djzyonseven
There were so many great bands and groups in the 80s…
But some of them didn’t just make music, they made moments.
And Shalamar was one of those groups.
Man listen…
Shalamar was that group for a minute.
Smooth, polished, clean vocals, choreography on point… and songs that just felt good from the first note.
And when A Night To Remember came on? You already knew what time it was.
But what always fascinated me about them wasn’t just the music…
It was what happened behind the music.
A lot of people don’t even realize that Shalamar didn’t start the way we remember them.
The original version of the group in the late 70s had Jody Watley, but also Gary Mumford and Gerald Brown.
That version didn’t last long.
It was almost like a setup for what was coming next.
Because when Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel came in and linked up with Jody Watley…
That’s when the magic happened.
That lineup.
That was the one.
They gave us hit after hit, album after album, and built a real identity.
Not just musically, but visually too.
Watching them on Soul Train was like watching a full experience.
They had vocals, style, dancing… everything working together.
And then… it changed.
For the longest time, I thought it was just ego.
Like, who’s the star, who’s the best singer, that kind of thing.
But the more you really look into it, it wasn’t that simple.
Jody Watley left Shalamar in July 1983, citing internal conflicts, creative constraints, and a desire to pursue a solo career.
She felt like she wasn’t getting the credit she deserved.
And creatively… she wanted more.
And let’s be real…
She didn’t just leave and disappear. She went solo and became a superstar.
She proved real quick she wasn’t just part of Shalamar, she was a force by herself.
After she left, the group brought in Micki Free, and while they still made music, it just didn’t feel the same.
Then Jeffrey Daniel left.
Eventually, Howard Hewett went solo as well.
He, too, had an incredible R&B solo career.
And just like that… the group we knew was gone.
But what really surprised me over the years is how much tension has stuck around between them.
Decades later, there’s still this underlying animosity.
And it mostly comes down to money, credit, and ownership.
Back then, artists weren’t always treated fairly when it came to contracts.
So when people start looking back at what they should have had versus what they actually got… yeah, feelings get real.
And then there’s the whole fight over the name “Shalamar.”
Different versions of the group touring, different claims to the legacy… it gets messy.
I used to think, man…
It would be so dope if they just put all that aside and did one last tour.
Just one.
While everybody’s still here.
Because what they created together was timeless.
It mattered.
It mattered to me.
But the truth is… sometimes the music stays timeless, and the relationships don’t.
Still… every time I hear A Night To Remember, I don’t think about the drama.
I don’t think about the contracts or the tension.
I think about that moment in time when everything lined up perfectly.
When the sound, the voices, the energy… hit all at once.
When they were my “Shalamar“.
#Shalamar, #ANightToRemember, #JodyWatley, #HowardHewett, #JeffreyDaniel, #80sRNB, #SoulTrainEra, #WhatImlisteningToRightNow, #TheSoundtrackOfWhoIBecame
