In the early 1970s, several backup bands in California united and named themselves Total Concepts Unlimited (T.C.U.)! They were assigned to Motown Records where they became backup bands for famous musicians including Edwin Starr, who introduced the band to famous Motown producer Norman Whitfield. Norman was responsible for bringing a new progressive funk-rock sound to Motown and he had produced major Motown acts/hits like The Temptations Papa Was A Rolling Stone and Edwin Starrs War. In 1975, Whitfield left Motown and started his own record label called Whitfield Records. He brought bands with him including T.C.U. who he signed to his label, changed the bands name to Magic Wand, then assigned them as a studio and concert band for one of his other groups called The Undisputed Truth!!! At the time, Whitfield was trying to find a particular female lead singer for Magic Wand, so that the band would sound charismatic. He found what he was looking for when the lead singer of The Undisputed Truth introduced Whitfield to Gwen Dickey who, at the time, was the leader of the local band The Jewels. She auditioned with Whitfield to become the lead singer for Magic Wand and after hearing her, Whitfield knew he found what he was looking for in a female singer. Then, he gave her the stage name Rose Norwalt and they started producing their debut LP. Meanwhile, there was a new film that was in production called Car Wash and the director of the film, Michael Schultz, asked Whitfield if he would produce the soundtrack for his new film. He concurred and decided to put a hold on their current debut LP and instead used the film to debut his new band by having them record the soundtrack LP to the movie. In addition, he changed the bands name to Rose Royce to reflect the film and new lead singer Rose, then had them record the double album soundtrack. Most of the tracks of the LP are produced by Whitfield, who used the script from the movie when writing and producing the songs for its soundtrack. Unlike most films in Hollywood, the Car Wash Soundtrack was written/produced at the same time the film was being made and many times Rose Royce and Whitfield would visit the set of the movie and write some of the songs on set. When the movie was released in October 1976, it became a huge national success and so did Rose Royce. In 1977, the soundtrack produced three Top 40 hits with Car Wash being the lead single and peaking at number 1 in 1977. Also In 1977, Whitfield won the Best Music award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the soundtrack received the Grammy for Best Motion Picture Score Album of the Year. Although, Rose Royce released numerous albums after the Car Wash Soundtrack, the band could not duplicate there previous successes. In 1980, the lead singer, Gwen Dickey, left the group, but they continued to record and perform and occasionally tour today. In 2002, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot covered and released the song but it didnt duplicate the previous success the song had in the 1970s. Enjoy the song and the fantastic video which feature scenes from the movie! https://youtube/watch?v=U3Qr6omvRVI
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 20:48:27 +0000
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