Cashmere

Formed around the voice of former Heaven & Earth vocalist Dwight Dukes, Cashmere had a brief run in the mid-80s on Philly World Records. Their dance oriented music bore more than a slight resemblance to Michael Jackson's  Thriller-era work, especially on their debut, which was filled with Dukes' vocal hiccups and popping.  The group, which varied from a duo to a quartet over its three albums -- including at various points McKinley Horton, Daryl Burgee and Keith Steward -- was consistently listenable and recorded a number of enjoyable tracks like "Light of Love," "Let The Music Turn You On" and "We Need Love."  However, they never moved beyond middling chart success, and after their trio of mid-80s albums they faded from view.  Their output has since been re-issued on the Hot Productions label.

By Chris Rizik