Drive Album Discography
By Patrice Eyries, Mike Callahan, David Edwards and Randy Watts
Last update: April 19, 2010





Drive was a TK subsidiary based in Miami, owned by Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo, but it was one of the least successful of the many T.K. labels. What success they did have primarily came through a Peter Brown string of five disco hits, beginning with "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me?" in 1977. Other than the five Peter Brown singles, only a few others of over 50 singles released on Drive sold enough to make the R&B or dance charts.

The Drive label began about 1972 with "Motor City Madness" by Together [Drive 6223], followed by unsuccessful singles by Willie Johnson, the Fabulous Chromes, Frank Nassan, Johnny K [Killen] & the Home Boys, Chuck Armstrong, the Ocean Liners, the Perfections, and High Voltage. It was fall, 1974, before Drive got any taste of the national record charts.

The breakthrough band was called Miami (appropriately enough), and made #51 on the R&B charts with "Party Freaks" [Dash 6234]. This success warranted Drive's first album, The Party Freaks [Drive 101]. Miami featured lead vocalist Robert Moore, along with guitarist Warren Thompson, keyboardist Bobby Williams, bassist Willie Jackson, and drummer Freddie Scott. The group had a total of eight singles and three albums on Drive, but only had one more hit single, "Kill that Roach" [Drive 6251, 8/76, #42 R&B/#102 pop], which headlined their second album, Notorious Miami [Drive 102], which reached #57 on the R&B album charts.

Raiders with Carl Driggs (from www.paulrevereraiders.com) Another Miami disco group, Family Plann, had a #71 R&B charter in June, 1975, with "Sexy Summer." Other than the two Miami charters and the Family Plann hit, Drive had a long dry spell until the summer of 1977. Singles by Jimmy "Bo" Horne, Toby King, the Funky Party Band, Joey Porrello, Debra Anderson, Rocky Mizell & the Sugar Rock Band, Wild Honey, and the Funk Machine all failed.

For a time in early 1976, it looked like Drive would take a different direction, as three straight singles were by rock and roll acts from the 1960s. The first, Dash 6248, seemed strikingly out of place at first glance: Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Ain't Nothin' Wrong"/"You're Really Saying Something." That is, until one realized that the band was nothing like the band of the 1960s. Mark Lindsay was gone, Drake Levin was gone, Phil Volk was gone, Jim Valley was gone...in short, everybody was gone from the group's heydays except Paul Revere, who owned the name. Carl Driggs, who had been the lead singer for Kracker and helped on an album by Foxy, all on T.K.'s Dash label, became the lead singer for Paul Revere & the Raiders.

The second single of the sixties rock threesome was Wayne Cochran's "Sea Cruise"/"Shoot the Model" [Drive 6249], while Drive 6250 was "The Day the Clown Cried"/"Our Day Is Here" by Jimmy Beaumont & the Skyliners (!?). None of the three charted, and Drive was soon back to disco and R&B.

A Fantasy Love Affair cover In the summer of 1977, Drive finally had a big hit. Peter Brown's "Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me" [Drive 6258/T.K. Disco 35] made #18 on the pop charts, #3 on the R&B charts, and #9 on the dance charts. The disco 12" single was reportedly the first disco single to sell a million copies. The song had backing vocals by Wildflower, the group who recorded for T.K.'s Dash label. Peter Brown was a home tinkerer, building his own studio at home and recording ideas and demos there. He met Cory Wade, a Chicago-based music producer, and began sending him ideas on tape. He sent a three-song tape with a ballad on it he thought would be a hit, but Wade liked another of the three a lot better. It was "Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me". Wade played the demo for Henry Stone and a contract and album deal followed shortly thereafter. Stone wanted to release the demo as is, but Brown was reluctant to release a record he had recorded in his bedroom on a 4-track recorder, with all the instruments done by himself except a saxophone overdub by a friend. He talked Stone into redoing the song in a professional studio, adding background vocals, etc.

The album, A Fantasy Love Affair [Drive 104], also sold well, making #11 on the top pop albums and #9 on the R&B albums charts, helped no doubt by the striking cover artwork. That, too, was done by Peter Brown himself, who started out photographing friends in various poses through sheers in a neighbor's window. Unsatisfied, he finally constructed a cardboard cutout of a model from a composite of photos in Playboy, and photographed that through the window (Hmmm... Del Reeves' "Girl on the Billboard" comes to mind...). A second single from the album, "Dance with Me", with additional vocals by Betty Wright [Drive 6269/T.K. Disco 75] was released in December, 1977, and made #58 on the pop charts, but #5 on the R&B charts and #4 on the dance charts. A non-LP single followed, "You Should Do It" [Drive 6272], also with Betty Wright, which made #54 pop and #25 R&B in the fall of 1978. Going back to the first album, the next single, "A Fantasy Love Affair"/"It's True What They Say About Love" [Drive 6274/T.K. Disco 127], released near the end of 1978, failed to chart.

Peter Brown Brown's second album, Stargazer [Drive 108], was released in early 1980. It contained his hit from the previous summer, "Crank It Up (Funk Town)" [Drive 6278/T.K. Disco 151], which reached #9 on the R&B charts and #4 on the dance charts (#86 pop). Another single was pulled from the album in April, "Can't Be Love-Do It to Me Anyway" [Drive 6286/Drive 12" 441], which reached #6 on the dance charts and #74 R&B. The dance clubs were not going to be limited to the singles released, though, as in the meantime "Love in Our Hearts/Leadmeon" from the LP also made #65 on the dance charts starting in February, 1980. Peter Brown eventually retired from performing, partly due to hearing problems. He did, however, write Madonna's hit "Material Girl."

The same summer that "Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me" was sailing up the charts, Drive had another chart record, as "Theme from Disco" by Sassy [Drive 6260/T.K. Disco 46] reached #36 on the dance charts. Other artists with unsuccessful singles for the label included Harry Deal & the Galaxies, the Bad City Band, Midnight Magic, the Funk Machine, the Florida Players, Uptown Local featuring Bobby Cotter, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, Brenda & Herb, George Fischoff, and Wizzdom, who had the honor of the last single released, "Love Was Really Meant for You"/"I'm So in Love with You" [Drive 6287].

Gypsy Lane was a Philadelphia-based sextet featuring two lead singers backed by a four-piece band. They had one album on Drive, Predictions [Drive 106], but no singles. The singers were "Gypsy Lane" and Phil Hurtt, and they were backed by (all shared background vocals) Jimmy Lee (lead guitar), Rodger Lee (rhythm guitar), Alfonso Carey (bass), and Russell Dabney (drums). Keyboards on this album were provided by Nathanial Wilkie, although arranger Larry Davis usually played keyboards. The Gypsy Lane Band has reformed and is performing in Miami today, but only Alfonso Carey and Larry Davis are original members. Band members were in several other acts' backing bands, including the Village People's.

"Brenda & Herb" were Brenda and Herb Reid, formerly members of the Exciters, who hit in 1962 with "Tell Him." The duo had a hit in England with "Reachin' for the Best" in 1975, but their 1978 album In Heat Again [Drive 109] contained no hits, as their one single on Drive, "I Who Have Nothing"/"Sweet Dreamer" [Drive 6275/T.K. Disco 127] did not chart.

The J.B.'s, of course, were a spinoff of James Brown's band (hence the name), led by Fred Wesley. Their first single for Drive, "Rock Groove Machine, Parts 1 & 2" [Drive 6277/T.K. Disco 436] made #82 on the Dance charts. Their followup single, "Just Wanna Make You Dance"/"The Groove Machine" [Drive 6282], taken from Drive's last album release, Groove Machine [Drive 111], missed the charts.

The early Drive singles label was purple with silver print (far left), with the label name in block print at the top. For "Party Freaks," the label's first chart hit, labels with the same design are known in rose color with black print (near left), or white with red print (see story above).
The first Drive label for the albums (far left) featured a grey roadway with a double-yellow line, and green grass along the road, depicted in perspective. The label name "DRIVE" was written in white lettering on the top half of the label. About the time the first album came out (certainly by #6236), the singles changed to a similar label (near left).
In 1979, starting with Peter Brown's Stargazer album (far left) , the album labels and singles labels (near left) changed to a design showing a tire tread at the top with the label name "Drive" in white on the tread. The label was blue-grey with black print.
Disco 12-inch singles labels (near left) were grey, and showed a tire tread at the top with "Drive" on the tread. Promotional labels (near left), even long after the first singles label design was discontinued, still used that style. They were white with black print, with "DRIVE" in block letters at the top. Albums as late as Drive 109 used this promo label design, although most of the time promos used the regular label with a small promotional notice overprinted on it.



We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Drive or TK Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2010 by Mike Callahan.



DRIVE ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

Cover


Number - Title - Artist - [Release Date] (Chart) Contents



Drive 100 Series:

101 - The Party Freaks - Miami featuring Robert Moore [1974] Hey Y'all, We're Miami/Funk It Up/Nobody But You Babe/Freak On Down My Way/Party Freaks (Part Two)//Party Freaks/I Can See Through You/Same Ol' Beat/Chicken Yellow (Let Me Do It To You)

102 - Notorious Miami - Miami [1976] (9-76, #57 R&B) Kill That Roach/Hold On To What You Got/Mr. Notorious/If You Love Me (Like You Say You Love Me)//I'll Hold The Groove/I Can't Help Myself/Do It Together/Come On Dance With Me

103 - Rocky Mizell & the Sugar Rock Band - Rocky Mizell & Sugar Rock Band [1977] Hey Sexy Dancer/If You Don't Mind I Don't Mind/You're Sweeter Than The Taste Of Honey/Take It Easy Babe//Never Never Girl/Shake Your Body Down/This Must Be Love/Come To Me

104 - A Fantasy Love Affair [aka Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me?] - Peter Brown [9/77] (1-78, #11 pop/#9 R&B) Fantasy Love Affair/Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me?/Burning Love Breakdown/You Should Do It//The Singer's Become A Dancer/For Your Love/Dance With Me/It's True What They Say About Love/Without Love

105 - Miami - Miami [1977] You've Come A Long Way Baby/Freak Around/Strange/I've Been Lovin' You Too Long//Eye For An Eye/Broken Down Man/Let Me See Some Knees Pleeze

106 - Predictions - Gypsy Lane [1978] Show Me How To Groove/I Could Use Some Loving/Boogie Woogie Woman//Sing/Hey Sister/We'll Have Love

107 - Let It Out - Jimmy Castor Bunch [1978] Let It Out/Bertha Butt Encounters Vadar/Future Place/The Real McCoy/Sweettooth//The Mystery Of Me/My Brightest Day/Time/She's All I Need/You Light Up My Life



Note: Album labels change here from the first ("road") design to the second ("tire") design.

108 - Stargazer - Peter Brown [1979] (1-80, #71 R&B) Crank It Up/It's Alright/Stargazer/Got To Get The Show On The Road//Leadmeon/West Of The North Star/Love In Our Hearts/Penguin

109 - In Heat Again - Brenda & Herb [1979] I Think I'm Gonna Like This/I Who Have Nothing/Lie Down/I Wanna Make You My Sweetheart//The Two Of Us/Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad/Look What They've Done To Our City/What Goes Around/Tonight I'm Gonna Make You A Star

110 -

111 - Groove Machine - J.B.'s [1979] Rock Groove Machine/Georgia Peach Disco//Just Wanna Make You Dance - Featuring Maxxi/Rock Disco #1/Rock





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