Heatwave - Biography
Heatwave was a multinational funk/disco group. Their biggest hit, "Boogie Nights," as with most of their material was written by their keyboardist Rod Temperton, who would go on to provide some of Michael Jackson with some of his biggest hits.
The key figure in Heatwave was Rod Temperton, a graduate of the De Aston School in Market Rasen who’d drummed in a band there. After he moved to keyboards, he played in several dance bands, which took him to Worms, West Germany. In 1972, he and guitarist Bern Springer formed a soul cover band, Sundown Carousel. Meanwhile, brothers Johnnie and Keith Wilder were American servicemen based in West Germany when they first began performing. Upon their discharge from the army, the duo stayed in Germany. In 1974, Temperton answered an advertisment in Melody Maker placed by Johnnie Wilder, Jr. for their new band, Heatwave. The Wilders, then predominantly relying on covers, are impressed with the quality of Temperton’s originals.
In 1975, the three are joined by Swiss-born bassist Mario Mantese, Czechoslovakian drummer Ernest "Bilbo" Berger and Jamaican guitarist Eric Johns in London. They spent the following months performing in nightclubs and refining their funky take on disco. In 1976, they signed to GTO records where they were paired with house producer/session guitarist Barry Blue and rhythm guitarist Jesse Whitten. Tragedy struck early when Whitten was stabbed to death in his native Chicago. He was replaced by British guitarist Roy Carter. That fall they began recording Too Hot to Handle (1977 Epic). Their third single, "Boogie Nights," reached number two in the UK and the US in November. Too Hot to Handle (1977 Epic) was released the following spring, reaching #11 in the US,
Continuing with Barry Blue on production, Central Heating (1978-Epic) was released in April 1978. The first single, "The Groove Line," reached number seven after which the band suffered a series of setbacks. Eric Johns quit. Temperton also quit, although he continued writing the bulk of their material. Meanwhile, Temperton’s songwriting attracted the attention of Rufus, Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, who employed him to write three songs for Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall, "Rock With You," "Off The Wall" and "Burn This Disco Out."
Meanwhile, as Heatwave prepared to record their next album, Mantese was stabbed in the heart by an unknown assailant, leaving him clinically dead for a spell. After several months, he awoke from a coma, blind, mute and paralyzed. He was replaced by Derek Bramble and keyboardist Calvin Duke also joined the group. In February 1979, a dump truck struck Johnnie Wilder’s car, paralyzing him from the neck down. He remained in the group as co-producer. Hot Property (1979 Epic) was produced by Phil Ramone and saw them adding jazz and Latin influences to their sound. It was less successful than its predecessors. Carter also quit.
Determined to continue, in 1980, the remaining members recorded Candles (1980 Epic), with Temperton again providing the songs but two. Though paralyzed, Wilder was able to return to the band to cut studio vocals for the album. For live performances, they relied on James Dean "J.D." Nicholas. November’s "Gangsters of the Groove" was their last hit, peeking at #21 in the US and #20 in the UK. In America, the album only reached #71. For Current (1982 Epic), Heatwave re-employed the services of Blue. It only reached #156 in the US. Meanwhile, Temperton continued to score massive success with Michael Jackson, providing "Thriller," "The Lady in My Life" and "Baby Be Mine" for the singer’s seminal album, Thriller. Following Current’s flop. Bramble quit and went into production. Nichols joined The Commodores as Lionel Richie’s replacement. Meanwhile, Temperton was nominated for an Oscar for "Miss Celie's Blues,” a song he co-wrote for The Color Purple. When Jones and Duke went their separate ways in 1983, Heatwave ended.Johnnie Wilder went on to record gospel albums in the ‘80s.
In 1988, Keith Wilder and a group of all new members reconvened as Heatwave and recorded The Fire (1988 Soul City). Both Wilder brothers united the following year to release a gospel album as Heatwave, Sound of Soul (1989 Blatant Records). Neither found large audiences. By the mid-‘90s, Keith Wilder is performing as Heatwave with bassist Dave Williamson, keyboardists Kevin Sutherland and Byron Byrd, guitarist Bill Jones, and original drummer Ernest Berger. In 1997, this line-up toured the US and recorded a live album at the Greek Theater in Hollywood, released as Heatwave at the Greek Theater - Hollywood - Live (1997 Century Vista). In 2006, Heatwave released their final album, Inside Me, Out of Time (2006 Mello Records). The same month, on May 13th, 2006, Johnnie Wilder died in his sleep at his home in Dayton, Ohio, at 56-years-old.
