With starting this new series, there is no way I could pass this up and had to feature it asap. The Deele, for those that don’t know, was the original group of hitmaker Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and music executive LA Reid, founded in 1981, along with Carlos “Satin” Greene, Darnell “Dee” Bristol, Stanley “Stick” Burke and Kevin “Kayo” Roberson.
The sextet released their debut album, Street Beat in 1983, and the following year, a single from the album, “Body Talk” became their first hit, reaching No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Guitarist/keyboardist Stanley “Stick” Burke left the band prior to the recording of a follow-up album. Recorded as a quintet, their sophomore LP, Material Thangz was released in 1985, but it did not see the success of their debut.
The band reached the apex of their career in 1987 with the release of their third album, Eyes of a Stranger, which produced two top-10 R&B singles, “Shoot ‘Em Up Movies” and perhaps their best-known song, “Two Occasions.”
“Two Occasions” was the second single released off the album. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on the Hot R&B and No. 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Following this LP Edmonds and Reid left the group to pursue production work and other ventures.
