#1405: GQ

80s Snapshot:

• Number of songs on Hot 100: 1
• Highest peak position: 93
• Cumulative weeks on Hot 100: 2

The boom and bust of the disco era affected many of the artists we’ll cover across this journey. A classic example is the New York band GQ, whose career wasn’t defined by disco but certainly was massively impacted by it.

GQ’s journey began in the late 60s as Sabu and the Survivors, their name a reference to bassist Keith “Sabu” Crier. His father Arthur was a member of the doo-wop group The Halos, who had a Top-40 hit with “Nag” in 1961.

With a lineup of Keith Crier (bass), Emanuel Rahiem LeBlanc (lead vocals/guitar), Herb Lane (keyboards) and Kenny Banks (drums), Sabu and the Survivors eventually began performing as The Rhythm Makers in the early 70s. Performing primarily straight-up funk, the group under that name saw just one album released on a minor label, 1976’s Soul On Your Side. In 1978, Banks was replaced as the group’s drummer by Paul Service. This personnel change was accompanied by one final name change, adopting the handle GQ which stands for “Good Quality”.

Leaning into the omnipresent disco trend without sacrificing their signature bass-heavy funk sound, the group’s first album under the new name was 1979’s Disco Nights. Similar to the more-successful group Heatwave, the album’s repertoire was a mix of floor-filling dance-funk and lighter ballads. The album’s title track, released as “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)”, was of the uptempo variety and became a sizable hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Disco chart and #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Follow-up single “I Do Love You,” a cover of Billy Stewart’s 1965 ballad, made #20 on the Hot 100 and #5 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Thanks to these hit singles, the album reached #13 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart (#2 on the Soul LPs chart).

Work quickly began on the next album, and the aptly-named Two was released in 1980. While still moderately successful commercially (reaching #46 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Soul LPs chart), it was certainly a step backward and indicative of disco’s waning influence. The single “Sitting In The Park” (another Billy Stewart cover) bubbled under the Hot 100 at #101 in June.

Also in June of 1980, drummer Paul Service was in a serious car accident, fracturing his wrist among other injuries. While initially temporarily replaced by Steve “Beatz” Adorno, this personnel change eventually became permanent for the remainder of GQ’s lifespan. Even with Adorno on board, the band branded itself as a trio from this point forward; their third and final album Face To Face, released in 1981, features only Crier, LeBlanc and Lane on the cover.

Face To Face continued the band’s commercial slide, only making #140 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the Soul LPs chart. With disco firmly out of fashion by this point, the album’s uptempo lead single “Shake” failed to reach the Hot 100 (but did make #23 on the Hot Soul Singles chart). The follow-up ballad “Sad Girl” would become the group’s only dent on the Hot 100 in the 80s; it debuted at #93 on the 3/13/1982 chart, spending both frames of its two-week run at that peak position.

Though the group never released another album, LeBlanc recorded a solo album for Capitol Records in 1991 and continues to perform as GQ (or “Mr. Q”). Recording in this capacity as a solo stand-in for the band, he recorded a cover album in 1999 of more Billy Stewart songs as well as tracks by Marvin Gaye. Crier’s nephew Keith Sweat went on to have a hugely successful career in his own right and will have his own entry much later in this journey.

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