Hamilton Bohannon, disco musician has passed on at 78.
The record producer, who was renowned as a disco icon, was said to have died on Friday; according to the Newnan Times-Herald, a publication from his hometown.
His family is said to have confirmed the sad news. The musician’s cause of death is not currently known.
Bohannon was born in Newnan, Georgia. He begun his musical career in the 1960s as a drummer for a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix. He later became a member of Stevie Wonder’s touring band.
The gig led him to getting hired as a bandleader by Motown Records. His group Bohannon & The Motown Sound toured with several stars. They include Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Supremes, The Temptations and The Four Tops.
Eventually, he began a solo career and released his debut album Stop & Go in 1973. By the end of the 1980s, he made 18 more records. His music was popular in the ’70s disco era, but only one of his songs, Good Stompin Music, reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975.
Bohannon’s impact
His funk music endured the years and has been sampled by artists like Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg. In 2019, his song Save Their Souls appeared on the soundtrack for Just Mercy, the real-life legal drama starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson. His most recent single, Bohannon Combination Gumbo Mix, was released in February.
During later years of life he produced a new singer, Governor, and worked on material with his son, Hamilton Bohannon II. He also published an audiobook memoir detailing his early years in the music business, titled Bohannon Speaks From The Beginning.
In 2017, a street in his hometown, Peachtree Street, was renamed Bohannon Drive in his honour.
Bohannon is survived by his son Bohannon II and his daughter April.
