Alex Henderson

Mass Production
Turn Up the Music



There are some artists who seem destined to receive more exposure in dance clubs than on the radio. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, one such band was Mass Production. The funk-disco outfit from Norfolk, Virginia didn’t enjoy a lot of major radio hits, although their 1979 single “Firecracker” (the gem they are best remembered for) soared to #4 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart and was sampled by Miami-based rappers the 2 Live Crew ten years later on their 1989 single “Me So Horny.” But in dance clubs, Mass Production reigned supreme—and in 1981, their sixth album, Turn Up the Music, enjoyed a lot more exposure in the clubs than it did on the radio.

Mass Production’s funk was not the Midwestern funk of the Ohio Players, Bootsy Collins, Slave and Lakeside or the New Orleans funk of the Meters. Nor was it the sleek sophisticated funk of Rufus & Chaka Khan, the Brothers Johnson and Chic. Rather, Mass Production favored a style of funk that was tough, edgy and gritty yet shared disco’s obsession with fast tempos, beats per minute and the dance floor. And even though Mass Production were originally from Norfolk, they had a strong New York City connection and sounded like they were from the Big Apple. In fact, they were typically compared to Brass Construction, BT Express and the Crown Heights Affair, three Brooklyn-based bands that favored a similar funk-disco approach. And the fact that Mass Production rhymed with Brass Construction was no coincidence. Clearly, Mass Production’s sound owed a lot to funk/disco hits like Brass Construction’s “Movin’” from 1976 and BT Express’ “Do It ‘Till You’re Satisfied” from 1974.

Mass Production made their recording debut in 1976 with Welcome to Our World, which was released by Cotillion/Atlantic Records. The album didn’t receive much exposure on commercial radio, but dance clubs were all over infectious, exuberant grooves such as “Wine-Flow Disco,” “Fun in the Sun,” “I Like to Dance” and the #32 R&B/#5 dance single “Welcome to Our World (Of Merry Music).” In those days, it wasn’t uncommon for funk bands to have eight, nine or even ten members—and Mass Production’s original ten-person lineup of 1976 consisted of Larry “Rockstarr” Marshall and Agnes “Tiny” Kelly on lead vocals, Rodney “Bunny” Phelps on lead guitar, Kevin “D’No” Douglas on bass and background vocals, James “Otiste” Drumgole on trumpet, flugelhorn and background vocals, Gregory McCoy on tenor saxophone, Tyrone Williams on keyboards, LeCoy Bryant on rhythm guitar and background vocals (Bryant later moved to lead guitar), Ricardo Williams on drums and Emmanuel “Joe Rock” Redding on percussion. Mass Production had a few lineup changes along the way: Phelps, for example, left the band in 1979 and was later replaced by guitarist Dan Harris. And Samuel Williams came on board as a drummer in the early 1980s, allowing Ricardo Williams to contribute more vocals. But for the most part, Mass Production’s lineup was relatively stable during their eight years of recording. And one thing about them that never changed was a desire to have both male lead vocals and female lead vocals.

Welcome to Our World cemented their reputation as a party band, and they lived up to that reputation on subsequent albums that included Believe in 1977, Three Miles High in 1978, In the Purest Form (the album that boasted “Firecracker”) in 1979, Massterpiece in 1980 and Turn Up the Music in 1981. Mass Production weren’t known for recording a lot of romantic ballads or being huge contributors to the quiet storm field, but they would typically include a few ballads or slow jams on their albums—and they showed a bit of their romantic side on Turn Up the Music. “Diamond Chips” (which features female singer Kelly on lead vocals) and “Sunshine” are romantic quiet storm ballads, and “I Can’t Believe You’re Going Away” (another song that finds Kelly singing lead) is a smooth mid-tempo offering. Released as a single, “I Can’t Believe You’re Going Away” made it to #90 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart.

But Turn Up the Music is a party album first and foremost, and Mass Production go for maximum club appeal on exuberant funk/dance jams such as “I Got to Have Your Love,” “Saucey,” “Clinch Quencher,” the instrumental “Bopp” and the title track (which was released as a single and reached #36 R&B in Billboard).

Turn Up the Music peaked at #42 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart, which was not surprising given the performance of their previous albums. In the Purest Form, Mass Production’s best-selling album, climbed to #10 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart thanks, in part, to the success of “Firecracker” (which was, hands down, their biggest hit). But as a rule, their albums peaked in the 30s and 40s on that chart.

After Turn Up the Music, Mass Production continued to record for Cotillion/Atlantic. Their seventh album, In a City Groove, was released by Cotillion in 1982. After that came their eighth album, ’83, which was a 1983 release (as its title indicates). In 1983, funk and dance music were becoming increasingly high-tech, and ’83 reflected Mass Production’s desire to adapt to the synth-funk sounds they were hearing. Mass Production, like so many of the funksters who emerged in the 1970s, were very much a horn band and were known for their killer horn section. But they realized that synth-funk was coming on strong in 1983, and on ’83, they made an honest effort to change with the times.

’83 turned out to be the their final album. After leaving Cotillion, Mass Production recorded the little-known single “Come Get Some of This” for the independent Paran label before breaking up. 

Mass Production’s recording career lasted less than a decade, but during the eight years they were together, the Norfolk natives commanded a small but enthusiastic following—especially among people who frequented dance clubs. And in 1981, Mass Production kept their followers dancing with Turn Up the Music.

—Alex Henderson, October 2013

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Salon.com, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.