Midnight Star

Midnight Star was formed by Calloway in 1976 while attending Kentucky State University. The band, consisting of Calloway, Belinda Lipscomb, Melvin Gentry, Kenneth Gant, Bill Simmons, Bo Watson, and Jeff Cooper, were all students at the university. They later added non-KSU students Vincent Calloway (Reggie's younger brother) and Bobby Lovelace.^[19][21]

Calloway was the leader of the band, writing, arranging, and producing songs for the nine-piece ensemble. He studied hit songs on the radio, paying close attention to what DJs were spinning in the clubs and hosted listening parties for his family and friends at home. Solar Records President Dick Griffey signed the band in 1979 and helped fine-tune their sound through the first three albums.^[22] Calloway honed in on production skills by shadowing songwriter/producers Leon Sylvers III and Harvey Mason in the recording studio. While speaking on the topic of the importance of mentoring, Calloway discussed an encounter he had with Quincy Jones, "The good Lord brought Quincy Jones into my life, a half hour session with Jones after his concert led to Midnight Star's breakthrough hit, “No Parking on the Dance Floor."^[23]

Calloway's use of synthesizer based beats, a fusion of R&B, funk, and pop, along with Vincent Calloway on vocoder, gave the group their signature techno-funk sound.^[24] He recorded six albums with the group, releasing such Top-10 singles as Operator, Freak-A-Zoid, and Wet My Whistle. No Parking On the Dance Floor was listed on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Singles of 1984.^[25] Calloway departed the group in 1986 with his brother Vincent to pursue other music ventures.^[26]

Calloway

Calloway, the music duo, was formed by Calloway with his brother Vincent. They released two albums, All the Way and Let's Get Smooth. Their single, I Wanna Be Rich, charted at #2 on Billboard's Pop chart as well as certifying Gold.^[27]

Calloway's self-released 2009 debut solo album, Bring Back the Love, received favorable reviews.^[28][29]

Additional Singles

In 2017, Calloway and his brother Reggie released the charity single, Houston, after schools in Houston were badly flooded by Hurricane Harvey. Additional artists on the recording project were Walter and Wallace Scott of The Whispers and Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, Kevin Toney of The Blackbyrds, Freddie Washington, Brian O'Neal of The BusBoys, and Herman Jackson. All proceeds from the song were donated to the Houston Independent School District.^[30]

In 2020, the Calloways released the single, Politics, hoping to bring awareness about voting registration and voting participation. "My brother, Vincent, and I have written and recorded, “Politics,” one of the most important songs of our careers, at a time of one of the most important elections of all time," said Calloway.^[31]

Calloway provided vocals on Skip Martin's 2021 charity single, People Get Ready, along with artists Stevie Wonder, Ray Parker Jr., Taylor Dayne, and Howard Hewett, among others. All proceeds were donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The single has been compared to, We Are the World, and charted at #1 the World Indie Music Charts in 2022.^[32][33][34]

Writing and Producing

Dick Griffey, the President and owner of SOLAR Records, who had signed Midnight Star, asked Calloway and the band if they knew of any other talented groups in the Ohio area. Calloway and Midnight star had signed the music group, The Deele, to their production company Mid-Star (which included band members Kenny Babyface Edmunds and LA Reid). Calloway pitched the band to Griffey which led to him signing the group. "He signed them unheard based on our reputation, but they had the music to back it up," recalled Calloway.^[35] He produced their 1983 album, Street Beat, containing the #2 single Body Talk, as well as co-writing singles, Street Beat and Video Villain.^[36]

While still writing, producing and performing in Midnight Star, Calloway continued producing and writing for other artists. In the early 1980s he also co-produced, Radio Activity by Royalcash and co-wrote and produced singles, Contagious and Never Too Late for The Whispers. In 1985 he co-wrote the title track for Klymaxx's album Meeting in the Ladies Room and co-produced Hello Stranger for Carrie Lucas.

By the mid-1980s, Calloway had become a prominent writer and producer for other artists.^[37] In 1987 his song, Jump Start, recorded by Natalie Cole was said by the press to have literally "jump started" her music career^[38] and Love Overboard, written by Calloway and recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips, won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo with a Vocal as well as being listed as one of their Top 10 Hits.^[39] Atlantic Records brought him in on LeVert's album project resulting in Calloway writing and producing, Casanova, which earned Calloway a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song and LeVert a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with a Vocal.^[40][41]

In 1988, Calloway wrote and produced the #1 single, Joy, recorded by Teddy Pendergrass and in 1993, Believe in Love, both of which made the Teddy Pendergrass Top 10 Songs by Classic Rock History.^[42] Pendergrass also recorded Happy Kwanzaa, Having a Christmas Party, and I Won't Have Christmas (all written and produced by Calloway), which were released on his 1998 holiday album, This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love).^[43]

Other Ventures

Calloway was instrumental in developing options for artists to receive advances without giving up ownership of their creative works. He serves as the Director of Music Royalty Funding at Sound Royalties and was the co-founder and co-owner of the Royalty Exchange.^[8][44]