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| Janice McClain |
| With one 12" single Janice McClain achieved disco immortality and as with many of the subjects featured on this website, very little is known or available about Janice McClain. Here are the brief facts: Janice is a native Philadelphian and from published articles it seems she was about 16 when she recorded "Smack Dab In The Middle." Thanks to an artful remix by Larry Levan the RFC 12" single was one of the biggest club hits of 1979. Producers Milt Tennant and Thom Page were able to utilize McClain's extraordinary vocals to their utmost ability. Despite major club and radio exposure a follow-up single and album were not forthcoming, perhaps the death of "disco" or the collapse of Ray Caviano's label were the reason. Or maybe it was just her age? After a four year hiatus Janice popped up on the Mon-Tab 12" single "Burnin' Up" in 1984, but without a major label backing it the single came and went with barely a whimper. The good that came out of that was that she met producer Nick Martinelli. He was able to get her an album deal with MCA records and produced her self-titled 1986 album for the label. The album spawned two 12" singles; "Let's Spend The Night Together" and "Passion And Pain." Club play was minimal and without radio exposure neither achieved the success of her first release. After that sales bomb it seems Janice went back into hiding. For the next ten years I was unable to find out anything about her activities. I did discover that in 1994 she released a five track 12" single of South Street records of "Peace Of Mind." The following year she appeared on Keith Martin's "It's Long Overdue" album before once again disappearing. Wherever Janice is we hope she is well and happy, and we thank her for being "Smack Dab In The Middle" of the club scene in 1979. |
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