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| Dennis Coffey Mike Theodore |
| Dennis Coffey (glasses) and Mike Theodore in 1966. |
| If any two names beg for inclusion into The DiscoMuseum it's Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey. And as usual the people that I feel need to be included the most are those that so little is known about. Once again we have very little info in which to give a complete portrait of such disco legends. So with that in mind I'll share what little is known about Mike and Dennis
. From various articles and sources it can safely be concluded that both were from Detroit Michigan. At least that's where their musical resumes begin. Seems that Mike's friendship with guitarist Dennis Coffey dates back to the late 1960's. An early partnership had the duo writing and producing local acts in Detroit. The two had been given office space in the reknowned Tera Shirma studios and landed a contract with Sussex Records. While under contract to Sussex Records they had five hit albums under the moniker of Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band. They had a Top Ten smash with "Scorpio" in 1971 and followed it with another Top Twenty hit "Taurus" in 1972. In the early years Dennis was a highly sought-after session guitarist. His work dates back to Jerry Butler's 1968 album "Soul Goes On." During the late 1960's through the early 1970's he was featured on many Motown recordings. He graced everyone from Marvin Gaye to Martha Reeves albums. Mike on the other hand didn't come into his own spotlight until the mid 1970's. His first major credit is as producer for Coffey's 1974 album "Instant Coffey." While Coffey's main credits are for guitar work with an occasional producer credit. Mike's main credits are for producer and engineer with an occasional arranger/mixer credit thrown in. By the mid-1970's disco was in full swing. As most people know the disco movement was a producer driven medium. Faceless groups having one-off hits. Interchangeable members under a banner that was fueled by the producers name and sound more than the individuals actual talents. Mike's first disco success came in 1977 with the C.J. & Co. album "Devil's Gun." CJ & Co's forte was a gritty and funky yet sophisticated blend of disco and Detroit soul. The three-man, two-woman vocal quintet scored a major club hit with the title track. The second 12" single from the album was "We Got Our Own Thing." It too became a dance floor favorite. The album was on Westbound Records which was distributed by Atlantic Records. Having severed ties with Sussex Records earlier, the duo (Coffey-Theodore) had no label affiliation until Westbound Records. Westbound would play a key role in both their lives. In retrospect it is apparent that without Mike, and to a lesser extent Coffey, there probably wouldn't have been a Westbound catalogue. With the Billboard Number One club play success of this album Westbound was eager for yet another hit for the label. This came actually on the heels of the C.J. & Co. smash. When the duo released "Wings Of Fire." |
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| Dennis was actually the first to be signed to Westbound in 1976. His first album "Finger Lickin' Good" is more of a rock-oriented offering than his following releases. His 1977 album "Back Home" spawned the 12" single hit "Wings Of Fire." And his 1978 album "A Sweet Taste Of Sin" had the 12" single hit "Calling Planet Earth."
The duo became a music making machine as a team for others and themselves. |
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| Towards the end of 1977 Mike released his first solo effort "Cosmic Wind." The album became an immediate hit topping the club charts and has since become an enduring classic. The 12" single of "The Bull" is considered a collector's item and very rare.
With both Mike and Dennis firmly entrenched at the Westbound label, the guys geared up for what was to be a banner year for both disco music and them. 1978 was to be their year and the best ever for the ailing label. |
| In that heady year Mike and or Dennis would be a part of hits for almost all of their fellow Westbound artists. They can be heard on the King Errisson album that spawned the hit "Manhattan Love Song," the Detroit Emeralds album with "Turn On Lady" and the Caesar Frazier album with "Child Of The Wind."
Mike found time to produce the non-disco album "I Can't Face Another Day Without You" for Jim Gold. And Dennis Coffey found time to produce the disco classic "I Got To Have Your Love" for the Fantastic Four. The two came back for seconds with C.J. & Co. for "Deadeye Dick." The album was probably their weakest production during that period and spawned the minor hit "Big City Sidewalk." |
| In 1979 the hits just kept coming. The second Mike Theodore Orchestra album was released. The four-track masterpiece featured the mega-hits "High On Mad Mountain" and "Disco People." Luckily the two Mike Theodore Orchestra albums have been reissued on a single compact disc and are still available. The outside work continued for the duo with Fantastic Four's "Bring Your Own Funk" and Carlis Munro's "Boogie Up, Rock Down" for Westbound Records. |
| But the duo had their biggest hit in 1979 with the creation of Tempest Trio. The tracks were leased to T.K. Records and spawned the hit, and one of my favorites, "Love Machine."
The track is available on the T.K. compilation "The Best Of T.K. Disco Singles." After 1979 the disco market collapsed, Westbound Records folded and the music business took a radical turn. Theodore had one more club success with Unlimited Touch in 1980. No longer in demand as producers and artists Coffey and Theodore went back to their original roots, session work. As sessionists it's much more difficult to track their work. The next thing that I found that they both worked on was a 1984 release for Rare Earth entitled "Dreams/Answers." Mike pops up in 1988 on the club smash "No Use To Borrow" by Blue Moderne. He's listed as engineer for the album. After their 1984 collaboration it seems that they both went their seperate ways musically if not personally. For Mike his resume since includes work as engineer/producer for such varied artists as: Amish, Copernicus, Danny Madden, Bill Evans, Nelson, Johnathon Round and Voyeur. Dennis has kept busy with his work as guitarist and arranger and can be heard on works by: Boz Scaggs, Lori Jacobs, Jim Gold and most recently (2000) Ghostface Killah. In any case our hats are off to two powerful and influential men that changed disco music and made us dance. Both individually and collectively they gave us some of disco's most enduring classics and for that.....we thank you! |
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