Machine

Machine

    Machine was formed in New York in 1977, when the disco-era was in full swing and most R&B, disco, and funk lyrics were escapist in nature.
     Lead singer Claire Bathe first tasted success as part of the choir in the Broadway hit "The Wiz," a fertile ground for future disco singers. Life after Machine consisted of a return to Broadway with Lena Horne in her 1981 smash hit "Live On Broadway," vocals for Tony Valor's group Fantasy, (replacing Fonda Rae), a tune for Kip Hanrahan's "Conjure: Cab Calloway Stands In For The Moon," backgrounds for Jenny Burton's "Souvenirs," and two albums with Guthrie Thomas ("This One's For Sarah" and "Through The Years") before disappearing from site.
     Memphis bass player Melvin Lee had first recorded with Mose Allison and Lou Rawls in the mid 1960's, After his stint with Machine he returned to Memphis where he wrote and recorded with Little Jimmy King & the Soul Survivors. He played bass for Frank Motley, Big Lucky Carter and Kid Creole & the Coconuts in the 1990's.
     Drummer Lonnie Ferguson seems to have had no prior successes to Machine and none afterwards.
     Kevin Nance, the keyboardist, first tasted success the year before Machine hit when he did keyboard work for Golden Earring's 1978 album "Grab It For A Second." He co-wrote "There But For The Grace Of God Go I" with producer August Darnell (Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band-Kid Creole & The Coconuts). After Machine's breakup he continued his collaborations with Darnell appearing on Kid Creole albums.
     Co-lead singer and guitarist Jay Stovall seems only to have Machine as his claim to fame.
     The members of Machine were big fans of the R&B message songs of the early 1970's, and they regretted the fact that after 1975, many R&B artists had gotten away from social and political commentary. Machine set out to change that when, in 1978, it signed with RCA and recorded the single "There But For The Grace Of God Go I" — a brilliant piece of social commentary about Latino immigrants who move to the U.S. in search of a better life (with no blacks-no jews-no gays) but quickly realize how dangerous the mean streets of the Bronx can be. Released in early 1979, the disco/soul masterpiece became a club hit and is considered a cult classic. Machine's self-titled debut album also came out in 1979 and a second 12" single "Marisa" was released but was overshadowed by its predecessor. The other songs on Machine — some of which tackle social issues, some of which don't — are pleasing examples of soul, funk, or disco even though they fall short of "Grace"'s brilliance. Machine wasn't a big seller, but those who did acquire the album agreed that the band had enormous potential.
     Machine wasn't strictly a disco band, and the truth is that their second and last album, "Moving On," has as much to do with soul, funk, and rock as it does with disco. Machine's goal was to combine an infectious beat with thought-provoking lyrics, which is exactly what it does on intelligent gems like "You Learned Your Lesson," "Power and Reason (Mr. Exx on 52 Street" (an attack on oil companies), and "Number Player." Combining funk and hard rock, "Number Player" isn't unlike something Mother's Finest would have done and underscores Machine's desire to avoid being labeled a full-time disco band. Unfortunately, this excellent 1980 release lacked a hit single, although "Power And Reason" and "I Finally Found" were released as 12" singles, it didn't sell. In an ideal world, Machine would have stayed together a long time and become as famous as Earth, Wind & Fire or Parliament/Funkadelic; instead, the band called it quits in 1981.
      Luckily Unidisc released a compact disc combining the best of both albums, including all the 12" versions, in 1994 so we can enjoy Machine anytime we want!