Gregg Diamond
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Gregg Diamond (May 4, 1949 - March 14, 1999) was a pianist, drummer, songwriter, and producer who was active in the jazz and disco music scenes of the 1970s.
Career
Diamond wrote the song "Hot Butterfly," which was released in 1978 under one of his group's names, Bionic Boogie, with Luther Vandross providing lead vocals. The song was later covered by David Lasley and Chaka Khan. His other popular songs included "Risky Changes" (released by Bionic Boogie in 1977), "Dance Little Dreamer" (released by Bionic Boogie in 1977), "Cream (Always Rises to the Top)" (released by Bionic Boogie in 1978), "Starcruisin'" (1978), "Fancy Dancer" (1978), and "Tiger, Tiger (Feel Good For a While)" (1979).
"Dance Little Dreamer" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1978. The song "Cream (Always Rises to the Top)" reached #61 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1979.
Diamond's association with Vandross came from the success of David Bowie's Young Americans album, which both Vandross and Diamond's brother Godfrey (his sound engineer) contributed towards. He also wrote and produced an album for TK recording artist, George McCrae, scoring a club hit with "Love in Motion." His biggest commercial success was as writer and producer of the single "More, More, More" recorded by the The Andrea True Connection in 1975. Len's 1999 hit, "Steal My Sunshine", has a joint, and posthumous songwriting credit for Diamond, because of the sample of "More, More, More" used in the track.
Diamond was also a member of the backing band for Jobriath, The Creatures.
He died of gastrointestinal bleeding on March 14, 1999 at the age of 49.
Discography
Major studio albums:
- 1977: Bionic Boogie (Polydor)
- 1978: Gregg Diamond Bionic Boogie - Hot Butterfly (Polydor)
- 1978: Gregg Diamond´s Star Cruiser (TK)
- 1979: Gregg Diamond Bionic Boogie - Tiger Tiger (Polydor)
- 1979: Gregg Diamond Hardware (Mercury)
See also
