One Way was an American R&B/funk band that was popular in the late 1970s, and throughout most of the 1980s.
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One Way was formed in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan as the newer incarnation of a band originally known as Soul Partners.[1] Al Hudson, Alicia Myers, guitarists Dave Roberson and Cortez Harris, bassist Kevin McCord, drummer Gregory Green and keyboardist Jonathan Meadows were the original members.[1] They first recorded as "Al Hudson and the Partners", scoring an R&B hit on the ABC label called "You Can Do It" in 1979.
At that time, however, ABC Records was in the process of being taken over by MCA Records as part of a buyout, and when the band moved to the MCA label, they subsequently changed their name to One Way featuring Al Hudson before becoming One Way.[1] They were on MCA from 1980 to 1988.[1] They scored five Top 10 U.S. R&B chart hits, with the biggest being "Cutie Pie," which reached number four in 1982.[1] Original frontwoman Alicia Myers left the band in the early 1980s to pursue a solo career. She was replaced by Candye Edwards, who served as female lead of the group from 1981 to 1985. Edwards' debut was on the Fancy Dancer album, and she remained with the group throughout the biggest successes, including "Cutie Pie."
They had minor hits on the UK Singles Chart with "Music" (1979) and "Let's Talk About Shhh" (1985).[2]
They moved to Capitol Records in 1988, where they released their final album, A New Beginning,[1] later that same year. By this time, only Hudson, Roberson, and Meadows remained from the original line-up.