Shalamar – Uptown Festival, Disco Gardens / Sound Of Los Angeles Records Solar / Castle Music Audio CD 2002 / CMRCD423

UPC 5050159142323

Uptown Festival is the first album credited to American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1977 on the Soul Train label. The album was in fact recorded by session singers. It peaked at #22 on the US R&B chart and #48 on the Billboard Albums chart.

The title track, "Uptown Festival," was recorded at Ike & Tina Turner's Bolic Sound studio. It's a medley of ten Motown classics sung over a 1970s disco beat. The single was a hit in both the USA and the UK.

Disco Gardens is the second album by the American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1978 on SOLAR Records. The group included Gerald Brown, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley; it was the only Shalamar album on which Brown appeared.

Disco Gardens was less successful than Shalamar's debut, Uptown Festival, peaking at No. 171 on the Billboard 200. It also peaked at No. 52 on the R&B chart. "Take That to the Bank" was a UK Top 20 hit.