Chocolate Milk

The mid-70s brought a cadre of talented self-contained R&B and funk bands, and many of them have not gotten their due in the decades that followed. New Orleans-based Chocolate Milk was one of them. Consisting of Frank Richard (vocals), Amadee Castenell (saxophone), Joe Foxx (trumpet),^[1] Mario Tio (guitars), Earnest Dabon (bass), Robert Dabon (keyboards/piano) and Dwight Richards (drums/percussion), Chocolate Milk began as the house band for many productions of legendary producer Allen Toussaint before signing a recording deal with RCA.

Between 1975 and 1982, Chocolate Mile recorded eight albums, all featuring a tasty mix of funk, soul and disco. But the band’s biggest hit came on the very first release. “Action Speaks Louder Than Words” hit the R&B Top 20 and became an across-the-board hit. It was the biggest of the band’s successes, but not the last, as they charted highly in 1978 with “Girl Callin” and again in ’81 with “Blue Jeans,” on the way to a dozen chart hits before the band split in the mid-80s.