Peter Brown

Peter Brown came to fame in 1977 with gold-selling 12" disco single, "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me." A pioneer in home recording, he recorded his seminal hit in his bedroom -- as shown on the cover of Get Funky with Me: The Best of the TK Years -- and was, at one point, a spokesman for ARP Instruments. After he scored his seventh and final Top Ten <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Billboard%22">Billboard</a> club hit, he co-wrote <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a>'s "Material Girl," a number two Hot 100 hit released in late 1984.

Born July 11, 1953 in Blue Island, Illinois, Brown started playing drums in his teens and later began experimenting with his four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder in his bedroom studio. The singer, keyboardist, and producer was signed to Drive Records, a subsidiary of Henry Stone's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22TK+Records%22">TK Records</a>. His first album for the label, A Fantasy Love Affair, was produced by Cory Wade, who had helped Brown get the record deal. The percolating "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me" went to number three Black Singles and number 18 Hot 100 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Billboard%22">Billboard</a>'s charts in summer 1977. Follow-up single "Dance with Me," for which <a href="spotify:artist:0PDqlUGugF5Jt6DZyATvfz">Betty Wright</a> provided background vocals, was even more of a success from a crossover standpoint; it peaked at number eight on the Hot 100. Another Drive LP, Stargazer, yielded the number four club hit "Crank It Up (Funk Town), Pt. 1."

His 1983 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a> LP, Back to the Front, was highlighted by the number six club single "Baby Gets High." Brown's 1984 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> LP, Snap, featured the charting singles "They Only Come Out at Night," "(Love Is Just) The Game," and "Zie Zie Won't Dance." He wrote songs for a few artists, including <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7fUtt9kVZOyn9LWy0JbDRI">Agnetha Fältskog</a>, but tinnitus cut his career short. He subsequently went into the fields of design and architecture. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi