Last updated: 6 hours ago
Bumblebee Unlimited was a studio-based disco unit helmed by <a href="spotify:artist:6kDB1SwHh0sj9jwTwnYohY">Patrick Adams</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Gregory Carmichael</a>. Much like the other groups/artists featuring the handiwork of <a href="spotify:artist:6kDB1SwHh0sj9jwTwnYohY">Adams</a> and/or <a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Carmichael</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:2B9FE4FTPCJ7W8DrF5wkve">Cloud One</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2o9c2U0sHi0yM1h5TwmXT9">Universal Robot Band</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:39fymbns0snQudVbD1hZjX">Inner Life</a>, etc.), Bumblebee Unlimited acted as a bridge between disco and house, stylistically (and sometimes chronologically) forming a wedge between those two forms and thus a precursor to house.
Aside from the undeniable ties to a pair of behind-the-scenes disco legends, Bumblebee Unlimited was probably most known on the dancefloor for their 1976 Red Greg (<a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Carmichael</a>'s label) single "Love Bug," an ecstatic mid-tempoed number with vocals sped to a high pitch and swells of strings that mimicked "Flight of the Bumblebee." The vocal trick was used to more extreme effect for 1978's "Lady Bug" single, which took the high-pitched vocals to an almost <a href="spotify:artist:3eTupFIFbeb8EX7bqnUIwp">Chipmunk</a>-like level, though the vocals sounded as if they were coming from bees, not chipmunks (giveaway line: "May I have a nectar and tonic?").
RCA issued BU's only LP, Sting Like a Bee, in 1979, which included both "Lady Bug" and "Love Bug." Amongst the contributors to the album were longtime <a href="spotify:artist:6kDB1SwHh0sj9jwTwnYohY">Adams</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Carmichael</a> associates <a href="spotify:artist:6bgccXVuEX61NPVEXj3Xp8">Leroy Burgess</a> (vocals), Norbert Sloley (bass), and Richard Taninbaum (drums). (Unidisc reissued the album on CD several years later.) BU also recorded for Salsoul later on, including the 1981 single "The Bumblebee Rap." ~ Andy Kellman
Aside from the undeniable ties to a pair of behind-the-scenes disco legends, Bumblebee Unlimited was probably most known on the dancefloor for their 1976 Red Greg (<a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Carmichael</a>'s label) single "Love Bug," an ecstatic mid-tempoed number with vocals sped to a high pitch and swells of strings that mimicked "Flight of the Bumblebee." The vocal trick was used to more extreme effect for 1978's "Lady Bug" single, which took the high-pitched vocals to an almost <a href="spotify:artist:3eTupFIFbeb8EX7bqnUIwp">Chipmunk</a>-like level, though the vocals sounded as if they were coming from bees, not chipmunks (giveaway line: "May I have a nectar and tonic?").
RCA issued BU's only LP, Sting Like a Bee, in 1979, which included both "Lady Bug" and "Love Bug." Amongst the contributors to the album were longtime <a href="spotify:artist:6kDB1SwHh0sj9jwTwnYohY">Adams</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:23siReOgVDL162buubkryn">Carmichael</a> associates <a href="spotify:artist:6bgccXVuEX61NPVEXj3Xp8">Leroy Burgess</a> (vocals), Norbert Sloley (bass), and Richard Taninbaum (drums). (Unidisc reissued the album on CD several years later.) BU also recorded for Salsoul later on, including the 1981 single "The Bumblebee Rap." ~ Andy Kellman
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