Fever (3)

Fever was a three man outfit consisting of members Joseph "Joe" Bomback, Dennis Wadlington and founder Dale Reed. Reed, an east coast musician who had his first taste of popularity as part of the 1968 collective known as the American Blues Exchange, was the brains behind the sound.
By 1978 Reed had already relocated to San Francisco and hooked up with bass player Wadlington and keyboardist Bomback when he decided to try his hand at disco music. Connecting with bay area music giants Marty Blecman and John Hedges provided the outlet for Reed's first outing. Blecman and Hedges would later be in the thick of S.F.'s disco music scene by owning Megatone Records and producing and writing for everyone from Lisa to Blueprint. As executive producers for Reed's first track they were able to bring it to Berkeley label Fantasy Records. The newly christened Fever released the 12" single of "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" to instant rave reviews. Though it was a Motown cover song it received a fresh sound thanks to the innovative use of synthesizers. It became such a classic that three years later Victor Flores would remix it and it would be re-released on JDC Records, becoming a hit allover again.

With the successful 12" single under their belt they set about recording their 1979 album "Fever." The album was actually two medleys featuring three songs each. The first song of each medley were pulled and placed on a 12" single which shot up the charts and earned them their place in disco history. "Beat Of The Night" and "Pump It Up" became one of those rare double-sided hits. The sensuous vocals were provided by secessionist Clydene Jackson and the album featured the soon-to-be famous synthesizer work of the late Patrick Cowley.

By 1979 Fantasy Records was in financial trouble and with the impending death of disco there were no further Fever releases. Wadlington went on to producer Sylvester's "Call Me" and in the 1990's-2000's arranging and producing Lenny Williams, Juanita Wynn and Robbie Young among others. Bomback dropped out of sight only to resurface in the new millennium in the world music market. Reed resurface in the 1990's mostly as a producer of mixed-disco c.d.'s and joined with old friend Wadlington on the Juanita Wynn project.