GQ

GQ was an R&B and disco band best known for their massive 1979 hit single “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)”. However, the band’s origins began more than a decade before when the soul quartet Sabu & the Survivors formed in the Bronx, New York in 1968. Founded by Keith ‘Sabu’ Crier, the band then evolved into funk band The Rhythm Makers in the early 1970s. Comprised of members Keith ‘Sabu’ Crier (bass/vocals), Emanuel Rahiem LeBlanc (lead vocals/guitar), Herb Lane (keyboard/vocals), and Kenny Banks (drums/vocals), The Rhythm Makers released the album Soul on Your Side in 1976. Their single “Zone” proved to be a dancefloor hit. Two years later, Kenny Banks was replaced by Paul Service and the band changed their name to GQ. Signing to Arista Records, the band’s sound embraced the burgeoning disco music sound, and they released their debut album Disco Nights in 1979. The single “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)” – which was a reworked version of the Rhythm Makers’ “Soul on Your Side” - was an enormous hit, reaching Number 1 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart and Number 12 on the Hot 100 Singles chart. It was also a big hit overseas, climbing to Number 42 on the UK Singles chart. The album’s second single, a cover of Billy Stewart’s “I Do Love You”, reached Number 20 on the Hot 100 Singles chart. In 1980, the band released their second album GQ Two, which didn’t fare as well in the charts thanks to disco music’s quick decline in popularity. By the release of their third album, Face to Face (1981), GQ’s popularity had waned, and they split up. Keith ‘Sabu’ Crier died on September 29, 2013.

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