Heatwave Discography

Completely cosmopolitan with international grooves to spare, Heatwave emerged as one of the disco era's funkiest dance groups. American serviceman brothers Johnnie Wilder and his brother Keith Wilder were based in Germany when they first began performing, and upon their discharge from the Army, the duo stayed in that country. Both singers, the pair gigged in clubs and bars with an assortment of bands while still enlisted. However, they were constantly looking to expand their horizons, and in mid-year they relocated to the U.K. to link up with songwriter/keyboardist Rod Temperton.

The nascent Heatwave quickly came together with the addition of Spanish bassist Mario Mantese, Czechoslovakian drummer Emest Berger, and American guitarists Jesse Whittens and Eric Johns. With so many musical roots between them, it was only natural that they rapidly developed a sophisticated sound, an edge which Temperton would use to push Heatwave ahead of their peers. Jamming and ceaselessly touring the London club circuit allowed Heatwave to define and refine their music, eschewing straight disco beats for a sound that certainly contained that element, but fused it with a rich funk groove. That hard work paid off as the band signed to U.K. label GTO (Epic in the U.S) and began formulating their first album in fall 1976. They were paired in the studio with GTO house producer/session guitarist Barry Blue, who'd had his own string of hit singles, "Dancing on a Saturday Night" and "Do You Wanna Dance" among them in the early '70s.

The recording sessions nearly derailed, however, when Whittens was murdered before the band had even entered the studio. He was replaced with rhythm guitarist Roy Carter, and a pair of singles, "Ain't No Half Steppin'" and "Super Soul Sister," appeared before the end of 1976, to be followed by January 1977's anthemic "Boogie Nights."

That single reached number two on the British pop charts (it wouldn't appear on the American radar until later that summer, when it became a Top Five hit). The group's long-awaited debut album, Too Hot to Handle, finally appeared in late spring 1977, giving Heatwave a number 11 hit in the U.S. It cruised to number five on the R&B charts, while the next single, the sweet soul ballad "Always and Forever," closed out the year with a number two U.S. hit in December.

Although their star power seemed unstoppable, Heatwave were to take some hard knocks in 1978, as first Johns, then Temperton quit the band. Although Temperton would continue writing new songs for Heatwave, he swiftly became better known for his songwriting for other artists, penning award-winning songs for some of funk's heaviest hitters, including Rufus and the Brothers Johnson. He also wrote for Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, but his most famous partnership remains the one forged with Michael Jackson, writing two songs, "Rock with You" and "Off the Wall," for Jackson's 1979 Off the Wall LP. He then returned to Jackson's camp in 1982 with three songs for the Thriller LP, including the seminal title track.

Shaken but undaunted by recent events, Heatwave was about to return to the studio, only to be dealt another blow as Mantese was stabbed by his girlfriend. He was clinically dead for several minutes, remained paralyzed, and had no alternative but to leave the band. Derek Bramble replaced him. Adding guitarist William Jones and keyboardist Calvin Duke to the group, and now working with new producer Phil Ramone, Heatwave cut Hot Property.

Soon after, Heatwave received another dismal blow as Carter left to carve his own path as a producer, ultimately having major success with Linx in the early '80s. He was replaced by keyboardist Keith Harrison, but just as it seemed that the band might finally put their shakeups behind them, founder Johnnie Wilder was involved in a terrible car crash. Although he survived the accident, he was paralyzed from the neck down.

Bramble quit the band at the end of 1982, like Carter, for a career in production (he would go on to work with David Bowie on 1984's Tonight LP, and later masterminded Jaki Graham's breakthrough). Nichols, too, decamped to fill Lionel Richie's shoes in the Commodores. At the end of a staggering series of departures, the remaining members of Heatwave essentially brought down the curtain -- the band was rendered inactive, and for all intents disbanded.

Album: Too Hot To Handle (1976)

01. Too Hot to Handle
02. Boogie Nights
03. Ain't No Half Steppin'
04. Always and Forever
05. Super Soul Sister
06. All You Do Is Dial
07. Lay It on Me
08. Sho'nuff Must Be Luv
09. Beat Your Booty

http://depositfiles.com/files/6nfyf5ycs

Album: Central Heating (1977)

01. Put the Word Out
02. Send Out for Sunshine
03. Central Heating
04. Happiness Togetherness
05. Groove Line
06. Mind Blowing Decisions
07. Star of a Story
08. Party Poops
09. Leavin' for a Dream

http://depositfiles.com/files/8cdskt0i7

Album: Hot Property (1979)

01. Razzle Dazzle
02. Eyeballin'
03. This Night We Feel
04. Raise a Blaze
05. First Day of Snow
06. One Night Tan
07. Therm Warfare
08. All Talked Out
09. That's the Way We'll Always Say Goodnight
10. Disco

http://depositfiles.com/files/h9etqlz20

Album: Candles (1980)

01. Gangsters of the Groove
02. Jitterbuggin'
03. Party Suite
04. Turn Around
05. Posin' Til Closin'
06. All I Am
07. Dreamin' You
08. Goin' Crazy
09. Where Did I Go Wrong

http://depositfiles.com/files/bfovrj1lg

Album: Current (1982)

01. Lettin' It Loose
02. State to State
03. Look After Love
04. Naturally
05. Big Guns
06. Find It in Your Heart
07. Hold on to the One
08. Mind What You Find

http://depositfiles.com/files/4mykyej85

Album: The Best of Heatwave: Always & Forever (1996)

01. Boogie Nights
02. Too Hot to Handle
03. The Groove Line (Special Disco Version)
04. Always and Forever
05. Mind Blowing Decisions
06. Ain't No Half Steppin'
07. Happiness Togetherness
08. Central Heating
09. Eyeballin' (Special Disco Version)
10. Gangsters of the Groove
11. Where Did I Go Wrong
12. Lettin' It Loose
13. Look After Love

http://depositfiles.com/files/jsdhy8xk6

Album: Greatest Hits (2008)

01. Boogie Nights
02. Always And Forever
03. Lettin' It Loose
04. Look After Love
05. The Groove Line
06. Gangsters Of The Groove
07. Mind Blowing Decisions
08. Posin' Til Closin'
09. The Big Guns

http://depositfiles.com/files/g7x2w1f0q

Enjoy!!!!