Taka Boom (born October 8, 1954) – Cloud Dancer (1979)
For her self-titled debut solo LP, the former Undisputed Truth lead singer and Chaka Khan's younger sister wrote and produced this haunting masterpiece.
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Singer/songwriter Taka Boom is a former member of the Undisputed Truth who had her own short-lived solo career in the late 70s and early 80s. Best known as the younger sister of Chaka Khan, she is also a major talent in her own right.
Born Yvonne Stevens in Chicago, she was raised in a musical family. Besides her superstar sister, her older brother Mark Stevens is also a singer and a former member of the soul/funk group Aurra.
In 1975, Taka joined the Undisputed Truth, one of the primary vehicles for Motown producer Norman Whitfield. He had recently left Motown and established his own label Whitfield Records, after convincing the Undisputed Truth to follow him. At this stage in their career, they had transformed into a full-blown funk group and were all wearing white wigs and silver makeup, seemingly emulating the wild costumes of Parliament/Funkadelic. One of their earliest live performances with Taka was an appearance later that same year on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.
She appeared on the group’s 1976 album Method To The Madness, and sang lead on its first single “You + Me = Love,” which became the group’s second biggest hit next to “Smiling Faces Sometimes” (1971).
See our earlier post on Norman Whitfield and “You + Me = Love” for more about this track.
In 1979, Taka released her self-titled debut solo album on Ariola Records, mostly produced by Chicago producer John Ryan.
It reached #48 on the R&B album charts, helped along by its hit single “Night Dancin’,” which made it to #20 R&B, and the sizzling club hit “Red Hot.” The latter lived up to its name as it heated up dancefloors, cracking the top-20 on disco charts at #19 and peaking at #70 R&B.
For the album’s closing cut, Taka wrote and produced the haunting masterpiece “Cloud Dancer.” Like the rest of the LP, it featured her sister Chaka Khan on backing vocals.
Her brother Mark Stevens also contributed backing vocals and played bass on the album, along with Don Hagen on drums, Elaine Mayo on guitar, Richard Gibbs on synthesizer and horns, and jazz-funk legend Gary Bartz on saxophone.
If not for the racist, homophobic anti-disco backlash (and over-commercialization of the market that led to a sharp drop in record sales) that killed many promising disco stars’ careers at the end of the 70s, Taka would probably have followed in her sister’s footprints and left a much bigger mark as a singer.
#soul #funk #disco #UndisputedTruth #ChakaKhan #TakaBoom