BT Express

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This funk-disco group was formed in 1973 by Jeff Lane in Brooklyn NY. They started in 1972 as the King Davis House Rockers, and later were called the Brooklyn Trucking Express. The roster consisted of saxophonist/vocalist Bill Risbrook, percussionist Dennis Rowe, guitarist Rick Thompson, saxophonist/flutist Carlos Ward, keyboardist Michael Jones (Kashif), lead guitarist/vocalist Wesley Hall, drummer Leslie Ming, bassist, organist and vocalist Louis Risbrook, and vocalist Barbara Joyce Lomas. Their debut LP "Do it Till You're Satisfied" had two number one R&B and Top Ten pop hits in the title cut and "Express". Subsequent LPs yielded two more R&B Top Ten singles, "Give It What You Got/Peace Pipe" in 1975 and "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More" in 1976. After 1977's "Shout It Out", which cracked the R&B Top 20 (number 12), the group slumped with the album "Shout!". They were off the charts until 1980. They made a slight comeback that year with "B.T. Express 1980", though only the single "Give Up the Funk (Let's Dance)" made it into the Top 30 (number 24). They later recorded for Record Shack, Earthtone, and King Davis, but couldn't duplicate their earlier success. Kashif scored hits as a producer, performer, and composer in the '80s.

DISCOGRAPHY

LONG PLAYING

1974 Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) - (Roadshow 5117)

1. Express (Lomas/Risbrook/Rowe/Thompson/Ward/Woods) - 5'03
2. If It Don't Turn You on (You Oughta' Leave) - 5'27
3. Once You Get It - 3'18
4. Everything Good to You (Ain't Always Good...) - 3'00
5. Mental Telepathy - 4'03''
6. Do It ('til You're Satisfied) (Nichols) - 5'52
7. Do You Like It - 5'52
8. That's What I Want for You Baby - 6'48
9. This House Is Smokin' - 2'12

1975 Non-Stop - (Roadshow 41001)

The second B.T. Express album featured two smash hits in "Give It What You Got" and "Peace Pipe." They were at their funk-disco peak, cutting songs that maintained their energy long enough to air in discos, and had enough backbeat and edge to hook the R&B and funk audience

1976 Energy to Burn - (Columbia 34178)

Things began to decline for B.T. Express when they switched to Columbia, although funk was steadily declining in the late '70s anyway, soon to be followed by disco. They play their familiar uptempo dance and funk numbers with the same assurance and exuberance of the past, but they didn't have the same punch or appeal.

1977 Function at the Junction - (Columbia 34702)

B.T. Express made a brief comeback from a slump with their fourth album. The title track was a return to the shuffle funk and disco of their first two albums, and the other songs had a light, humorous quality and celebratory edge that was an improvement from the calculated feel of the first Columbia session.

1978 Shout! - (Columbia 35078)

The last great B.T. Express album served as sort of a finale to the funk and disco era. As the '70s ended, urban contemporary was obsessed with crossover, and things that were deemed too ethnic were being discouraged. B.T. Express' heavy backbeat and lengthy tracks were falling out of favor with both radio and pop fans, although the core crowd in the discos and inner cities still enjoyed them.

1980 B.T. Express 1980 - (Excalibre 5002)

They landed one more hit, "Does It Feel Good," but things were pretty much over for B.T. Express, as least in terms of them being a hit act. Funk and the kind of disco they'd done was virtually dead by 1980. House, Hi-NRG, and other styles that required more production than their brand of galvanizing, attacking music were in vogue. They continued on until the mid-'80s, but they never regained their position on the R&B or pop charts.

1982 Keep it up - (Coast to coast)

1998 Live (Collectables 5880)

1. Intro
2. Takin' Off
3. Have Some Fun
4. This House Is Smokin'
5. Give up the Funk
6. Shout It Out
7. Better Late Than Never
8. Ride on BT
9. Peace Pipe
10. Do It
11. Express

GREATEST

1980 Greatest Hits (CBS)

1981 Old Gold, Future Gold (Excalibre)

1993 Do It!! Non Stop: The Best of BT Express (Pair)

1997 The Best of B.T. Express (Rhino)

Although B.T. Express didn't have that many major radio hits, the New Yorkers' extremely dancable funk reigned supreme in the clubs (especially Black clubs). "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)," "Peace Pipe," "Shout It Out" and "Express" are among the handful of jams on this engaging 15-song release that were actually sizable hits on Black radio; most of the other songs, however, don't fit that description. But play this collection for anyone who deejayed in a Black club in the 1970s, and chances are they'll know most of the material. Express, a major influence on East Coast units like the Brass Construction and Mass Production, was very much a party band, and addictive album tracks like "This House Is Smokin'" and "Once You Get It" found their way to club turntables without ever coming out as singles. Although pleasant enough, a cover of Burt Bacharach & Hal David's "Close To You" shows that ballads were never the Express's strong point (which is truly ironic, given that one of its members, Kashif, would become known as a top R&B love man in the 1980s). And the 1980 recordings "Stretch" and "Does It Feel Good" are pretty generic, but on the whole, this disc is something funksters should savor.

1. Do It ('til You're Satisfied) (Nichols)
2. This House Is Smokin' (Burton/Costantino)
3. Express (Joyce/Risbrook/Risbrook/Rowe/Thompson/Ward/Woods)
4. If It Don't Turn You on (You Oughta' Leave (Nichols)
5. Once You Get It (Martin)
6. Mental Telepathy (Boston/Martin)
7. Give It What You Got (Roberts)
8. Peace Pipe (Barkan/Taylor)
9. Close to You (Bacharach/David)
10. Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some... (Nichols)
11. Energy to Burn (Howard/Taylor)
12. Shout It Out (Nichols/Romer/Williams)
13. Give up the Funk (Let's Dance) (Hall/Risbrook/Rowe/Thompson/Ward)
14. Does It Feel Good (Hall)
15. Stretch (Hall/Walker)

----- Golden Classics - (Collectables)

B.T. Express exploded on the funk-disco scene in the mid-'70s with back-to-back number-one R&B hits, "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" and "Express," both of which also cracked the pop Top Ten. "Give It What You Got/Peace Pipe" was another big hit, but the group had peaked by the late '70s. This collection includes these three smashes, plus other respectable numbers. They were never great singers, but were a good funk ensemble.

1. Express - 5:03
2. If It Don't Turn You on (You Oughta' Leave - 5:27
3. Once You Get It - 3:18
4. Everything Good to You (Ain't Always Good... - 3:00
5. Mental Telepathy - 4:03
6. Do It ('til You're Satisfied) - 5:52
7. Do You Like It - 5:52
8. That's What I Want for You Baby - 6:48
9. This House Is Smokin' - 2:12
10. Peace Pipe - 6:04
11. Give It What You Got - 4:19
12. Close to You - 5:37

SINGLES

1991 Express - (Collectables)

1994 Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) - (Unidisc)