Enchantment (band)

Beginnings

Enchantment were formed in the late 1960s at Detroit's Pershing High School, with the visually impaired Emanuel "EJ" Johnson as their lead singer. In 1971, Enchantment came to the attention of Dick Scott, a former Motown executive who headed his own artist development company, Artists International and in 1973, they formed an alliance with Michael Stokes, producer of Creative Source's hit, "Who Is He (And What Is He To You)".

Success

By 1976, Stokes managed to get the group a recording deal through his association with Fred Frank, then head of Roadshow Records, who was also guiding the careers of B.T. Express and Brass Construction. After starting off with a disco-oriented song "Come On And Ride", they decided to focus more on ballads. Their self-entitled debut album, Enchantment, contained two singles in that vein that charted well on the Billboard R&B chart - "Gloria" at number five and "Sunshine" at number three.

A second album, Once Upon A Dream far surpassed its predecessor by charting on the R&B album chart at #8 and Pop albums charts at #46. It featured the crossover ballad "It's You That I Need", which topped the R&B charts. Attempts to diversify their sound by appealing to the disco audience failed, though the song, "If You're Ready (Here It Comes)" reached #14 on the R&B charts. In 1978, Roadshow ended its distribution agreement with United Artists and formed an alliance with RCA Records. It would be nearly a year before their next album, Journey to the Land Of... Enchantment was released in 1979, the group's last album with Roadshow.

Decline

By 1980, Roadshow had folded as a label and Enchantment signed with RCA Records, where they recorded their fourth album,Soft Lights, Sweet Music, with top R&B producer, Don Davis. Both singles released only charted at #47 each in 1981. They then signed with Columbia Records in 1982 and released two more albums; Enchanted Lady (1982) and Utopia (1984). By the end of the decade, the rise of funk and rap put a virtual end to ballad groups. All three albums barely dented the charts.

Currently

Today, Enchantment still performs for fans. They appeared in the Boston portion of the concert recorded at the Orpheus Theatre November 29, 2002 for the DVD The Big Show and, in 2003, released "God Bless America", in honor of troops fighting in Iraq. Proceeds from the single benefited the United Way. Jobie Thomas left the group and has formed his own group known as Enchantment featuring Jobie Thomas.

Compilation albums