This blog is about how I learned of one band that spawned four other bands and left a lasting impression on disco.
Fall semester of 1999, I was a sophomore at the University of Southern Mississippi. During that time I was discovering all types of new and different music. I’m not exactly sure why I was so ripe for new music but I was ready. I guess at the time, you could call my musical taste “alt and underground”.
That same semester, my friend Amon’s homeboy, Del, from New York City came to visit. While we were hanging out at Amon’s apartment, Del was playing a cassette tape (an actual mixtape) of songs he had put together. It was a mix of hip-hop and R&B but there was one song that stuck out to me that I would soon spend the next couple of years of my life obsessing over. That song was “Sunshower” by Dr. Buzzard Original Savannah Band. Up until that point, I had never heard anything like it. It was very reminiscent of 1920’s flapper style with 1960’s big band with a pinch funk. It was extremely light hearted, fun and nostalgic. I truly fell in love with this song. It’s something about those children’s vocals at the beginning that gets me every time.
If I remember correctly, Del made me a copy of the song which was cool but I wanted to find the actual album in hopes of discovering more music from this group. Little did I know how hard it would be to find.
Back in late 1999 and early 2000, when record stores were still a thing, I went to every record shop looking for this album and I couldn’t find it anywhere until one record shop offered to order it for me. This was also back before you could order things online. A few weeks after I put my order in, the album shows up. I was ecstatic to say the least. I quickly fell in love with Dr. Buzzard Original Savannah Band. The album was way better than I was expecting. Over the next few years, I would learn more about the band. They were not from the 1920’s or the 1960’s, they were in fact a New York City based disco band from the late 70’s. The band consisted of Stony Browder Jr, Thomas “August Darnel” Browder aka Kid Creole, Corey Daye, Andy Hernandez aka Coati Mundi and Micky Sevilla. Dr. Buzzard is probably most known as the sample from Ghostface Killah’s big hit “Cherchez La Ghost”.
I’m not going to give you the bands complete history, you can Google that. This is about me connecting a web of characters associated with the band.
The second musician I want to link is Coati Mundi (Andy Hernadez). Coati Mundi is what sparked me to write this post because after doing my internet research about him, I discovered that all these acts were connected through Dr. Buzzard. So, a couple of months ago I was watching the 1987 film starring a young Madonna called “Who’s That Girl?”. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a fun watch. It’ll make you very nostalgic for the 80’s. In the movie one of the bad guys is played by Coati Mundi. Coati played the xylophone in Dr. Buzzard. Coati was a percussionist and hype man in Kid Creole and The Coconuts, which I’m going to talk about next. Coati was also a solo artist and actor. He’s been in a couple of Spike Lee movies as well. Years ago, I remember watching Downtown 81 starring Jean Michel Basquiat and recognizing Coati in that film. It wasn’t until then did I learn about Kid Creole and The Coconuts. Although, I didn’t deep dive into their catalog until a few months ago. The Downtown 81 trailer also a featured a Kid Creole song.
After making the connection that Coati Mundi was in Kid Creole and The Coconuts, I really started to connect the web of these amazing musicians and artist. Kid Creole (August Darnell) was also in Dr. Buzzard. It’s unclear why but August Darnell left Dr. Buzzard to created Kid Creole and The Coconuts with Coati Mundi but I’m glad they did. I may be a bit more stoked on Kid Creole than Dr. Buzzard because they had such a unique sound. It was tropical, big band, funk dance music. I guess that’s calypso? Kid Creole had a slew songs but more importantly their live shows appear to have been the most fun and wildest shows ever. I’ve spent hours on YouTube watching their performances and I’m shocked more people don’t talk about them. They were sort of like the B-52’s before the B-52’s but better. It’s sad that a musical act like this is almost forgotten and never talked about.
Kid Creole did a great job of creating this zoot suit, tropical fantasy in the music. Watching these YouTube clips are a great example of how immersive the live shows were. There were always a lot of people on stage, lots of musicians and tons of theatrics. The live show feels like an off-broadway musical.
Cory Daye was the woman behind the vocals for Dr. Buzzard. Her singing was what made that sound so melodic and jazzy. Cory later left Dr. Buzzard to start her own solo career. UNSCRIPTED: CONVERSATIONS WITH CHRISTIAN JOHN WIKANE produced an excellent interview with Cory about the early days, her solo career and more.
The last group is Don Armando’s 2nd Ave Rhumba Band. Armando Bonilla was a percussionist in Dr. Buzzard. I’m still digging into their music but as far as I know, they only had one album which had a couple of big hits including “Deputy of Love” and “I’m Indian Too”. Listening to these song really makes me imagine late 70’s early 80’s disco clubs in New York City. Their music is full of pulsating rhythms and energetic vocals. It’s sad that music like this will never be made again but I’m happy that I found it. Thank you for nerding out with me on this deep dive.