Odyssey

Odyssey was a New York based dance music band.^[1] It grew out of the talent of the Virgin Islands born Lopez sisters: Lillian Lopez (born 16 November 1945), Louise Lopez (born 22 February 1943), and Carmen Lopez who later dropped out of the group.^[1]

Career

Filipino singer Tony Reynolds was added, at which point the band became known as Odyssey.^[1] The group was best known for its December 1977 hit "Native New Yorker", which reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later covered by Frankie Valli. Although a string of albums and singles followed, the group managed only one other R&B chart smash, the Slave produced "Inside Out", written by Jesse Rae, which peaked at #12 in 1982.^[2] Reynolds, for unknown reasons, left after the first album and was replaced by Fayetteville, North Carolina native William "Bill" McEachern, who remained with the group throughout the remainder of its RCA record label output. Tony Reynolds is noted to have died in 2000, while residing in his home in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

In the United Kingdom, the band with its gentle Caribbean style had more success, totalling five Top Ten hits between 1977 and 1982.^[3] One of them, "Use It Up and Wear It Out", reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in 1980.^[3] Odyssey thus became the third U.S. act of the year (after Fern Kinney and M.A.S.H.) to reach Number one in the UK despite failing to chart in their home country.^[4] Later hit "Going Back to My Roots" was written by Lamont Dozier.

Legacy

Odyssey's "If You're Looking For a Way Out" was covered by Tindersticks on their 1999 album, Simple Pleasure.

Discography

Singles

Albums

See also

• List of disco artists
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

External links

• Odyssey at Allmusic
• Odyssey at WorldMusicDatabase
• Odyssey discography at Discogs.com