Splendor were:
Billy Nunn (b. Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. - keyboards)
Bobby Nunn (b. Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. - vocals)
Sascha Meeks (vocals)
and
Richard Shaw (vocals & bass guitar).
Splendor released one, self-titled, album for Columbia Records, in 1979.
The group featured the brothers Billy & Bobby Nunn.
Billy was the keyboard player, and was also a member of the Stone City Band.
Bobby was, later, signed to Motown Records, where he released two albums in 1982 and 1983.
He released the single ‘Don't Knock It (Until You Try It)’ in 1983.
Bobby was part of a duo, formed with his childhood friend Gene Coplin, and were known as Bob & Gene.
Splendor’s album featured the likes of The Waters, Dianne Reeves, Paulinho Da Costa, Marlo Henderson, and Earth, Wind & Fire’s, Philip Bailey.
When the group disbanded, the members embarked on solo careers.
Sascha Meeks went on to record with the Stone City Band.
The album promotional material elaborated:
'It was in the basement of the Nunn family's home in Buffalo, New York that Robertt and Billy's father set up MO-DO Studio Productions.
They cut a few local records to make enough money to record a professional sounding demonstration tape of Robertt's original material, featuring themselves and Sascha.
Three of these tunes were ultimately recorded on their debut Lp, Splendor.
Billy Nunn met Phillip Bailey (lead vocalist of Earth, Wind & Fire) on a return trip from Japan, where he (Billy) had been appearing with a local group from Baltimore called The Soft Tones.
Upon returning to Buffalo, Billy gave Phillip's address in California to Robertt, who sent him the demo tape. About five days later Phillip called Robertt and expressed his enthusiasm about the project.
They stayed in communication by telephone over subsequent months.
Meanwhile, Rick James (also a native of Buffalo) came into Buffalo from Toronto, Canada searching for some uniquely talented musicians to play background music on a demonstration tape.
Robertt met Rick through a mutual friend, and introduced him to five of the seven members of the band whom we now know as Splendor.
Although the association with Rick James lasted over a period of one month, this group of musicians is not and never were the "Stone City Band", in fact at the time they recorded the album there was no such entity, it was simply a name.
They cut seven or eight tunes, two of which were re-done for the Rick James ’Come & Get It’ Lp.
Billy Nunn played on all the tunes which were recorded on that album, the other four members played and sang on five of the eight tunes on the final product, including the single release, ‘You and Splendord I’, which took the album to platinum status.
Once that project was completed, Splendor moved to Los Angeles.
Robertt managed their operation.
After settling in L.A., a home town friend and fellow Columbia recording artist, Ronnie Foster, introduced Splendor to a Columbia executive, who in turn called Phillip Bailey and arranged a meeting beween all parties concerned.
So it came that Phillip Bailey and Tommy Vicari, representing Holy Sound Productions and Robertt Nunn were to enter into co-production on the Splendor Lp.
Through Phillip's induction of guitarist, Johnny Graham (EWF) saxophonist, Don Myrick (EWF) and percussionist extraordinaire, Paulinho daCosta to the project, some of the pressure on the young musicians recording their first professional album was relieved by the presence of these great musicians.'
http://www.buffalomusic.org/billy-nunn.html
Albums:
Splendor (Columbia Records 1979)
