Peter Brown (singer)

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Peter Brown (born 11 July 1953, Blue Island, Illinois) is an artist, songwriter and record producer who was also a pioneer in home recording, having recorded his seminal hits in his bedroom.

He signed with the record label Drive Records, a subsidiary of T.K. Records. He released his first album, A Fantasy Love Affair which was issued in September 1977 and hit the charts with the single Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me, which became the first 12" single to sell a million copies. Brown's follow-up single, Dance With Me, (featuring Betty Wright on backing vocal) reached Billboard Hot 100's top 10 at #8 in 1978, and has become his signature song.

His next album, Stargazer, released in late 1979 featured the hit single Crank It Up (Funk Town). After T.K. Records folded in late 1980, due to bankruptcy, Brown signed with RCA Records and released Back to the Front in 1983. It featured the hit Baby Gets High. He then joined Columbia Records in 1984 and released Snap which featured the hit They Only Come Out At Night.

Contrary to popular belief, Brown is not the same Peter Brown who recorded "Chasing Fireflies" in 1999. Many websites, including Yahoo, have erroneously credited this Peter Brown for Chasing Fireflies. However, after his fourth album Snap in 1984, he retired from music. In a recent interview he gave the reasons, saying: "There are two main reasons why I'm not active in the music business anymore. The first being after starting a family I thought it was best for me to be home with them rather than recording or touring the country. The other is that I have developed a fairly pronounced case of tinnitus. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in the ears that never stops. It is brought about, in some cases, by constant exposure to loud environments. The longer I was exposed to loud music on stage or in the recording studio the worse my tinnitus became. Eventually I decided I had to preserve my hearing and sanity by retiring to a quieter lifestyle." Excerpts from the interview were taken from [www.disco-disco.com]

His most commercially successful composition is "Material Girl" which was a hit in 1985 for Madonna. He also co-wrote the song Maybe It Was Magic for Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA, for her 1988 solo album, I Stand Alone.

In 1998 Westside/DNA Records released Get Funky With Me: The Best of the TK Years. The cover on the CD is a photograph of Brown in his 1970s era home recording studio.

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Compilation Album

  • 1998 - Get Funky With Me: The Best of the TK Years

[edit] Singles

  • "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me" - 1977 (US#18, R&B#3)
  • "Dance With Me" - 1978 (US#8, R&B#5)
  • "You Should Do It" - 1978
  • "Crank It Up (Funk Town)" - 1979
  • "Stargazer" - 1979
  • "Love In Our Hearts" - 1980
  • "Can't Be Love-Do It To Me Anyway" - 1980
  • "Baby Gets High" - 1982
  • "Overnight Sensation" - 1983
  • "They Only Come Out At Night" - 1984 (Dance #1)
  • "(Love Is Just) The Game" - 1984
  • "Zie Zie Won't Dance" - 1985

[edit] See also