Fat Larry's Band

Fat Larry's Band was an R&B/funk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed some commercial success in the early 1980s.

Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (born August 2, 1949 in Philadelphia) in 1977, band members included trumpeter/flutist Art Capehart, saxophonist Doug Jones, trombonist/alto saxophonist Jimmy Lee, guitarist Ted Cohen, percussionist and lead singer Darryl Grant, bassist Larry La Bes, and keyboardist Erskine Williams. The band's biggest hits were "Act Like You Know" (1982) (which later appeared on the soundtrack for ) and ballad "Zoom", which hit number two in the UK singles chart in October 1982. They had two other minor hits in the UK: "Center City" with lead vocals by Grant and "Boogie Town".

James died on December 5, 1987 and the band folded.

The opening drum break from "Down On The Avenue", from the band's first album, "Feel It" (Stax 1977), has been sampled by many hip-hop artists, including NWA, Ice T, Jungle Brothers, and Run-DMC.

Discography (albums)

* "Feel It" (1977)
* "Off The Wall" (1978)
* "Lookin' For Love" (1979)
* "Stand Up" (1980)
* "Breakin' Out" (1982)
* "Tune Me Up" (1983)
* "Straight From The Heart" (1983)
* "Nice" (1986)
* "The Best Of Fat Larry's Band" (1994)
* "Fat Larry's Band - Greatest Hits" (1995)
* "I like eating chocolate - Greatest Hits" (1999)