Artist's albums
In The Jungle, Babe/Express Yourself
1997 · album
Express Yourself (Alternate Take)
2008 · single
Live at the Haunted House, May 18, 1968
2008 · album
Express Yourself (Remastered & Expanded)
2007 · album
Express Yourself
2005 · single
The Watts 103rd. St. Rhythm Band
2005 · album
Express Yourself
1970 · album
You're So Beautiful
1970 · album
Love Land / Sorry Charlie
1970 · single
Together
1968 · album
Similar artists
King Floyd
Artist
Archie Bell & The Drells
Artist
Clarence Reid
Artist
Buddy Miles
Artist
The Meters
Artist
The Undisputed Truth
Artist
Baby Huey
Artist
The J.B.'s
Artist
Dyke & The Blazers
Artist
The Beginning Of The End
Artist
Young-Holt Unlimited
Artist
Betty Davis
Artist
Black Heat
Artist
Marva Whitney
Artist
Fatback Band
Artist
Mandrill
Artist
Bobby Byrd
Artist
Lyn Collins
Artist
The Jimmy Castor Bunch
Artist
Biography
Famed for their oft-sampled 1970 classic "Express Yourself," Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm was among the pivotal forces behind soul music's metamorphosis into funk. Wright was born in Clarksdale, MS, in 1940; his family relocated to Los Angeles a dozen years later, and there he began performing with a number of local doo wop groups, eventually becoming a protégé of singer Jesse Belvin. After learning to play guitar, Wright formed a band dubbed the Wright Sounds with bassist Melvin Dunlap, saxophonist Big John Rayford, and drummer James Gadson; in time, the lineup also grew to include guitarist Al McKay, trombonist Raymond Jackson, saxophonist Bill Cannon, and trumpeter Gabriell Flemings. As the Soul Runners, the group scored a 1967 hit with the instrumental "Grits and Cornbread"; rechristened the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, they scored again later that same year with another instrumental, "Spreadin' Honey," and with the support of comedian Bill Cosby (whom they'd previously backed in the studio) were signed to Warner Bros. soon after. With their self-titled 1968 debut LP, the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band outlined the pioneering sound which they perfected over the series of records which followed -- renowned for their loose, improvisational performances, the group bridged the gap between the proto-funk explosiveness of James Brown and the earthy Southern grooves of the Stax/Volt stable, topped off by Wright's incantatory vocals. Many of their songs were improvised in the studio or on stage, among them their first major pop hit, 1969's "Do Your Thing." 1970's Express Yourself was the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's creative peak, generating not only the insistent title smash but also the gorgeous ballad "Tell Me What You Want Me to Do." After one more hit, "Your Love (Means Everything to Me)," the group splintered in the wake of 1971's You're So Beautiful, and Wright continued on as a solo artist, scoring his lone chart entry with the title track to 1973's Doin' What Comes Naturally. After an extended absence from performing, he formed a new Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band and released Going to the Party in 1998. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi