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Klymaxx

Cheryl Cooley from the 1980s all female group Klymaxx is interviewed by Dayna Newman.

Hi Cheryl, Thank you for letting me have some of your time today for this interview.

You're so welcome and thank you as well Dayna.

Let me start at the beginning. You are an original member and co-founder of the all-female R&B funk band, Klymaxx. How did it all start for you?

Well I was working in a bank and one of my supervisors was the niece of Johnny Pate, Johnny was Peabo Bryson's producer. I gave a demo tape to Linda Pate who was Johnny's niece and she gave it to Johnny, but Johnny wasn't really feeling it so Johnny gave it to Margaret Nash a big wig at Solar Records. She listened to it and loved it so she took it to Dick Griffey "the founder of Solar" and he signed us immediately.

How was it working with the people at Solar?

It was great; we were so green and new to everything
They took us under their wing and taught us what we needed to know. No one was shady but very helpful.

Our first album Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman was produced by Lakeside and Bernadette and I wrote the title Track.

Girl I love Lakeside, I had no idea they produced that record, see I'm learning things already! What about your second album Girls will be Girls?

That was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

How was it working with the great Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis?

They were awesome, they let you express yourself and gave you so much creative freedom. The only time they really stepped in was to tweak something if they thought it needed it.

WE were the first act outside of their group, The Time, that they produced. Even though they were so cool, it was intimidating at first, when we recorded the song Wild Girls they locked me in the booth and turned up the Marshall amp loud as hell and said go for it Cheryl and I did. (both of us laughing)

I have to ask this even though I already know the answer. For the record, it is really you playing the guitar not just standing on stage holding it, correct?

(Both laughing again) I have been playing the guitar since I was 11 years old. When you see me on stage I am playing my heart out, that's what I do.

My mother bought me a toy guitars when I was a little girl, I would pick it up and pluck at it, also my sister went to Julliard and met and married Hubert Laws, he had a guitar as well. I would take turns plucking at his guitar and my toy guitar so it was sort of divine intervention so to speak.

Sounds like that's what you were meant to do. When Disco left the scene around 1981 and all the new wave started to invade the clubs and radio stations I and many other lovers of funky dance music depended on groups like Klymaxx to keep us on the dance floor.

I have to tell you that when me and my girls went out to the clubs when we heard Meeting In The Ladies Room or The Men All Pause and it only took about 2 notes to decipher that was the jam and we would throw our hands up and yell out HEYYYYYYY That's my jam and run to the dance floor, so in a way you were apart of our lives. As an artist how does it make you feel to know you make that kind of impact on people's lives?

That's so humbling to hear that, Thank you Dayna.
I really didn't look at it like that, in my mind I was just doing my job and doing what I do and the fact that I made an impact is such an added bonus.

You have heard the saying, can't see the forest for the trees; well I live in the forest that's my environment, you don't really process the effect as it is going on, at least I didn't.

Tell me a story or memory you have about the early days?

There are so many, but this one stands out. I remember we went to a club that had a talent night and asked some musicians if we could use their instruments. At first they wouldn't let us, thinking these girls can't play these instruments! Plus all the other negativity you get as a female in a man's domain.

They finally said yes and when we got on stage and started playing the people were like WOW these girls can really play, we played cover tunes but they worked, and that's the kind of attitude we knew that people were going to have until we proved ourselves, and we did prove ourselves.

Yes you did Girl. You play the hell out of that guitar, you are no joke up there. What's your favorite Klymaxx track?

Hands Down Diva's Need Love too. It has that certain sleazy slimy rhythm to it.

Because you know I'm a Funkateer. (Both of us laughing and saying I know that's right) I'm all about rhythm. It takes over your groove pattern and it just goes (Cheryl makes a load roaring sound). It's that pocket groove, not too slow not too fast.

OH I like Funkateer. I wanna be one too (both giggling). Did you hang out with any of the other Solar acts?

Our first concert was in 1985, Midnight Star was the headliner and it was Midnight Star, Shalamar and us girls (Klymaxx). I remember when we went on stage "much like when we did the talent night" when we started to play the audience looked at us like OMG. These girls are really getting down. They couldn't believe it.

Did it upset you when people got you mixed up with other girl groups like The Mary Jane Girls?

It was frustrating because we had our own thing going on and had worked so hard, people usually got us mixed up with Vanity 6 more than The Mary Jane Girls, I think because of their song Nasty Girls.

If you could jam with any artist of your choice who would it be?

Prince, because his music is timeless and he's a genius.

OK what really happened in the ladies room? I know of 2 reasons to have a meeting in the ladies room 1st being you drag a Biotch in there to warn her about getting up on your man.

2nd one being getting your strategy and game plan straight for the night (men listen closely). This is usually not general info for you. So listen and learn. Strategy being you and your girlfriends give each other the nights signals one means rescue me I'm being terrorized by a creature with teeth like a Jack-o lantern and breath like a wildebeest, another one means if you come up to me while this fine man is talking to me I will pull half your hair out later. Finally the most important one being if you're dancing and the guy dances like Urkel or Carlton from the Fresh Prince of bel Air. You must come and rescue me immediately and say your cat died You need an emergency Hysterectomy or whatever it takes to get me off the floor.

(both laughing) I have a story about how that song came to be.
Reggie Calloway and Midnight Starr wrote Meeting in The Ladies Room What happened was Reggie was with his girlfriend at a club one night and Bernadette and her crew ran up to him and were pawing him fawning over him. Well his girlfriend was not having it and ran to the ladies room so whatever transpired Inside that ladies room inspired Reggie to write the song and the rest is history.

OOH Girl that's juicy. I love that story (Both laughing again) Sounds like she was "Much Much unhappy about that.. Ok girl you KNOW I have to ask about The VH1 Drama-Rama. I really didn't notice it when I saw it I was so busy waiting for the music to start. I was told about the drama and I love me some drama so spill it.

WE did our last tour in August of 1990. I went straight from college to a record deal. When the record company dropped us I took it that we no longer had talent so I went on to become an electrician then I got laid off in March.

I had a dream and I saw myself on my deathbed and that was very scary. I thought I have to try one more time, again Divine intervention, in April the phone rings and my old manager asked if I wanted to get the girls back together and put on an old school tour.
She called me because I have had the same number for so long and people always know how to get a hold of me.

In other words you don't have your utilities cut off all the time like a lot of people...(BOTH LOL)..

No Girl my mother would kill me, she taught me better than that.

Your mama is not wrong.. Ok, sorry go ahead..

So I called all the girls and asked them to be apart of the old school tour and they were saying girl we are too old, too fat, too this, too that.. I tried to include them because they were the only group members I had ever played with so of course I wanted to include them. Bernadette was not interested but Lorena, Joyce and Lynn showed up.

At the reunion they were mad because I was using the Klymaxx name, BUT we all have legal rights to the name Klymaxx. What happened was VH1 interviewed us all separately and put mine and my side on the cutting room floor. I got death threats in letters and all kinds of bad behavior.

Girl that is not even close to cute who sent the letter with the threats?

It was from an anonymous person. Joyce sent a letter from her attorney to stop me, but I had legal rights so nothing came of it.

This is a question directly from Dr Love at DiscoMusic.com: He wants to know did you Klymaxx have any true contemporaries in the 1980s R&B field that you looked up to? Reason being klymaxx was so unique in that they all played instruments, something you didn't see with your counterparts.

We really just did our own thing and relied on our own style, not that we didn't look up to anyone, we did, there were many fabulous artists but we didn't emulate anyone.

Who's idea, was it to collaborate with Howard Hewitt on I'd still Say Yes?

Howard was on the Solar label as well of course and it wasn't odd to have another artist from the same label do this, again divine intervention.

Girl and he's so FINE, oh my. (Both laughing again) How did you get involved with doing Man Size Love for the movie Running Scared?

Dick Rudolph, Minnie Ripperton's husband, asked us to do Man Size Love.

The Running Scared soundtrack is on MCA Records. When we signed with Solar they were with RCA then they changed to WEA. When Meeting in The Ladies Room was distributed it was by MCA. Dick Griffey created the Constellation label so they could push the group to MCA.

Sounds very political

It was the 80s, that's how it worked then.

Cheryl Thank you again this was so much fun..

Cheryl: I was going to say, don't forget to say how much fun we had.

If only they could have heard the off the record stuff! (Both LAUGHING)
I know you are doing tours and gigs with your group Klymaxx featuring Cheryl Cooley I'm going to add the link to your myspace page so people can find you and enjoy... Girl ya'll sound good too. We'll talk again soon..

We had a good time, I have that passion and this is what I was meant to do. I have a great manager "Buzz Willis" and CEG management. That always helps when you have good people.

Dayna, you are the most awesome interviewer! Thank you. Please, let's stay in touch and we will get together when Klymaxx gets out that way to perform. I have a very FUN group; they WILL be ready to party. LOL!

I'm there girl. I don't know if they will be ready for Miss Cheryl "Unruly" Cooley and Miss Dayna all in one shot, but hey, you only live once!

• Klymaxx @ DiscoMusic.com


• Cheryl Cooley | Klymaxx @ Myspace


• Klymaxx music @ Amazon U.S. | Amazon UK

Dayna Newman is a disco enthusiast, former booking agent. She is also the creator of DVA Music, has done graphic work for many old school artists and proud member of DiscoMusic.com. A big thank you to Dayna for all her hard work and willingness to conduct and write this wonderful interview.

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