Interviews

Albin: Hello Terry. First of all I would like to thank you for accepting to run this interview. Could you introduce yourself to those who don’t know you yet ? Let us know more about your career and your involvement in the 80’s Funk music scene.

Terry: I was born and raised in New York City (The Big Apple), and grew up mainly in Queens, New York.  In 1976, I moved with my family to Los Angeles where my brother, Elliott  had already lived for a few years prior, in SANTA MONICA, CA.  Around this time, my brother was the sound engineer for a funk group called, “FREE LIFE” that was produced by Phillip Bailey (lead vocalist for Earth, Wind & Fire).  FREE LIFE was an outstanding live band who recorded an album by the same name for EPIC Records.  Their album had moderate success, but contained numerous hit songs.  Among their best was, “I’ll Keep a light in my Window,” ;and the smooth ballad, “Wish you were hear.” 

FREE LIFE was blessed to have several excellent lead vocalist including Julius Carey, Winston Ford, and Diane Reeves.  Diane subsequently went on to become an internationally renown Grammy-winning jazz vocalist  Winston Ford is best known for his lead vocals (I can dream about you!) for the 1984 film, “STREETS OF FIRE,” which was written and subsequently release by Dan Hartman. 

My experience hanging out with my brother and Winston Ford inspired me to try my hand at songwriting and producing.  I became a lifetime member of the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase, and would regularly attend their meetings where you could hear the best works of up and coming hit song writers like, Dian Warren.  I became good friends with Len Chandler and John Braheny who founded the L.A. Songwriters Showcase, and did computer programming to develop and maintain their membership list, as a side hustle to earn my lifetime membership.  Both John and Len are LEGENDS in the L.A. songwriting arena!

So, around 1980, I purchased a TEAC 80-8 recorder, mixer, and lots of keyboards and other equipment, and converted the den in my home into a small studio where my brother and I stared our production company, APPLE BROTHERS MUSC.  We recorded many demos in my studio by some really excellent bands and solo artist, most of which were never released by major labels.  However, we did have some modest CLUB success with our own materials that we recorded under the name, BANTU.  We released two maxi-singles.  The first of which was in 1984 with, “I been checkin’ you out,” b/w  “Don’t you just kick back” .  Our second release by BANTU was, “Babylon Warriors.”   On both these APPLE BROTHERS releases, Stan “The Guitar Man” Jones can be heard laying down some funky rhythm guitar riffs.  Stan went on to become a member of the funk band, FINESSE, which I will come back to in a minute.  Perhaps most notably, STAN “The Guitar Man” Jones also was the first guitarist for NWA, EASY-E, Coolio, THE DOC, and many other Compton, CA based rappers who created what is known as “gangster rap.” 

My associate with Stand “The Guitar Man” Jones was before his days with NWA.  Me and Stan hung out together almost every day working on grooves in my home studio, and going to other recording sessions all over Los Angeles.  Often we worked with another killer guitar player, Bennie “Bendrix” Williams who did a lot of work with the late, Teena Marie, and co-wrote many songs with Teena Marie including: “Lips to Find You,”  “Help Youngblood to get to the Freaky Party,”  (GOOGLE Teena Marie and Bendrix).  Although BENDRIX did not lay tracks on the BANTU recordings, he  co-wrote “I been checkin’ you out” and “Don’t you just kick back,”  and we spent MANY hours in the studio trying to find and develop our sound.  Like Stan “The Guitar Man” me and BENDRIX hung out all the time.  These two guys could REALLY play the guitars.  They were like part of my family.  So, this was my “CREW.”  Me. my brother, Stan, and BENDRIX.

Albin: You told me you managed the band FINESSE back in 1984 during their Budweiser Showdown competition and their relationship with Mercury Records. Could you tell us more about this band and collaboration ?

Terry:  Yes, I did manage FINESSE during their successful Budweiser Showdown competition.  Of course, I have already explained my connection to Stan “The Guitar Man” Jones, so it was Stan who asked my to assist the band.  I really didn’t know the other guys in FINESSE at the time, but we were all cool.  I first heard the band at the Budweiser Showdown finals in Los Angeles, where they played their killer song, “The Wizard,” which was eventually release on the radio station KJLH label as part of the Budweiser Showdown deal.  Shortly after the L.A. gig that won the showdown, the band went into the studio to record, “I can’t help myself,” which was released on Mercury Records.  Basically, I interacted with the record company to get promotional copies, set up interviews for the gout and made promotional appearances with them.  After their single was released, I traveled with FINESSE to Chicago for their live performance at the Showdown.  By this time, the group was down to three members from the eight that won the competition.  I never knew what happened, but this is a fact.  So, in Chicago, we made the rounds to local radio stations, and we taped the T.V. show that was hosted by the late great, Lou Rawls (Mr. Budweiser) and the beautiful Jane Kennedy.  If you ever get a copy of that T.V. broadcast, you will see Stan “The Guitar Man” Jones”, Charles the bass player, the lead vocalist, me on drums, and my brother “playing” keyboards.  We actually lip-synced to the tracks, and the band, FINESSE never played live again.

The music and recording industry is a tough field to enter.  However, for creative people, there is always a way to get your stuff out.  The advancement in technology has made production even more accessible.  During this “adventure” that I have described, I learned quite a lot about music publishing, recording engineering, production, band management, and how to get a record made.  Although we APPLE BROTHERS is not known in every household, we had lots of fun, worked with some incredible artists, and even made a little cash along the way.

Albin : As a songwriter and producer in the 80’s, what were your musical influences at the time ?

Terry: As a songwriter and producer in the 80’s, what were your musical influences at the time ? – Well, my taste for music goes back to BIG BAND such as Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey of the 1940; and embraces contemporary music from the 1960 and beyond.  Growing up in New York during the 1960s and 1970s, of course the MOTWON sound was major.  Artists such as Smokie Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the TEMPTATIONS, the FOUR TOPS.  However, my real musical passion is LATIN MUSIC.  Today, it is called, “SALSA.”  But back in the day, it was just BILAR!  Artists such as Eddie and Charlie Palrmeri, the FANYA ALL-STARS, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, and others.  LATIN MUSIC had a MAJOR presence in New York, especially in the 1970s-1980s.   So, I would say the I am most influenced by LATIN MUSIC, with a heavy dose of MOTOWN.  During the 1980s in particular, of course there was Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, DAZZ BAND, Major Harris, the O’JAYS, TIna Turner, Hall & Oates, Eddie Grant.  One of my most favorite artists of the 1980s was Evelyn “Champaign: King (Betcha She don’t Love You,” and “Love Come Down”).

Albin: You explained us in details your involvment in the L.A. music industry during the 80’s but do you have any current or future musical projects ?You explained us in details your involvment in the L.A. music industry during the 80’s but do you have any current or future musical projects ?

Terry: In 1990, I decided to move my life in a different direction.  So, I abandoned my interest in the MUSIC BUSINEES, and decided to return to school for further my education.  I enrolled into the University of Southern California (USC) to complete a MASTERS and Doctorate in Sociology; and earned my PhD in 1996.  My wife and I then moved to GAINESVILLE, Florida, where I was a professor at the University of FLorida from 1996-2007.  In 2007, we relocated to ATLANTA, GA, where I became DEAN FOR HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES at Morehouse College (alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and many other noted persons).  Currently, I am the Dean for Research & Sponsored Programs at Morehouse College.  Even though I stepped away from the MUSIC BUSINESS in the 1990s, my creative interests still have an outlet.  Check our the New Morehouse College FILM STUDIES program that I developed called the, Cinema, Television & Emerging MEdia Studies Program (CTEMS) . 

INTERVIEW WITH BOBBY NUNN – FRIDAY 24TH APRIL, 2015 

After several years of email exchanges with 80’s Funk legend Bobby Nunn, the Boogie80 team finally got the chance to meet him in California for a face to face interview. We are very glad to be able to share this interview with you and hope you will like it. 

Important notice: 

The below interview is a transcription of the original audio interview. Some parts were not transcribed into written form. We suggest you to listen to the full-length audio file (see links at the bottom). 

BOOGIE80: Can you tell us more about your background, where you come from, when did you start making music? 

BOBBY: It all began in Buffalo, New York where I was born and raised. I started taking piano lessons when I was 6 or 7 years old. I kinda had a liking for the keyboard so my parents forced me to take piano lessons, which was a nightmare! I didn’t want to do it! During my teen years, I became more serious about it. My father built a recording studio in the basement and we’d go down there and record every day. It kept us out of trouble. The neighborhood kids came there too and we started recording songs. Me and a friend who lived across the street (Gene Coplin) started a singing duo. We made several records with the help of my father. We sold them on my father’s record label (MoDo). For more information on Bob & Gene, click here. 

BOOGIE80: How did you make it to sign with Motown? 

BOBBY: My first contact was with Philip bailey (Earth Wind & Fire) in 1976. My brother Billy met him in a music store and introduced himself to him. Billy gave him a tape with some demos I recorded in Buffalo. Philip called me and we started talking back and forth. He even came to my house after a EWF concert in Buffalo to hear the band in person. Can you imagine?, I picked Philip up in back of the old Memorial Auditorium in my old Mustang, drove him to my place and we played for him. It was probably 2 o’clock in the morning. 

During that time I met Rick James. Not long after, we started working with him. We rehearsed for about two weeks and then went in the studio where we cut most of the songs on Rick’s first two albums (Come Get It, 1978, Bustin’ Out Of L Seven, 1979). “You and I” and all that stuff were songs recorded by my band in Buffalo. 6 months after that, I moved to L.A to work with Philip. We did an album called Splendor released on Columbia Records in 1979. In 1981, somebody introduced me to Iris Gordy. As I worked with Rick James, people at Motown knew who I was. At this time, the management at Motown changed so I almost didn’t get the deal. I was pretty lucky because there was 16 contracts on the table that were supposed to be reviewed and they only signed two new artists and I was one of them! 

BOOGIE80: The major single of the Second To Nunn album was obviously “She’s Just A Groupie” can you tell more about it? 

BOBBY: Yes. I did “American Bandstand”, toured around and did a bunch of cool things… It wasn’t crazy big but it was considered a hit. 

BOOGIE80: Another track highly appreciated by 80’s Boogie lovers was “Sexy Sassy” and was released at the time as a promo 12’ single with The Mary Jane Girls “Candy Man” on the flip side 

BOBBY: Yeah. Most of the songs I wrote on this album were recorded in a studio in L.A by me alone. I did almost all the playing, all the singing, My Motown albums are pretty much all me. On “Second to Nunn”, there is a real drummer and a horn section playing. When I first wrote “She’s Just a Groupie” and some of the other ones, I used Drumdrops on the demos. It was like a vinyl record with drum beats on it so you could write to it. We used to just record the drums and put stuff on top of it when I couldn’t get a drummer.  

BOOGIE80: Can you tell us more about the instruments you use to do this album? 

BOBBY: A lot of Moog! A lot of the songs were done with just a Micromoog. At the time, that’s all I had when I was recording at home. The bass, all the little horn sounds and parts were played one at a time. For the vocals, we did the same thing. I also used a Fender Rhodes and Arp and Oberhiem synths on some things. 

BOOGIE80: A year after came out your second album Private Party, with “Private Party” was the biggest single along with “Hangin’ Out At The Mall” (Feat. Tata Vega) and “Don’t Knock It (Until You Try It)”, can you tell us more on this album? 

BOBBY: “Don’t Knock It (Until You Try It)” was only released for the UK market. It was actually a last minute song, the last song we did for that album. “Do You Look That Good In The Morning” was recorded earlier on, this song was kinda deep, a lot of people didn’t get it but I enjoyed doing it! 

BOOGIE80: What is your favorite track? 

BOBBY: That’s a good question! I would say “She’s Just A Groupie” on the first LP which was later used by Snoop Dog in his 1996, 2.5 million selling Doggfather LP for the hook on the song “Groupie” (check out audio file for more info). 

BOOGIE80: During your Motown years, did you get to meet some famous artists, do you a special story to share with us about that? 

BOBBY: I was actually supposed to do the Motown25 show but I got bumped at the last minute for HIGH ENERGY (Watch the performance here). At that time, there were a lot of great artists on the label and I knew pretty much everybody. Later, I worked on a project with Berry Gordy for the Alfie Silas album That Look where I wrote the track “That Look” released in 1985. 

Bobby Nunn on the never released “Fresh” album (1984) 

To learn more on this project, check out the audio version (Starts at: 15min16 ) 

BOOGIE80: What was your major musical influence at the time? 

BOBBY: At the time, it was all about Prince but also Earth wind & Fire was a big influence obviously. Rick James had a sound that was pretty much the sound of my band. At the time when I was growing up in Buffalo, I never met Rick. I met him later when he came to record some new stuff in Buffalo and somebody introduced him to me. I was the record guy in Buffalo so whenever someone came here with a record, I wanted to know about it. I was recording in this studio named “Crosseyed Bear” located in Clarence, N.Y. outside of Buffalo. I asked Rick to come and check out the studio. I took him there and he loved the place. That’s where we recorded the songs with him. When we started working with Rick, his stuff was not FUNK, he was almost like rock… like Lenny Kravitz. He did not have that style we know him for but when we recorded that song “You and I” something clicked and it turned into this funk thing! 

BOOGIE80: At the time, did you pay attention to the other artists/bands that were doing that similar kind of music on other labels? Do you still like this kind of music that we refer as 80’s Funk/Boogie? 

BOBBY: Absolutely. I still listen to it and I think it is important to keep it alive. What you guys do for Boogie80 is very important. I got this project I call “ALIVE” where I try to get new music from these artists that are still here. I mean the artists you named in the 80’s… Wouldn’t it be cool to have them going into the studio and cut some new tracks?!! Singles by different artists sold as compilations. 

BOOGIE80: Do you still play and record music? 

BOBBY: Yes sometimes but not for a living. I’m working with some younger artists but I’m mainly in the licensing business. 

BOOGIE80: Can you tell us more about this licensing business you are now involved in? 

BOBBY: My company is BRANJi. We call it “A Creative Wonderland” We work in any area of media including licensing music, videos, marketing…anything related to creativity. If you need songs, jingles, visuals, graphics, websites… We can do whatever you need. Most of our work so far hasn’t been “showbiz” stuff. We have done some televisions ads, corporate presentations for companies, etc.  

Bobby Nunn on his biggest commercial success: 

BOBBY: The biggest record I ever had was “Rocket 2U”, for “The Jets” “Magic” album released in 1987. I wrote and produced it.  After I left Motown, I was writing songs with getting another record deal for myself in mind. I wrote a group of songs and one of them was “Rocket 2U”. It was originally supposed to be recorded by Earth Wind & Fire. In the mean time, I was talking to Bobby Brown in a studio in Hollywood. He was about to release his first solo album. Bobby introduced me to Louil Silas jr from MCA Records and we went to one of the empty rooms where I played him my demos. He really liked the song “Rocket 2U” and wanted to use it for “The Jets”. I was committed to Earth Wind & Fire doing the song but it was taking a very long time for them to start recording it. After a while, Philip Bailey, who was a good friend of mine, told me it was ok to go ahead with the Jets. I decided to record The Jets on the track. I had 100% of the publishing. I wrote and produced it by myself. I made a lot of money! 

To listen to the full length interview check the audio files below: