House Music’s Original Voice Needs Your Help
The international dance music community has been called upon to help support one of the scene’s foundational artists, who is sick and without a stable place to live. You may not know the name Colonel Abrams, but you probably know his voice—one of the most sampled in house music and beyond—if you’ve spent time on the dancefloor in the last three decades.
“Colonel Abrams has fallen on some really hard times due to health issues and a financial setback which has forced him into some housing challenges,” wrote Tony “Tune” Herbert in his GoFundMe campaign, which seeks to raise $25,000.
Born in Detroit, Colonel Abrams (his actual birth name) moved to New York as a child and won an Amateur Night at the Apollo. He told Blues and Soul in 1985 that around 1976, he nailed an audition to be the lead singer of a group called 94 East, which was signed to Polydor Records and featured Prince on guitar. Abrams recorded one song with the group before it disbanded in favor of Prince’s emerging solo career.
Colonel Abrams truly came of age musically in the mid-‘80s club scene of Manhattan. It was there where his eight-track demos and his first officially released single, 1984’s “Music Is the Answer,” became anthems at influential clubs like Paradise Garage. Legend has it that Paradise Garage’s resident DJ Larry Levan would reportedly play “Music Is the Answer” over and over again for up to an hour at a time.
Colonel Abrams “Music Is the Answer” (1984)
One of Abrams’ first demos, “Release the Tension,” eventually re-recorded by a group called Circuit, has been cited as the first house music recording, though it predates the term “house music” itself, as later popularized in Chicago.
Colonel Abrams “Release the Tension” (1984)
Greek label Echovolt recently released an EP of “Release the Tension” and more. The 8-Track Tape Demos was recorded in the bedroom of Timmy Regisford, the DJ legend behind New York club Shelter.
Colonel Abrams The 8-Track Tape Demos (2015)
Abrams’ buzz in New York landed him a deal with MCA Records and spurred interest in the UK, where he flew to record the single “Trapped” in 1985 with Richard James Burgess, a New Zealand new-wave producer who was working with British acts like Spandau Ballet, Adam Ant and King. “Trapped” reached #1 on the Billboard dance charts in the US and #3 on the UK Singles chart in 1985. A fertile source of sounds, it has since been tapped by a wide range of artists for samples, including by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for 1991’s “Trapped on the Dance Floor,” by Boards of Canada’s Hell Interface alias in 1997, by Bintus in 2013 for the “Edit Service” series via I’m a Cliché, and on a popular breakbeat bootleg presumed to have been made by Plump DJs circa 2002–03. Colonel Abrams was also flown to Belgium in 2014 to re-record the vocals for a new version by popular electro act the Subs.
Colonel Abrams “Trapped” (Top of the Pops, 1985)
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince “Trapped on the Dance Floor” (1991)
Boards of Canada “Trapped” (Hell Interface edit) (1997)
Bootleg “Trapped” (2002–03)
The Subs ft. Colonel Abrams “Trapped” (2014)
Bintus “Trapped” (2013)
“I’m Not Gonna Let You,” another Billboard dance #1 in 1986, was quickly sampled by Nuyorican salsa legend Willie Colón for his “Set Fire to Me.” The song also landed him in the top 10 of the R&B charts and earned him an appearance on Soul Train, where host Don Cornelius likened his deep tone to that of soul legend Teddy Pendergrass.
Colonel Abrams “I’m Not Gonna Let You” (Soul Train, 1986)
Willie Colón “Set Fire to Me” (1986)
When I first started writing professionally about dance music in the early ‘90s, Colonel Abrams’ voice was having a second wind, thanks to being sampled on singles like Fresh Tunes #1’s “Do You Know What I Mean?” in 1994 on Strictly Rhythm (where he’d later record briefly as part of Brotherhood of Soul).
I became intoxicated with Abrams’ voice, and he became a Holy Grail of an interview subject for me. An elusive figure, he was always three steps ahead of me, even as I’d find his colleagues and interview them.
Now, 20 years later, I dream of interviewing Colonel Abrams about the success of this GoFundMe campaign, a chance for the international dance music community to come together to support someone who has given producers, other artists and fans so much inspiration and joy.
His last major interview, one of the few he’s conducted in his career, was with WPS1’s Jeannie Hopper in 2006, in which he played new music (including a snippet of a new version of “Music Is the Answer”) and told Hopper he had learned how to produce music himself.
Herbert wrote that the money raised on the GoFundMe account will help Colonel Abrams to find “consistent housing” and “access to wrap around social services.” He also mentions that a “credible” accounting firm has donated pro bono services to help organize the use of the funds.
“If the Colonel was healthier today, trust and believe he could still be making money on stage performing his greatest hits, but unfortunately his current health issues hinders him from doing so,” he wrote.
As of this writing, 167 people have donated $4,355 to Colonel Abrams’ fund. That’s a wonderful start, but more is needed to make a significant difference. Let’s show him that fans of his music are the answer to bringing him back on his feet.
