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| Paradise Express Vi-Ann & Herb Jimmerson |
| They were Organized Confusion, then changed to End Result, and then an executive's wife at Fantasy Records christened them "Paradise Express," a name she plucked from a television show. But first they were Vi-Ann and her husband and musical guiding force, Herb Jimmerson.
Though their recording career was brief it was chocked full of goodies. Having kicked around the West Coast music scene for several years, keyboardist Herb, found local success when he met and married blues singer Vi-Ann. The quirky looking Vi had an unmistakable voice, although most people thought she was a black male. Forming a couple of unsuccessful bands, the husband/wife team's luck changed when they met producer Phil Jones. Jones had affiliations with the West Coast label Fantasy Records. The label had recently gone from jazz and rock acts to branching out into the lucrative "disco market." They had scored a major success with Sylvester and were looking for more of the same. Enter Phil Jones and the End Result. Herb knew that Vi could sing anything and when offered the chance at a recording contract the duo jumped at the chance. In late 1977 work began on their first album. As songs were chosen they picked one standard, "Poinciana" and one by a current disco artist, Paul Jabara, from his debut album. And three more strong songs were picked to round out the album. 1978's "Paradise Express" was strictly disco and superbly crafted. The sales were probably hindered by the fact that 2-12" singles were released from the album and contained four of the five songs on it. The first 12" single, Paul Jabara's "Dance" put them firmly on the charts and even the b-side "Poinciana" enjoyed limited play. The second 12" single enjoyed less commercial success, but is my personal favorite. "Star In My Life" was destined to become a classic, largely due to the wonderful backgrounds by Izora Rhodes, Martha Wash (Two Tons O' Fun-Weathergirls) and Sharon Hymes. Flush with the success of their debut album the team went into the studios to record their second and final album in 1979. This time around Herb had a decidely more direct impact on the final product. Besides co-producing and playing keyboards, he also wrote four of the six cuts with fellow labelmate Caren Armstrong ("From Now On"). By this time Izora and Martha, busy with work for Sylvester and their own upcoming album declined the job of backgrounds. Instead Julia Waters, Maxine Waters (The Waters) and Clydene Jackson were brought in. Once again 2-12" singles were released to promote the album. "You Set Me On Fire" and "Let's Fly" were both strong releases and achieved Top Ten club status. The album also included a nice remake of the Holland-Dozier-Holland classic "Nowhere To Run." By 1980 the group was no more. The marriage survived, but with changing musical tastes, a lack of sales, and poor promotion from Fantasy Records another album was not to be. Since then there is little info on either Vi or Herb. Hopefully they are still together and happy. A compilation of their two albums on one compact disc would be nice, if any record label is reading.... Herb Jimmerson was seen On Kurweil's homepage promoting their keyboards as late 2001, so at least we know he's alive and well. If anyone has any additional info on Vi and Herb please let us know........ |
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