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Shalamar is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer Jermaine Stewart. It was originally a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and show creator and producer Don Cornelius. They went on to be an influential dance trio, masterminded by Cornelius. As noted in the British Hit Singles & Albums, they were regarded as fashion icons and trendsetters, and helped to introduce "body-popping" to the United Kingdom. Their name was created by Griffey.


The first hit credited to Shalamar was "Uptown Festival" (1977), which was recorded at Ike & Tina Turner's studio Bolic Sound in 1976. It was released on Soul Train Records. Its success inspired Griffey and Don Cornelius to replace session singers with popular Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, to join original Shalamar lead singer Gary Mumford. Gerald Brown took over the spot vacated by Mumford for the group's second album, Disco Gardens (1978), which featured the hit "Take That to the Bank". After conflicts over lack of payment from Griffey and SOLAR (short for Sound of Los Angeles Records), Brown left the group. Howard Hewett replaced Brown in 1979. The group was joined up with producer Leon Sylvers III in 1979, signed with SOLAR, and scored a US million seller with "The Second Time Around" (1979). The "classic" lineup of Hewett, Watley and Daniel would be the most successful.