DAYTON, Ohio – Funk music was one of the most popular genres back in the 1970s and 80s. Some of those award-winning funk legends started right here in the Buckeye State. On Friday, the city of Dayton is recognizing some of those artists through a special tribute.
For as long as he could remember, funk legend and Dazz Band member Keith Harrison, 69, has loved music. He was a natural at playing the piano. It was a talent he inherited from his mother.
“At 18, I asked my mom ‘where did I get this talent to play piano?’” he asked. “I know God gave me a gift.”
It was a gift indeed. He used his singing and playing abilities to win over his high school band which later became the Faze-O Band. And from there, they began making funk music.
“It moves you,” he said. “It just does something to your inner soul that other music doesn’t do.”
Faze-O landed their first hit “Riding High” thanks to Ohio Players band member Clarence Satchell. Riding High has been sampled by many R&B and hip hop artists over the years. This is an opportunity that really jump started Harrison’s career.
“Very exciting because you had a lot of other groups that were salty at us because they wanted to be on that first ticket,” he said.
After leaving Faze-O, joining Heatwave , and then becoming a member of the Dazz Band, in 1982 Harrison finally became a Grammy Award winner. The Dazz Band won the best R&B performance by a duo or group for the song “Let it Whip”.
“It’s the first time and only time right now in history that this happened — we tied with Earth, Wind and Fire for that category,” he said. “Because they had been winning it every year.”
On top of winning a Grammy, Harrison and other funk legends have been honored with a mural and now a downtown Dayton street renamed Land of Funk Way.
“It’s just great being honored in your hometown,” he said. “I guess God had a plan and he’s not finished with me yet.”
