The Floaters

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The Floaters were an American Detroit R&B vocal group formed in the 1970s. The group was formed by former Detroit Emeralds in the Sojourner Truth housing project by singer James Mitchell with his brother Paul Mitchell, Larry Cunningham, Charles Clark, and the unrelated Ralph Mitchell.

James Mitchell apparently came up with the idea and tune for their one major hit, Float On, in a dream. The lyrics spotlighted each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name and astrological sign. The song written by Arnold Ingram, Marvin Willis and James Mitchell Jr and produced by Woody Wilson became a world wide hit in 1977 on ABC Records, reaching # 1 on the R&B chart, # 2 on the US pop chart, and # 1 in the UK for a single week in August 1977.

Follow-ups such as You Don't Have to Say You Love Me could not duplicate Float On’s bizarre charm, but, with some changes in the line-up, the group remained active for several years.

Majority of The Floaters were from the Sojourner Truth housing project on Detroit's Eastside.