Shalamar originated from the US TV show “Soul Train” where Don Cornelius and SOLAR Records chief Dick Griffey, put together a group that went on to became synonymous with catchy feel-good dance music. Howard Hewett’s first record “The Second Time Around” was a million seller. As well as being number one on the US R&B chart it went on to reach number eight in the main Billboard pop chart with an edgy sound incorporating funk, disco, R&B and pop.
The “classic” line-up of Shalamar (Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel) scored a total of four Gold albums in the US with Big Fun (1979), Three for Love (1980) – platinum – Friends (1982) – platinum and The Look (1983). At the height of their fame, Watley and Daniel left Shalamar to pursue successful solo careers. With a new line-up, Shalamar returned to the US Top 20 with “Dancing in the Sheets” (1984) from the Footloose soundtrack.
In 1985, Hewett departed to begin his own successful solo career. In 1999, Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel reformed Shalamar and began touring. In 2001, they were joined by Carolyn Griffey. In 2005 Shalamar appeared on the UK TV show “Hit Me Baby One More Time” and have been performing some forty concerts and festival dates each year. In 2017 Howard, Jeffrey and Carolyn released a new Shalamar track “The Real Thing” which has streamed over one million plays across all platforms. The song was written and produced by Leon Sylvers – the genius behind many of the Shalamar classic hits.