Career
Filipino singer Tony Reynolds was added, at which point the band became known as Odyssey. The group was best known for its December 1977 hit "Native New Yorker", which reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #5 in the UK Singles Chart. It was later covered by Frankie Valli. Although a string of albums and singles followed, the group managed only one other R&B chart hit, the Slave-produced "Inside Out", written by Jesse Rae, which peaked at US #12/UK #3 in 1982. Reynolds, for unknown reasons, left after the first album and was replaced by Fayetteville, North Carolina native William "Bill" McEachern, who remained with the group throughout the remainder of its RCA record label output. During that time, Lillian's eldest son, Brooklyn-born Steven Collazo joined the group as keyboardist, vocalist and musical director. Tony Reynolds died on February 2, 2010, while residing in his home in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He had worked as an electrician for the New York City Police for over 20 years, and formed a band within the Police Department.
In the United Kingdom, the band with its diverse musical style had more chart success, totalling five Top Ten hits between 1977 and 1982. One of them, "Use It Up and Wear It Out", reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in 1980. The UK follow-up single, "If You're Looking For A Way Out" had Lillian Lopez on lead vocals; the single reaching #6 in 1980 and spending a total of fifteen weeks in the UK chart. Odyssey thus became the third US act of the year (after Fern Kinney and M.A.S.H.) to reach number one in the UK despite not charting in their home country. Their later hit "Going Back to My Roots" was written and originally recorded by Lamont Dozier.
Post RCA, Odyssey, composed of Lillian Lopez, Al Jackson and Steven Collazo, continued touring, performing, and making television appearances throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East. Lillian Lopez and Jackson married in 2000, and retired from the music industry in 2003. Lillian died on 4 September 2012 of cancer.
Read more about this topic: Odyssey (band)
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