The Gary Toms Empire was an American funk, R&B and disco band from New York City, whose hit records in the 1970s included "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)".
Career
The band was formed by keyboardist Gary Toms, who had been performing and touring since the 1950s with Jimmy Smith and others. When he set up the Gary Toms Empire in 1973, other band members included Helen Jacobs (vocals), Rick Kenny (guitar), Eric Oliver (trumpet), Les Rose (saxophone), John Freeman (bass), Rick Murray (drums), and Warren Tesoro (percussion).[1] Their first record was a version of British songwriter Roger Cook's composition, which had originally been recorded as "Get Up" by Blue Mink, on their 1974 album Fruity.[2] Retitled "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)", and with production by Bill Stahl and Rick Bleiweiss, the song was recorded by the Gary Toms Empire and reached number 5 on the BillboardR&B chart in 1975 and sold over 30.000 copies in the first week alone.[1] The band followed up its success with a disco version of the Beatles' "Drive My Car", one of the first promotional 12-inch singles, which reached number 32 on the R&B chart and number 69 on the pop chart. They also released an album, 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Blow Your Whistle, on the Pickwick Records subsidiary P.I.P. label.[3] They played the Apollo Theater, American Bandstand with Dick Clark, and toured the US.
Gary Toms had a minor solo hit in 1976 with "Stand Up and Shout", but re-established the group name before their final chart hit, "Welcome to Harlem", which reached number 78 on the R&B chart in 1978.[1] The group also released a second album, Let's Do It Again, on Mercury Records in 1978, and singles on the Chaz Ro and Dejon labels in the early 1980s.[3]
gary, toms, empire, american, funk, disco, band, from, york, city, whose, records, 1970s, included, blow, your, whistle, career, editthe, band, formed, keyboardist, gary, toms, been, performing, touring, since, 1950s, with, jimmy, smith, others, when, 1973, ot. The Gary Toms Empire was an American funk R amp B and disco band from New York City whose hit records in the 1970s included 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Blow Your Whistle Career EditThe band was formed by keyboardist Gary Toms who had been performing and touring since the 1950s with Jimmy Smith and others When he set up the Gary Toms Empire in 1973 other band members included Helen Jacobs vocals Rick Kenny guitar Eric Oliver trumpet Les Rose saxophone John Freeman bass Rick Murray drums and Warren Tesoro percussion 1 Their first record was a version of British songwriter Roger Cook s composition which had originally been recorded as Get Up by Blue Mink on their 1974 album Fruity 2 Retitled 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Blow Your Whistle and with production by Bill Stahl and Rick Bleiweiss the song was recorded by the Gary Toms Empire and reached number 5 on the Billboard R amp B chart in 1975 and sold over 30 000 copies in the first week alone 1 The band followed up its success with a disco version of the Beatles Drive My Car one of the first promotional 12 inch singles which reached number 32 on the R amp B chart and number 69 on the pop chart They also released an album 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Blow Your Whistle on the Pickwick Records subsidiary P I P label 3 They played the Apollo Theater American Bandstand with Dick Clark and toured the US Gary Toms had a minor solo hit in 1976 with Stand Up and Shout but re established the group name before their final chart hit Welcome to Harlem which reached number 78 on the R amp B chart in 1978 1 The group also released a second album Let s Do It Again on Mercury Records in 1978 and singles on the Chaz Ro and Dejon labels in the early 1980s 3 See also EditFunk R amp B Mercury RecordsReferences Edit a b c Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 1995 Record Research p 447 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Blow Your Whistle SecondhandSongs Retrieved 3 January 2016 a b Gary Toms Empire Discogs com Retrieved 3 January 2016 This article on a United States R amp B soul music band group or collective is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gary Toms Empire amp oldid 1083099871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
