Now and Then with Justin Kantor: A conversation with O'Bryan, part 2

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    "The Gigolo" was different from a lot of R&B at that time, incorporating rock and new wave elements. How did it come to be your first single?

    That came from one of my synth groove creations. We knew we wanted to come with an uptempo, because that's kind of who I was. We wanted to make people dance. We did consciously think of Kraftwerk and Devo when we did, "He's just a freak, he won't dance"—those low vocals. We were trying to put some punk rock sounds in there.

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    "The Gigolo" was different from a lot of R&B at that time, incorporating rock and new wave elements. How did it come to be your first single?

    That came from one of my synth groove creations. We knew we wanted to come with an uptempo, because that's kind of who I was. We wanted to make people dance. We did consciously think of Kraftwerk and Devo when we did, "He's just a freak, he won't dance"—those low vocals. We were trying to put some punk rock sounds in there.

    Your image changed a bit after the first album. Whereas you were pictured in a tux on the cover of Doin' Alright, you went for a sexier look with open jackets on your next couple of releases. What role did image play in presenting your music?

    I can't say that we purposely went in any one direction for any reason other than when it came time to go shopping! [laughs] As money was made and fashion evolved, you found a store that you didn't know about and bought what you liked. I was styled by someone for Doin' Alright. For the second album, I had gone with Don to Theodore Mann on Rodeo Drive. I saw that red jacket, and I had a red Porsche. It just clicked. Dick Zimmerman, the photographer, had a studio where I could actually drive my car in! And I was wearing leather pants. It was a look that happened. I was a racy young guy driving around town in a Porsche.

    Then when we were looking for something on the next album. Don knew this designer, Rhett Turner. We were going for something that would jump off when the lights would hit it on stage. We went over there and he turned me on to this jacket with gold glass beads sewn on to it. It had work on the back and front. There's a big discussion about Michael Jackson taking my design and running with it. The one I wore on the cover of Be My Lover that suddenly appeared on him in the "We Are the World" video. The only thing that was missing were the tails. I guess he figured if he cut them out—but hey!

    Your remake of Stevie Wonder's "You and I" has come to be one of your best-loved recordings. How did you decide to remake it and name your second album after it?

    It's no secret that Stevie is one of my biggest influences. When Melvin Davis and I started out together, we were the biggest Stevie fans of all time. We were rooming together at the time. One day I came out of my room, and Melvin's sitting in the living room playing these chords on the Fender Rhodes. All of a sudden both of us realize, "Hey! That right there...we could sing 'You and I' over that!" It was just one of those things that happened. I started singing the lyric and melody. We just went with it. It's so nonchalant how it came about, and it's been a staple of mine for all these years.

    Another staple of yours that came from the You and I album is "Soul Train's a-Comin'," which was used for a number of years as the opening theme for Soul Train. How did that come about?

    We were at rehearsal. Melvin was just doing something on his bass. I said, "Man, that's a nasty groove right there! We need to make that into a song." It never happened. But I kept hearing what I thought he was playing. Melvin was a big Cameo fan. He'd play those funky beats. I tried to recreate on my synthesizer what it felt like he was playing. That's how I came up with the groove. I was just trying to make a new song, but when I played it for Don, he asked,  "Can I have that for the new Soul Train theme?" So, I came up with a melody, and he wrote the lyrics to it.

    Don collaborated with you on writing most of the songs you recorded. What was his primary role in that capacity?

    Don was the lyrics guy. I was so young. I was full of melodic ideas, but I hadn't lived very much. I certainly wasn't a complete songwriter; I was a groovemaster, I could come up with a groove in a heartbeat. I could come up with hooks now and then. But I didn't always know how to write to them. It's not like I had been a creative writing student. [laughs]

    With the Be My Lover album, you tapped in to the power of the music video medium. Interestingly, "Lovelite" and "Breakin' Together" were released in explicit versions not shown on daytime TV. Was there a specific impetus behind those?

    Yeah, and it didn't come from me! Let me just make that clear. Today, I wish I could find the clean versions. I don't know why they're not out there. The idea behind that was from the powers that be. I think that Billy Idol also had R-rated versions of some of his videos. They were doing that for the Playboy channel, which was new at the time. When I think back, I don't remember my video ever being on there. Not that I watched it a lot. But I'd go to see where these were supposed to come up. They thought if they had an R-rated version, should something come up for that medium, then we had a video for it. The crazy thing is, a lot of people thought that was me kickin' over the couch with the girl in the "Lovelite" video. That's not me, and it was not my idea—thank you very much!

    On your last '80s album, Surrender, you branched out to include different songwriters and producers. Was the end result for better or for worse?

    I think that my identity was lost a little bit on that one. The way I think today, I want the basic elements in every track: live drums, some guitar work, some bass work. I want those live elements. I think that we were kinda all over the place on that album—things were coming together on one end, things were falling apart on another. There was so much of, "Who's got the song? Well let's try it this way with so-and-so." The production consistency could have been better. I could take those songs today and reproduce them [to come up with] a much better album. It wasn't that the songs were bad; it just felt to me like it was all over the place.

    Looking back, how would you describe Don Cornelius' role in your career?

    Don was my mentor, my big brother. I call him my industry father. There were some aspects of doing business that I didn't like. If he wanted something a certain way, he was gonna let you know. But he is the reason why my name became a household name. I attribute everything to him. He put me on his show as many times as he possibly could; he spent his own money whenever the record company didn't have it or want to spend it. We were like family.

    99.9% of the songs that you hear with O'Bryan as the artist—Don and I wrote those songs together. When he died, it was difficult for me to make it through any rehearsal for a long time. Every time I opened my mouth to sing, I was singing his lyrics. Whether it was "Together Always," "Lady I Love You,"" Be My Lover," "Right from the Start," or "Doin' Alright," those are Don's lyrics and my hooks and melodies. I'm the one artist that Don Cornelius is seriously alive in through the music. Everytime I sing, I'm singing his lyrics. He's very much alive.

    So, your live performance work is picking up now. Do you plan on releasing more music in the near future?

    As the year rolls out, I'm gonna start recording some new material. I'm thinking that I won't approach it album-style, because now everything is single-driven. When I have a song that I like, I'll put it out. But meanwhile, I really am trying to crack this shell of the live circuit. There's a medium out there. There's old-school shows and a lot of things that I want to be a part of. That's what I'm known for. I'm like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer—I want to get in the freakin' Reindeer game! Live performance is where we start in our youth. At this point, I just wanna play! I'm not asking to do a show with Bruno Mars. Those are the superstars of today. I just wanna play with the cats I used to play with!

    Connect with Justin Kantor on Twitter.

     

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