Eddie Reddick

Eddie Reddick was born in Louisiana. He was introduced to music at the age of 7 by his father Ed Reddick Sr. By the time he was 12 he'd become the bass player in his dad's band, ?The Rhythm Gents?. The Rhythm Gents, a five piece band consisting of bass, drums, guitar, sax and vocals performed music ranging from Motown, to Rhythm And Blues. From artists like Sam Cook to Otis Redding to The Coasters to BB King, The Temptations and so many others.

Eddie didn't realize it then, but he was learning the essentials for becoming a professional musician from his father on guitar, his uncle [Warren Reddick] on drums and various saxophonists and lead vocalists from the New Orleans area. Even though he was only twelve, Eddie continued playing the small clubs in the local area. Three years later his father decided to move the family to California where he felt there might be more musical opportunities for himself as well as for Eddie. At the age of fifteen, Eddie was somewhat skeptical and apprehensive about going to a strange place and leaving his friends and many relatives, aunts, uncles, and cousins behind. Long Beach California is where Eddie's father migrated after contacting a cousin {Percy Anderson} in Long Beach who had arranged and actually secured a job at the Long Beach Naval Ship Yard for him. Six months later his father sent for the family. By the time Eddie, his mother and sister moved to California his dad had already formed another band with some local musicians. When Eddie arrived in Long Beach he continued playing in his father's band for another two years, until one night about 10:00 {A Thursday Night} which happened to have been a school night, there was a knock on the front door. It was a friend frantically explaining there was a band in a popular local night club who needed a bass player like right now because the organ players' bass keyboard had suddenly malfunctioned after performing two songs. Eddie requested permission from his mom and dad then grabbed his bass guitar and his amplifier and loaded them into his friend's car, arriving about ten minutes later at a club by the name of Big Tates. After setting up his equipment and briefly talking to the band leader about the song list, he sensed a big relief, realizing he knew practically every song on the list because his father's band had been performing most of the same songs. Even though he was only seventeen the band loved his mature style of playing. That night Eddie landed a steady 3 night a week gig with a fairly well known local group by the name of Jesse Johnson And The Chocolate Fudge. This was a 5 piece band consisting of keyboards, drums, guitar, percussion and saxophone and now a bass player. Even though all the other guys were in their mid to late twenties they seemed to have trusted and respected the new kid in the band. Eddie remained with the Fudge for three years performing in places like Vegas, Hawaii, and various clubs throughout the Los Angels area. By this time he was barely twenty years old. The Fudge dismantled around that same time due to the normal burn out of playing the same circuit over and over again. Shortly there after, Eddie formed another band with a group of excellent musicians from Long Beach who were closer to his age . The band went by the name of ?The Exciters Unlimited?, who later became ?Above And Beyond.? The band was stylized around the concept of Earth Wind And Fire. Consisting of Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Guitar, two Horns and two lead singers. One of the lead singers doubled on the Congas while the other doubled on the Timbales. The energy of this 8 piece group was amazing as choreography became an intricate part to every song they performed. They became known for their tight musical sounds and their smooth energetic dance steps as well as for their flashy dress attire. The bands' popularity soared very quickly as they found themselves working very consistently in and around Orange County and the Los Angeles area. The band eventually hired a booking agency who contracted engagements regularly in Canada and Japan. However after four years without a record deal and hitting the same circuit over and over again they found themselves going through the common process known as the burnout syndrome. After some serious contemplation, Eddie decided to accept an offer from an L.A. based group who was looking to replace their current bass player. This group was a three man one woman singing group by the name of Side Effect who was currently enjoying a couple of top ten singles on the R&B charts. Side Effect retained a ten piece back up band who went by the name of The LA Boppers. Eddie ultimately gave his notice to ABOVE AND BEYOND and two months later was on the road with Side Effect and The LA Boppers. He found himself touring beside or opening up for bigger more well known acts, such as The O' Jays, Frankie Beverly And Maze, The Ohio Players, Cameo, The Brothers Johnson, The Gap Band, Kool And The Gang and so many of the old school artists. Eddie received an enormous amount of exposure for his signature thumping style while playing the bass exclusively with his thumb. He became known as Ed Funky Thumbs Reddick a nick name which stuck with him for a long time. One year after joining Side Effect and The LA Boppers, Eddie found himself signing his first record deal. The LA Boppers had landed a record deal with Fantasy Records out of Oakland California. The deal was through Side Effects' production company ?AT Home Productions. ' Unfortunately the deal secured only one Album which received a minimal amount of airplay. Shortly thereafter the contract was bought out by Polygram Records. An album was immediately recorded and released on the Polygram label. The album rendered a top ten hit entitled, Is This The Best {Bop Do Wah} The song received consistent airplay with regular rotation on many stations. Even though it appeared this song had become a moderate hit, there still wasn't enough funds generated to maintain ten hungry musicians. In spite of the hit song the touring dates had slowed considerably at that time. As a result of that situation, the management team orchestrated a strategy to dismantle the band only to reform and re-sign it a short while later with the same record company. Only now, instead of ten guys signing to the label there were only four members. Things still didn't improve very much financially after their orchestrated move. Ultimately Eddie and a couple of the other guys in the band decided to form a club band to maintain some financial stability while waiting and hoping that the record might generate a promotional tour and eventually propelling the record to hit status. Unfortunately that big hit never happened, however, fortunately the club band ended up earning money on a more consistent basis than the recording band. Another fortunate situation came into play for Eddie when Wayne Henderson, the executive producer and the founder of At Home Productions had received a major deal to produce over a dozen acts based on his track record and his huge success with writing hits with and for his group The Jazz Crusaders. Wayne contracted Eddie on many of these recordings which kept him busy in the studio, recording bass tracks for several acts including Bill Withers, Roy Ayers, Billy Cobham, Bobby Lyle, Michael Narada Walden, Sergio Mendez, Ramsey Lewis, and many other artists. This lasted for at least a year, then things began to slow down a bit. The LA Boppers had no tour dates scheduled and Side Effect had not been touring at all for lack of hits. Gradually the recording sessions became so sporadic and far and in between, that Eddie decided to weigh some other options. Eventually the calls stop coming and the realization sank in that perhaps the steady work in the clubs would be the ticket for now. The final option was to go full time with the club band which was more financially consistent. After loosing contact with the recording situation, he found himself saying yes to more and more club gigs as opposed to the few recording dates . The club dates had ultimately out weighed the studio recording sessions. As it turned out that was indeed the way it would be for many years to come, and the rest is history as they say. In retrospect, Eddie has gained a wealth of information and experience by coming in contact with so many talented musicians and entertainers. He is forever thankful for being blessed with an opportunity of that nature. This CD is no doubt the result of the passion and appreciation that has come from all of the years of first hand experience gained from remaining in direct contact with live audiences. As a result of staying directly and personally connected to these audiences, Eddie has developed a natural feel for what people enjoy and respond to on the deepest level of entertainment. His intentions with this CD are to create that old school passion yet maintain a new and fresh approach to enhance the creative process. Eddie realizes on every level of entertainment people love to be shown that they're a part of and included in whatever is taking place on stage or in the mind of the entertainer. As a matter of fact including the audiences has become second nature and a trademark for Eddie. Whether it's getting people to scat along with a simple melody or simply having them to raise the roof or just saying clearly in the microphone the name of an individual in the audience. Hopefully this CD will give the feeling of including the listener and treating them as though they are in the presence of this dedicated entertainer. Each song except for Sunset and Thinking of You were created from a basic groove starting with just a drum beat and a bass line. Then the melodies were built around the grooves. In essence most of the songs are basically jams. These jams were designed to translate into funky grooves and pleasant melodies to the listeners. Giving a bit of old school feeling yet utilizing todays incredible technology to enhance the basic quality of the music.