| Slave | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter, producer, musician |
| Genre: | Funk, R&B, soul, boogie, disco |
| Years Active: | 1975–1996 |
| Current Members: |
Floyd Miller |
| Label: | Cotillion, Atco, Ichiban |
| Website: | Steve Arrington Mark L. "The Hansolor" Adams – Bassplayer.com |
Slave was an American Ohio-based funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Washington,[1] born in New Jersey, attended East Orange High School, and was one of the first users of the "electric trumpet". He and Trombonist Floyd Miller formed the group in Dayton, Ohio, in 1975.[2]
During late 1975 and spring of 1976, trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with trumpeter Steve Washington to form Slave. The original line-up included Tom Lockett Jr. (tenor and alto sax), Carter Bradley (keyboards), Mark Adams (bass), Mark "Drac" Hicks (lead and rhythm guitar, background vocals), Danny Webster (rhythm and lead guitar, lead and background vocals), Orion "Bimmy" Wilhoite (alto and tenor sax), and Tim "Tiny" Dozier (drums). They scored their first big hit with the single "Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion Records,[3] which is the label they remained with until 1984. In 1978 Slave's sound changed slightly when drummer/percussionist Steve Arrington, along with vocalists Starleana Young, Curt Jones,and keyboardist Ray Turner joined the band. Arrington ultimately replaced Miller and Webster as lead vocalist.
Other top ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. They added Charles Carter on sax and brother Sam Carter on keyboards. Starleana Young, Steve Washington, Curt Jones and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1981. Slave added Roger Parker, Delbert Taylor Jr., and Kevin Johnson as replacements. Arrington left in 1982 after the Showtime album to start his own band Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame in which Charles and Sam Carter would also play. The band continued on, though not as successfully, into the mid-1990s.[2]
The group moved to Atlantic Records for one LP (New Plateau) in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta-based Ichiban Records the following year, releasing Unchained at Last in late 1985. Despite scoring a couple of minor hits on the R&B chart from this album the following year and another minor hit from their 1987 follow-up album, Make Believe, Slave could not recapture the commercial success they had enjoyed in their heyday. Rhino issued Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave Featuring Steve Arrington, an anthology of their finest cuts, in 1994.[3]
Bass player Mark Leslie Adams Sr., a native of Dayton, died on March 5, 2011, at age 51 in Columbus, Ohio.[4]
Guitar player Mark ("Drac") Hicks, a native of Dayton, died on June 14, 2011, at the age of 52 in Dayton, Ohio.[4]
Singer and guitarist Danny Webster, a native of Dayton, died on September 10, 2020, at the age of 61 in Dayton, Ohio.[5]
Saxophone player Orion Wilhoite, a native of Dayton, died on March 20, 2020, at the age of 63 in Dayton, Ohio.
Drummer Roger Parker, a native of Dayton, died March 5, 2023, at the age of 67 in Dayton, Ohio
Keyboardist Carter Bradley, a native of Dayton, died February 21, 2023, at the age of 73.
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | US R&B | CAN [7] | |||||||||||||
| 1977 | Slave | 22 | 6 | — |
| Cotillion | |||||||||
| The Hardness of the World | 67 | 31 | — | ||||||||||||
| 1978 | The Concept | 78 | 11 | 95 | |||||||||||
| 1979 | Just a Touch of Love | 92 | 11 | — | |||||||||||
| 1980 | Stone Jam | 53 | 5 | — |
| ||||||||||
| 1981 | Show Time | 46 | 7 | — | |||||||||||
| 1982 | Visions of the Lite | 177 | 46 | — | |||||||||||
| 1983 | Bad Enuff | 168 | 30 | — | |||||||||||
| 1984 | New Plateau | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1985 | Unchained at Last | — | 56 | — | Ichiban | ||||||||||
| 1987 | Make Believe | — | 44 | — | |||||||||||
| 1988 | 88 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1990 | Rebirth | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1992 | The Funk Strikes Back | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1995 | Masters Of The Fungk | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Album | Peak | Record label | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B | |||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Best of Slave | — | Cotillion | ||||||||||||
| 1994 | Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave | 44 | Rhino | ||||||||||||
| 1997 | Slide and Other Hits | — | |||||||||||||
| 1998 | From the Archives | — | T.F.L. | ||||||||||||
| 2001 | Greatest Hits | — | Goldenlane | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | Party Lights: More of the Best | — | Rhino | ||||||||||||
| 2006 | The Definitive Groove Collection | — | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart Positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] | US R&B | US Dan | CAN | UK [10] | |||||||||||
| 1977 | "Slide" | 32 | 1 | — | 58 | — | align=left rowspan="1" | Slave | |||||||
| 1978 | "The Party Song" | 110 | 22 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="2" | The Hardness of the World | |||||||
| "Baby Sinister" | — | 74 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Stellar Fungk" | — | 14 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="2" | The Concept | ||||||||
| "Just Freak" | 110 | 64 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1979 | "Just a Touch of Love" | — | 9 | 26 | — | 64 | align=left rowspan="2" | Just a Touch of Love | |||||||
| 1980 | "Foxy Lady (Funky Lady)" | — | 55 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Sizzlin' Hot" | — | 57 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="3" | Stone Jam | ||||||||
| "Watching You" | 78 | 6 | 23 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1981 | "Feel My Love" | — | 62 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Snap Shot" | 91 | 6 | 21 | — | — | align=left rowspan="3" | Show Time | ||||||||
| "Party Lites" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Wait for Me" | 103 | 20 | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1982 | "Intro (Come to Blow Ya Mind)" | — | 81 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="3" | Visions of the Lite | |||||||
| 1983 | "Do You Like It... (Girl)" | — | 73 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Be My Babe" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Shake It Up" | — | 22 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="2" | Bad Enuff | ||||||||
| "Steppin' Out" | — | 73 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1984 | "Ooohh" | — | 41 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="2" | New Plateau | |||||||
| "The Word Is Out" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1986 | "Jazzy Lady" | — | — | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="3" | Unchained at Last | |||||||
| "Thrill Me" | — | 84 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "All We Need Is Time" | — | 85 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1987 | "Juicy-O" | — | 83 | — | — | — | align=left rowspan="2" | Make Believe | |||||||
| "I Like Your Style" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||