Chapter 8 (band)

Chapter 8 was a Detroit soul group of the 1970s and 1980s formed by Michael J. Powell and David Washington. Anita Baker was featured as lead vocalist on their first, self-titled album on Ariola in 1979, produced by Michael and Derek.

Chapter 8
OriginDetroit, Michigan
GenresDetroit soul
Years active1970s-1980s
LabelsAriola
Beverly Glen
Capitol
Associated actsAnita Baker
MembersMichael J. Powell
Derek Dirckson
Gerald Lyles
David Washington
Van Cephus
Courtlen Hale
Scott Guthre
Alan Nance
Valerie Pinkston
Past membersAnita Baker

History

The group was started in Detroit in the late 1970s. Derek Dirckson became the band leader after James Mitchell asked Derek to play drums with Chapter 8, who were at the time the backup Band for the Detroit Emeralds. In 1979, Dirckson and Michael J. Powell produced the first album expanding the groups roster to include Anita Baker, Gerald Lyles, David Washington, Van Cephus, Courtlen Hale, Scott Guthre, and Allen Nance. In 1985, Valerie Pinkston replaced Baker as the lead vocalist and was featured on "This Love's For Real"

As Chapter 8 was the launching pad for Baker, so was it for Michael J. Powell who went on to produce Baker's "Rapture", "Giving You The Best That I Got", and "Compositions" albums. Many of the Chapter 8 group members can be found performing on these 1980s recording masterpieces.

Ariola was merged with the Bertelsmann Music Group (the same company that owned Arista Records, the longtime home of Baker's main rival Whitney Houston) in 1987, and Baker would end a ten-year hiatus in 2004, when she released "My Everything" under Capitol's Blue Note Records sub-label.

Derek Dirckson went on to discover, manage and produce, Fred Hammond, Commissioned, The Winans, John P. Kee, Mary, Mary, and the great gospel plays, "Momma Don't", "Wicked", "Come Out of The Rain", and many more. In 1999, Dirckson opened the Blackstage Pass Recording Studio in Detroit, Michigan. Dirckson recorded his first solo CD entitled "Dirckson". The CD features Evangelist Ella Worthington and Minister Noah I. Brown on lead vocals.

Discography

Extended plays
  • 1979: Chapter 8 (EP, Ariola)[1]
  • 1985: This Love's For Real (Beverly Glen Records)
  • 1988: Forever (Capitol Records)
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References
  1. David Nathan The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of Over a Dozen Divine Divas New York: Billboard Books, 1999. p.348 "The group's first self-titled album hit the streets in the fall of 1979 and yielded two R&B chart singles, "Ready for Your Love" and "l Just Want to Be Your Girl." Even though "l Just Want to Be Your Girl" did poorly on the charts at the time, the tune would go on to become something of a classic among R&B music collectors. Certainly, the song gave listeners a first real taste of Anita's sultry, velvet-toned, smoky alto sound even though it didn't exactly set the world on fire in terms of airplay or sales. "
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