Midnight Star was formed by Reggie Calloway in 1976. Calloway was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1955. After his parents divorced in 1963, Reggie Calloway worked from 1964 to 1970 at his Larson’s Flower Barn and Ice Cream Parlor which was operated by his mother in Cincinnati, Ohio. A natural athlete, Reggie also played trumpet. In 1975 Reggie and brothers Vincent and Gregory, along with friends John Jones and Ruben Jordan, formed the jazz-fusion group SunChild. They released their first single on their own label, Starbound Records. During the summer of 1975, SunChild served as the back-up band for Sonny Stitt. Subsequently, Midnight Star consisted of Reggie Calloway as frontman, Belinda Lipscomb on lead vocals, Melvin Gentry on guitar and vocals, Kenneth Gant on bass guitar and vocals, Bill Simmons on saxophone and keyboards, Bo Watson on keyboards and vocals, and Jeff Cooper on guitar and keyboards, were all students at Kentucky State University. They later added non-KSU students Vincent Calloway (Reggie’s younger brother) on trombone, and Bobby Lovelace on drums. Midnight Star was a nine-piece ensemble.

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#52: Freak-A-Zoid by Midnight Star