Steve Washington already had fame in his own right be being related to Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks of the Ohio Players. They did their first show as Slave at Nettie Roth High School on April 1, 1976. Orion and Tom Lockett went to Patterson High, in Dayton. Eventually they ended up at Tim Dozier’s house and formed the band (see part 1 of the Mark Adams interview below). Drac, who went to high school with Mark, and was in a band called Black Satin Soul, along with Steve Arrington and Steve Washington, approached him to start a new group. You probably know the story…Mark was with a band in high school called The Young Mystics. NJ, and did some recording at West Orange’s House of Music recording studio. Original members Orion Wilhoite and Carter Bradley shared an apartment in Orange.
Never seeing Slave in concert during the first album, we always wondered what kind of bass he played to get that signature slide, tone, and raunchy deep growl he continually became known for.Īt the time because they were just signed to Cotillion Records, Steve Washington went to school in my hometown, and Slave rehearsed there as well, I didn’t know until a short time later that they hailed from Ohio. Although a few members of Slave were older, we continually marveled at how funky Mark was at that young age. He had to be no more than 2 – 3 years older than me at the time and I was the oldest member of our group. Even that smooth track, You and Me, and that signature Ohio funk track “Separated” showed Mark’s nasty style. Not only did we marvel over that bass track, but we get even more detail of it in “Son of Slide”. We used call the bass track in Slide, the track with that “pure E”, resounding from the first note he opened the song with, and then into the bass solo. I distinctly remember us sitting around whoever’s house we rehearsed at, listening to Slave – the horn arrangements, vocals, guitar, drums, and Mr. We were just beginning to write, compose, and play songs in our own right – covers and originals. We formed a group entitled “Black Frost” right around the time the Slide came out (maybe before). Me and the fellas formed such a band, we were all within 2 – 3 years of each other in age (shout out to three band members I am still in touch with today, Tony Matthews, trumpeter, Damon Williams, guitarist (and now bassist) and Julien X. Back then, there were a lot of guys my age in my neighborhood, and as it customarily was, neighborhood bands were all over the city. At the time I was 14 or 15 years old and had been playing guitar for about a year.
I first discovered of Slave when Slide came out in ’77. This blog post is primarily a reflection of my perspective of not necessarily Slave, the group, but the bassist, Mark Adams – his unique bass playing style and influence on me as a musician. There are MANY bass legends in R&B and Funk – all of who you know about. Even in his passing, he created and left a legacy of bass playing style and finesse that, in my mind, is unparalleled in every sense of the word. For fans and musicians, this is a shock, especially at the age he was. Many of you have heard of the passing of Mark Adams, THE bass legend of Slave.
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