Kleeer were a New York-based funk band that placed a dozen singles on the Billboard R&B chart from 1979 through 1985. Headed by drummer, arranger, songwriter, and vocalist
Woody Cunningham, the band's original form took shape in 1972 to support vocal group the Choice Four. The lineup was filled out with vocalist and percussionist
Paul Crutchfield, bassist
Norman Durham, and guitarist
Richard Lee. Two years later, the band broke off on their own and changed their name to the Jam Band. For a brief period, they backed up
Disco Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes for touring purposes, and even appeared with the group on the TV program The Midnight Special. In 1975, the Jam Band became Pipeline with a hard funk-rock edge. The
Columbia label picked them up and released a single, "Gypsy Rider," which didn't fare well commercially, but Pipeline was confronted with another opportunity in 1976.
Patrick Adams and
Greg Carmichael, underground disco legends with skills in all departments of record-making, had released material as
the Universal Robot Band, but there was no proper band. Pipeline accepted the offer to become that band and recorded and toured under the name until 1978.
The quartet's desire to become self-sufficient, however, resulted in yet another change of name and direction. Re-named
Kleeer, the quartet became a funk band with a dancefloor emphasis. The first song they cut under the name, "Keep Your Body Workin'," was liked enough by Atlantic to be included on a compilation. The response from DJs was overwhelmingly positive and resulted in a recording contract. From 1979 through 1985, the group released seven albums for the label and frequented the Billboard R&B and club charts with a series of minor hits. Three songs cracked the R&B Top 40: "Tonight's the Night (Good Time)" (number 33, 1979), "Winners" (number 23, 1980), and "Get Tough" (number 15, 1981).
Kleeer disappeared following the 1985 release of
Seeekret. Despite never attaining crossover success on the level of contemporaries like
Cameo and
the Gap Band, they built a rich discography that skillfully took funk from elegant and organic to sleek and synthesized. Exceptional rap recordings by the likes of
DJ Quik ("Tonight") and
2Pac ("California Love") have been sampled from their catalog, which has been reissued on CD, and as digital downloads, in piecemeal fashion by an assortment of labels. The band reappeared briefly in the '90s, and most of the members remained active session musicians.
Cunningham recorded into the 2000s as a solo artist and died in 2010.
Durham passed away the following year. ~ Andy Kellman