Friday, September 29, 2006

The Music Explosion - Jamie Lyons R.I.P.

Jamie Lyons, the lead singer of The Music Explosion, has passed away from a heart attack suffered at his home in South Carolina.

The Music Explosion were formed in Mansfield, Ohio from the remnants of two other groups, Kings English and the British Walkers. They came to the attention of producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, a production team which also had their own hit, Quick Joey Small by the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus. They also produced the 1910 Fruitgum Co. and Ohio Express.

The Music Explosion got their name from a jingle used on a New York City radio station, "your music explosion station". They had a couple of false starts including a version of Little Black Egg, which fared ok regionally and was also recorded by The Nightcrawlers. They hit paydirt with a song recorded by British writer, John Carter, Little Bit O' Soul. That song went to No.2 on the Billboard chart in 1967 and also became a Gold record.

He is survived by his wife and three children.