Colonel Abrams
{{Short description|American musician}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Colonel Abrams
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Colonel Abrams
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1949|5|25}}{{disputed inline|date=November 2016}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| origin = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date|mf=yes|2016|11|24|1949|5|25}} (aged 67)
| death_place =
| genre = R&B, soul, house, electronic dance
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Singer
- songwriter
}}
| years_active = 1976–2016
| label = MCA
Scotti Bros.
Acid Jazz
Strictly Rhythm
| associated_acts =
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
| instruments = Vocals, guitar, piano
}}
Colonel Abrams (May 25, 1949{{disputed inline|date=November 2016}} – November 24, 2016){{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/southbendtribune/obituary.aspx?n=colonel-abrams&pid=182814230|title=Colonel Abrams's Obituary |work=South Bend Tribune|date=November 28, 2016 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/colonel-abrams-dead-homeless-new-york-gofund-me-funeral-a7445461.html |title=Colonel Abrams dead: House music pioneer dies after becoming homeless |last=Oppenheim |first=Mayer |work=The Independent |date=29 November 2016}} was an American musician, singer, and songwriter.
Early life
Career
From an early age, Abrams began playing the guitar and piano. He was in several early bands; among them Heavy Impact – in which he played both guitar and keyboards alongside Joe Wells (guitar), Lemar Washington (guitar), Marston "Buffy" Freeman (bass guitar), Ronald Simmons (drums), Harry Jones (trumpet), Tony Molière (trumpet) and Barbara Mills (saxophone). In 1976, he formed Conservative Manor, 94 East (the band featuring Prince on lead guitar).
He became popular on the New York underground scene via radio and club play, and had his first major hit in 1984 with "Music Is the Answer", on the independent label Streetwise.{{cite magazine|author=Chin, Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSUEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22colonel+abrams%22&pg=PA27|title=Colonel Abrams Enjoys Overseas Success|magazine=Billboard|date=April 19, 1986|page=27|access-date= April 16, 2016}} Other hits in the mid-1980s included "Leave the Message Behind the Door", "Trapped" (a top ten hit in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK), "The Truth", "Speculation", "I'm Not Gonna Let You", and "Over and Over", establishing Abrams as a solo artist, initially in Europe and later in the US.{{cite news|author=McShane, Larry|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ff4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Vm0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2755,5978735&dq=colonel-abrams&hl=en|title=Colonel Abrams Finds Acceptance|work=Kentucky New Era|date=August 15, 1986|page=7B|access-date=June 10, 2011}}
In 1985, he signed to Steven Machat's label and production company, AMI. Machat, who was collaborating and working with a British producer, Richard James Burgess, hired Burgess to produce Abrams' self-titled debut album. Machat then arranged for MCA Records to sign Abrams for worldwide releases. Burgess produced the songs "Trapped"(1985),[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/colonel-abrams-mn0000090991/songs Colonel Abrams songs] All music. Retrieved 27 March 2023 "I'm Not Gonna Let "(1986), and "Table for Two".
"Trapped" reached the top five in the UK Singles Chart and topped the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1985,"{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e1hOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KRQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7092,5014354&dq=colonel-abrams&hl=en|title=Tipoff|newspaper=Wilmington Morning Star|date=June 16, 1986|page=2D|access-date=June 10, 2011}} followed by his self-titled album, which spent two weeks at number one the following year. An electronic remix of "Trapped" was later released in 1995 by Boards of Canada, under the pseudonym Hell Interface. A new version of "Trapped" ("Trapped 2006") was released in the UK.
"I'm Not Gonna Let" also spent a week at number one in the dance chart, in 1986. The album peaked at number 75 on the US Billboard Top 200 and Number 13 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Although Abrams had no American pop hits during his career, he had a number of entries on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart in the 1980s and 1990s, including four entries that hit number one. In 1987, he had his fourth number-one US dance hit with "How Soon We Forget", the same year that he released his second album, You and Me Equals Us.
On January 9, 2007, Abrams released the single "Just When You Thought", the third single on his own record label, Colonel Records, after "Heartbreaker" and "Let Us All Be Friends". Also in 2007, Abrams released "Never Be", "Just Like Mathematics", and "True Stories".
Later life and illness
A crowdfunding campaign was launched in 2015, via GoFundMe, in order to help Abrams, as he was homeless, suffering from diabetes, and in poor health.{{cite news|author=Bennison, Aidan |url=http://www.factmag.com/2015/12/08/crowdfunding-campaign-launched-for-colonel-abrams |title=Crowdfunding campaign launched for Colonel Abrams|work=FACT|date=December 8, 2015|access-date= April 16, 2016}} Marshall Jefferson, who had begun his own effort to crowdfund an album, encouraged others to donate to Abrams instead, stating:
As most of you may or may not know, a lot of recording artists don’t have medical coverage or benefits ... Those of us who have listened to his awesome music and know of his plight, have banded together to try to help him through this rough patch.{{cite web|last1=KevRoss|title=House Music's Colonel Abrams, Homeless and in Poor Health, Crowdfunding Campaign Established|url=http://www.radiofacts.com/eighties-singer-colonel-abrams-homeless-and-in-poor-health-crowdfunding-campaign/|website=Radio Facts|date=July 2016 |access-date=28 November 2016}}
Death
Abrams died on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2016, at the age of 67.{{cite web|url=http://www.vanyaland.com/2016/11/27/rip-house-rb-vocalist-colonel-abrams-reportedly-died-age-67/|title=RIP: House and R&B vocalist Colonel Abrams has reportedly died at the age of 67|author=Marotta, Michael|date=27 November 2016|website=VanyaLand.com|access-date=27 November 2016}} Numerous music industry luminaries paid tribute, including Tony Tune Herbert, Joey Negro, Dave Pearce, and Swizz Beatz. Jellybean Benitez, a producer who worked on Madonna's "Holiday" and Whitney Houston's "Love Will Save the Day", wrote: "It's a sad day for the House Music community". Jefferson wrote, "Just learned Colonel Abrams passed away," and added, "Never to be forgotten, R.I.P."{{cite news|work=BBC News: Entertainment & Arts|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38129229|author=Savage, Mark|title=Colonel Abrams: US House singer dies aged 67|date=28 November 2016}}
Discography
=Studio albums=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Album details ! colspan="2"| Peak positions |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| US ! width="35"| US |
| 1985
| align="left"| Colonel Abrams
| 75 | 13 |
| 1987
| align="left"| You and Me Equals Us
| — | 25 |
| 1992
| align="left"| About Romance
| — | — |
| 1996
| align="left"| Make a Difference
| — | — |
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
=Compilation albums=
- Best of Colonel Abrams (1999, Universal Special Products)
- Strapped: The Best of the Remixes (2010, Famous)
=Singles=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Certifications ! rowspan="2"| Album |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| US ! width="35"| US ! width="35"| GER ! width="35"| IRE ! width="35"| NLD ! width="35"| UK |
| rowspan="2"| 1984
| align="left"| "Leave the Message Behind the Door" | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="2" {{N/A}} |
| align="left"| "Music Is the Answer"
| — | 11 | — | — | — | 84 | align=left| |
| rowspan="2"| 1985
| align="left"| "Trapped" | 20 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 3 | align=left|
| align="left" rowspan="5"| Colonel Abrams |
| align="left"| "The Truth" {{ref label|Note1|A|A}}
| 78 | 1 | — | — | — | 53 | align=left| |
| rowspan="3"| 1986
| align="left"| "I'm Not Gonna Let You" | 7 | 1 | — | 14 | — | 24 | align=left| |
| align="left"| "Over and Over
| 68 | 45 | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| align="left"| "Speculation"
| — | 15 | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| rowspan="2"| 1987
| align="left"| "How Soon We Forget" | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 75 | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="3"| You and Me Equals Us |
| align="left"| "Nameless"
| 54 | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| rowspan="1"| 1988
| align="left"| "Soon You'll Be Gone" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| rowspan="1"| 1990
| align="left"| "Bad Timing" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="1" {{N/A}} |
| rowspan="3"| 1992
| align="left"| "You Don't Know (Somebody Tell Me)" | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="3"| About Romance |
| align="left"| "When Somebody Loves Somebody"
| 70 | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| align="left"| "Never Be Another One"
| — | 22 | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| rowspan="1"| 1993
| align="left"| "I'm Caught Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="3"| Make a Difference |
| rowspan="2"| 1994
| align="left"| "Get with You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| align="left"| "So Confused"
| — | 15 | — | — | — | — | align=left| |
| rowspan="2"| 1995
| align="left"| "So Proud" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="1" {{N/A}} |
| align="left"| "As Quiet as It's Kept"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="1"| Make a Difference |
| rowspan="1"| 1998
| align="left"| "Heartbreaker" | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left| | align="left" rowspan="1" {{N/A}} |
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
- {{note label|Note1|A|A}}"The Truth" charted on the Hot Dance/Disco chart along with all tracks from the album Colonel Abrams.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs artist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Colonel}}
Category:20th-century African-American male singers
Category:20th-century American male singers
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:African-American male songwriters
Category:American boogie musicians
Category:American garage house musicians
Category:American contemporary R&B singers
Category:American soul singers
Category:Songwriters from Michigan
Category:American homeless people
Category:Scotti Brothers Records artists