Secret Weapon (group) should not be confused with Secret Weapons (band).
| Secret Weapon | |
| Origin: | New York, New York U.S. |
| Genre: | Post-disco • funk |
| Label: | Prelude Records |
Secret Weapon was a New York-based short-lived post-disco music group,[1] formed by Jerome Prister. The group had a number of hits throughout the 1980s with their most successful single being "Must Be the Music" which hit #24 on the R&B chart[2] and #66 on the dance chart in 1982.[3]
Band founder Jerome Prister went on to form the short-lived off-shoot group Output and later released several solo singles, along with a 1989 studio album, under the name Jerome "Secret Weapon" Prister. He died of a stroke in 2007.[4]
Singer Michele Blackmon, who also co-wrote "Must Be the Music," later began working as a unit team member managing inmates at a correctional facility, although she would continue performing/entertaining on the side until shortly before her death in late 2014.[5]
Secret Weapon's Djuana "DJ" Thomas is a radio personality on Atlanta's WRDA.[6]
One-time lead vocalist Stanley Snider (credited as "'The' Roy Skip Snider" in liner notes for the band's self-titled album) went on to release several solo singles after the dissolution of the group[7] but would never officially join another group, opting to work more behind the scenes, creating and producing several groups. The founder of a health insurance non-profit, Snider currently works as the CEO of this company and recently announced his return to singing.[8]
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B | US Dance | ||
| 1982 | "Must Be the Music" | 24 | 66 |
| 1983 | "DJ Man" | 73 | — |
| 1984 | "Move for Me" (as Output) | 88 | — |
| 1988 | "Say You'll Be" (as Jerome "Secret Weapon" Prister) | 89 | — |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | |||
. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 516.
. Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 229.