EVENT APPEARANCE

1. 2025: Maurice Watts Classic R&B Music Festival

BIOGRAPHY

Atlantic Starr was among the top urban contemporary acts of the ’80s and fared well in the adult contemporary market as well, but their roots were ’70s soul and funk. Several members first recorded together as Newban, a funk group that released two 1977 albums, Newban and Newban 2, on the Guinness label. Atlantic Starr took shape that same year, formed in White Plains, New York by three brothers: lead singer/guitarist David Lewis, lead singer/keyboardist Wayne Lewis, and trombonist/percussionist Jonathan Lewis. The lineup was filled out by singer Sharon Bryant, trumpeter William Sudderth, saxophonist Damon Rentie (who was replaced by Koran Daniels in 1981), bassist Clifford Archer, drummer Porter Carroll, Jr., and percussionist/flutist Joseph Phillips. Influenced by the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, Commodores, New Birth, and L.T.D., Atlantic Starr started playing around the northeastern U.S. They signed with A&M and started working with Bobby Eli, a well-respected producer/songwriter from Philadelphia.