul on the song Jazzie s Groove He also collaborated with Wonder on the songs Black Man Village Ghetto Land Dark and Lovely and Misrepresented People References Edit a b Gary Byrd amp the GB Experience Top Songs musicvf com Retrieved 2017 10 15 The Crown song by Gary Byrd amp the GB Experience Music VF US amp UK hits charts www musicvf com Retrieved 2020 01 22 Imhotep Gary Byrd 1190 AM WLIB Your Home for Gospel Inspiration amp Information Retrieved 2020 01 22 Rice Tim Rice Jonathan Gambaccini Paul 1990 Guinness Book of British Hit Singles amp Albums Enfield Middlesex Guinness World Records and Guinness Publishing ISBN 0 85112 398 8 Gary Byrd and the GB Experience The Crown hitparade ch in German Retrieved 2021 05 03 Gary Byrd and the GB Experience The Crown offiziellecharts de in German Retrieved 2021 05 28 Search the charts Gary Byrd The Crown The Irish Charts All there is to know Retrieved 2021 05 03 Feather Report Smash Hits August 4 17 1983 p 15 Larkin Colin ed 1992 The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music Vol 1 1st ed p 382 ISBN 1 882267 01 X Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gary Byrd and the GB Experience amp oldid 1026013561, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
