Instrument: Multi Instruments, Vocals (Background)
Representative Albums: "The Best of O'Bryan," "Doin' Alright," "You and I"
Representative Songs: "Lovelite," "The Gigolo," "Lady I Love You"
Biography
Multi-instrumentalist O'Bryan got into the business after a friend (who was in the choir he sang in as a young adult in Southern California) married Ron Kersey, who had worked in Philadelphia with groups like the Trammps in the 1970s. Upon her recommendation, Kersey got O'Bryan into a group he was forming. That quickly fell apart, but Kersey helped the singer connect with Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius, who helped O'Bryan land a deal with Capitol. During the '80s, he cut four albums and nine singles that made the R&B charts. His up-tempo tracks could sound something like a more mainstream Prince, though he tread far closer to the urban contemporary mainstream on his ballads. "The Gigolo" made number five in 1982, and over the next few years he had some up-tempo and ballad follow-ups. "I'm Freaky," which was reminiscent of "Gigolo," was the best of these; "Lovelite" was the most successful. In 2007, he returned with the ballad-heavy F1RST, issued digitally through the Headstorm label with plans for a CD version. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
O'Bryan McCoy Burnette Jr. ( born to O’Bryan and Glenice Burnette at Pender County Memorial Hospital in Burgaw, North Carolina on December 5, 1961 ) began his career in the music business at age 18. At the time, Burnette was doing vocals while fellow musician Melvin Lee Davis was playing bass in the Second Baptist Young Adult Choir in Santa Ana, California. A lady by the name Melanie, a friend of Davis, introduced Burnette to musician Ron Kersey. Kersey, who had worked in Philadelphia with music groups such as the Trammps in the 1970's, was looking for members for a new group he was forming, called Hamercy. Kersey accepted O'Bryan into the group as lead singer. The group quickly fell apart, after which Kersey introduced O'Bryan to Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius.
Following this introduction, Cornelius presented O'Bryan to Varnell Johnson of Capitol Records, who signed him to the label. The following four years on Capitol Records, O'Bryan released four albums and nine singles, which all had slots on the R&B charts.
He released his debut album Doin' Alright in 1982. As a multi-instrumentalist, many listeners considered his uptempo tracks to bear subtle resemblances to Prince, but he trod far closer to the urban contemporary mainstream on his ballads. Although the mid-paced title track proved the most enduring to many fans, the album yielded a big dance floor hit in the form of "The Gigolo" which reached number five on the R&B charts and number 57 on the pop charts (his only single to chart on the latter). It also contained what many fans considered an outstanding cover of the Four Tops "Still Water (Love)".
In 1983, his second album You and I was released, the title track being an excellent version of a beautiful love song penned by Stevie Wonder. The instrumental "Soft Touch" also proved to be a popular choice from this second album. It also contained the track "Soul Train's A Coming" which was used as the theme song for the performance theme show Soul Train from 1983 to 1987.
In 1984, O'Bryan released his third LP Be My Lover which included the hit balled "Lady I Love You". A major dance floor single release from the album was the funky groove "Lovelite", a number one hit on Billboard's R&B singles chart which many consider to be the equal to any of Prince's early funk.
He released his fourth and final album on Capitol, Surrender in 1986 which included the dance hit "Tenderoni". It reached the R&B Billboard top 40 and was considered a club hit in early 1987. After that, he parted ways with Capitol and went on a hiatus for two decades. Despite the apparent success that O'Bryan had experienced on Capitol Records during the middle of the 1980s, his tracks still received airplay on selected radio stations worldwide.
Latter career
After a long hiatus, O’Bryan released a new album in February 2007, entitled F1RST.
