Peter Brown (singer) - Music Career (1977-85)

Music Career (1977-85)

Late in 1977, TK Records announced that sales of the 12” version of "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me" had reached the million dollar mark making it the first gold 12” single in history. Before too long the album went gold as well.

Billboard Magazine’s Year End #1 Awards for 1978 named Brown the #1 new male album artist, #3 new album artist and #10 pop male artist. Also #11 pop male album artist, #16 soul artists and #11 soul albums. Cash Box Magazine’s Year End Awards issue for 1978 named Brown #1Top Male Single Vocalist, #1 Top New Male Single Vocalist and #2 Top Male Album Vocalist along with #3 Crossover R&B Male.

The 1978 Record World Magazine Disco Awards named Brown Outstanding New Performer, Top New Male Vocalist and Top Male Vocalist. He was also nominated by NARAS (The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) in 1978 for a Grammy Award for best R&B Vocal Performance for the song Dance With Me. Dance With Me also included a guest vocal performance by Betty Wright. Also in 1978, Brown's single "Crank It Up" peaked in the Billboard Disco Chart at #4.

His first professional performance came on the American Bandstand television show, hosted by Dick Clark. That year, Brown also took part in the filming of a television special to promote the upcoming movie Foul Play with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. He also filmed a segment for the television show 60 minutes showing the process of how a song is actually recorded in the recording studio. Later years saw him performing on the Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and as a presenter on the American Music Awards. On tour in 1978, Brown and his band (now with additional members Keith Anderson, drums, Joe Guzzo, guitar, Mike Hllinger, keyboards and Wildflower, background vocals) played venues as diverse as New York's Bottom Line and Madison Square Garden.

On Brown's second album (recorded at Studio Center and Criteria Recording studios in North Miami, Florida), Stargazer, he was joined by Laura Taylor and Dan Hartman singing background vocals on the song "It's Alright". In an interview with Claes Widlund (Disco Guy of www.disco-disco.com), Brown recalled, "Having Dan Hartman join me singing background vocals for my album was great fun. Then there was the completely unexpected, late night visit by Eartha Kitt. To this day I'm not sure why she decided to drop in." In the same interview, Joe Guzzo commented saying, "Peter was from a more sophisticated background than some of us others in the band. He was a very intelligent and talented person, and he was more of a quiet person most of the time. He would always appear to think and pause before his sentences came out. He was very serious about his music and was not a wild party animal on the road."

In 1980, Brown released another charting dance song (#6 on Billboard's Disco Chart) called "Can't Be Love - Do It To Me Anyway", which was only released as a 12" single and never appeared on an album. The initial success of his career was soon overshadowed by legal disputes and the eventual bankruptcy of TK Records. After the dust cleared he was able to sign a new record contract with Warner Brothers with the help of a new management team, Wiesner/DeMann Entertainment. The 1983 album was called Back To The Front and was produced by Brown with executive producer Bob Gaudio (The Four Seasons) and recorded at Gaudio/Valli Recording Studios in Hollywood California. Featured are musical guests Michael Brecker (saxophone) and Michael Boddicker (synthesizers). From this album, the song Baby Get's High reached #6 on Billboard's Disco Chart. Brown remained with Freddy DeMann after he started a solo management company whose clients included Madonna and Michael Jackson.

In 1985, Brown co-wrote "Material Girl", which became one of Madonna's biggest hits and signature song. It also made Brown's music publishing company, Minong Publishing one of the year's top music publishers. Brown recalled, "We were trying to write a song for her and we were brainstorming for some musical direction that seemed to suit her. I was driving home when I started humming the chorus to a song. I could hear the whole thing in my head as if it were a finished record. It was all there in a flash, music and lyrics. Living in a material world, living in a material world. It is the one and only time a song has come to me like that - like a gift from heaven. I remember forcing myself to sing it over and over while I made my way home so as not to become distracted by something else and forget it completely. When I got home I quickly played and sang it into a recorder to lock it in. There was her song."

Brown also wrote a song for Agnetha Faltskog titled "Maybe It Was Magic". Peter Cetera from the group Chicago was producing her solo album I Stand Alone, and liked the song. Brown also wrote "East Meets West" for the Japanese group Sandii And The Sunsetz. Brown's final hit was "They Only Come Out At Night" which hit the number one slot on Billboard Magazine's Dance Chart in April 1984. Brown's fourth and final album was titled Snap and was recorded at Pumpkin Recording Studios in Oak Lawn Illinois, owned by Gary Loizzo, who was a former member of The American Breed and sang their hit "Bend Me Shape Me" in 1968. This album contained the song "Zie Zie Won't Dance" which spawned Brown's music video by the same name. The video, filmed in London, was nominated for best video (special effects, art direction and editing) along with videos by Madonna and Bruce Springsteen at the second MTV Music Video Awards in 1985.

In the late 1980s a severe case of tinnitus prompted Brown to quit the music business in an attempt to preserve his damaged hearing. He began a design company which headed the award-winning redesign of the Chicago Board Options Exchange Internet site, among other wide ranging design and architectural projects.

Today, Brown continues an entrepreneurial life from his home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.