Pleasure (American band)

Pleasure was a band from Portland, Oregon that blended soul, funk and jazz with a street edge that became a cult group on the underground black music scene of the late 1970s. They are perhaps best known for their 1979 hit, "Glide" from the album Future Now.

History

Pleasure was formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1972 as a merger of two Portland outfits: Franchise and The Soul Masters which included guitarist Marlon "The Magician" McClain, bassist Nathaniel Phillips, and drummer Bruce Carter (December 28, 1956 — August 12, 2006), keyboardist Donald Hepburn, saxophonist Dennis Springer, trombonist Dan Brewster and lead singer Sherman Davis.

In 1974 The Crusaders's Wayne Henderson saw them performing in a Portland club. Impressed with what he heard, his enthusiasm led them to a deal with Fantasy Records. This was the beginning of a six-year relationship with the label and a four-year relationship with Wayne Henderson who through his own production company "At Home Productions", was the band's producer and mentor.

Along the way, members of the band did session work with artists like Side Effect, Gabor Szabo, Ronnie Laws and Willie Bobo to name a few. In 1979, Pleasure would have their best success with the Top Ten R&B hit "Glide". By 1982 after a one-off album for RCA the band called it quits.

Discography

External links

• Pleasure Discography at Discogs
• Pleasure at Soulwalking
• Pleasure 1976 Biography at Concord Music

References