Silver Convention

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Silver Convention
Also known asSilver Bird Convention
Silver Bird
Origin

Silver Convention were a

Euro disco
recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention or Silver Bird.

Career

The group was initiated in

Michael Kunze. The group was named after Levay, "Silver" being Levay's nickname. Kunze had in the late 1960s been a pop lyricist who wrote protest songs in German; when these tunes went out of style, he began producing pop records and commercials.[2] Levay had developed a taste for American music while growing up in Yugoslavia, eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.[2]

Using female

Jackie Carter for their first recordings and upcoming album. Since they were only a studio group, Levay and Kunze realized then that they would need to find professional entertainers for presentation to the public. Penny McLean, Ramona Wulf
and Linda G. Thompson became the public face of Silver Convention.

Cashbox advertisement, October 18, 1975

They scored two major US and Canadian hit singles. "

R.I.A.A. in December 1975.[5] Initially the song was titled "Run, Rabbit, Run", changed by the writers moments before the recording took place. Their next success "Get Up and Boogie", which also consisted of only six different words (Get, Up, And, Boogie, That's, Right), hit #1 in Canada on June 15, 1976,[6] had 3 weeks at #2 in the U.S in June 1976 and also peaked at #7 in the UK, in May 1976. Their next release, "No No Joe," only scored #60 in September 1976. The further singles released by the trio attempted to duplicate the sound that had made them successful briefly, but they were only minor successes. At this time, Linda G. Thompson left the group and was replaced by New Yorker Rhonda Heath, who was chosen over other hopefuls at an open casting call to become the newest singer for the group.[7]

Michael Kunze wrote the lyrics on the first two albums under the pseudonym Stephan Prager. During this time the three singers released their own solo work. McLean and Thompson achieved hit singles with "Lady Bump" and "1-2-3-4... Fire!", and "Ooh What a Night" respectively. Wulf's solo effort was only a moderate success.

Silver Convention represented Germany in the

Wir geben 'ne Party" performed in German by Mekado. This entry did better than Silver Convention's effort, finishing third out of the 25 entries in Dublin
.

With a new producer, John Davis, and a revised line-up of singers (Suzie McClosky a.k.a. Zenda Jacks, Rhonda Heath and Ramona Wulf), Silver Convention was successful again during 1978 with the album Love in a Sleeper. The

12" single
release from the LP was "Spend the Night With Me" backed with "Mission To Venus".

Levay also worked with Giorgio Moroder, and Kunze began work with Jim Steinman. The solo careers of the three singers ended quickly and they left the music industry, since interest in the disco scene was declining during this period. Levay and Kunze later collaborated on the successful Vienna productions of the musicals Elisabeth, Mozart! and Rebecca.

First U.S. concert for Braniff Airways

Silver Convention's first United States Concert was held at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to tape an interview for The Mike Douglas Show.[8]

Cover versions of their songs

American

Bond
also recorded a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for their 2004 album, Classified. In 2003, German lifestyle company Apartment20 produced a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly", which featured Ramona Wulf on lead vocals and in the video for the song.

The Dancing Tolmans And Johnny Brogan covered "San Francisco Hustle" on their album "The Dancing Tolmans And Johnny Brogans Anniversary Album".[10] The song was also covered by Blackbuster in 1976, in their album "Blackbuster 3".[11]

The song "Get Up and Boogie" was also covered by American industrial metal band Static-X, and released as a bonus track for the album Cannibal, in 2007.

"Thank You, Mr. DJ", a B-side of the "No, No, Joe" single was sampled by the Australian alternative rock band Regurgitator for the track "The Song Formally Known As" from their second album, Unit.[12]

American alternative rock band the

Lupus Thunder, but Daniel P. Carter
replaced it with a live guitar part.

Discography

See also

  • List of number-one hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

Notes

References

  1. ^ "The Silver Convention - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Vickers, Tom (January 1, 1976). "Singles: Surprising Takeoff of 'Fly, Robin, Fly". Rolling Stone. No. 203. p. 18.
  3. ^ "Record World : Disco Hot Tunes" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. 19 July 1975. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  4. ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". EveryHit.com. 2000-03-16. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  5. .
  6. ^ "Top Singles". RPM. Vol. 25, no. 12. republished online by Library and Archives Canada at collectionscanada.gc.ca. June 19, 1976. p. 23. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  7. ^ "Albums by Rhonda Heath". rateyourmusic.com. Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  8. ^ Upshaw, Larry (March–April 1977). "Silver Convention Rocks On At Concert For Braniff Employees". B-Liner. Vol. 29, no. 2. p. 13.
  9. ^ Mann, Herbie. Bird in a Silver Cage. iTunes album review. Accessed February 26, 2010.
  10. ^ "The Dancing Tolmans And Johnny Brogan – The Dancing Tolmans And Johnny Brogans Anniversary Album". Discogs.
  11. ^ "Blackbuster 3 by Blackbuster". Discogs.
  12. ^ "the AU Interview: Quan Yeomans of Regurgitator (Melbourne / Brisbane)". the AU review. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
Preceded by
Sing Sang Song
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
1977
Succeeded by
Feuer