Y'all remember "Are You Single"...

In the early eighties, while the monster Funk group Slave was still going strong, offshoots from the band began to form - Steve Washington and singers Curtis Jones and Starleana Young branched out to form Aurra in 1980 ( Slave co-lead singer Steve Arrington later left to form " Steve Arrington's Hall Of Famein '83)

when Washington started Aurra, it consisted of Slave band members, a few friends, and even members of the Slave road crew to fill out the group's lineup; In addition to the core of Washington, Young, and Jones, Aurra's membership at various times included, Steve Arrington, Mark Adams, Charles "Cedell" Carter, Philip Field, Buddy "Hanks" Henderson, Jennifer Ivory, Tom Lockett, William Young, and Mike Young.

Their 1980 debut Aurra, went by unnoticed, but their second album — 1981's Send Your Love had the R&B hit "Are You Single"

- many listeners first assumed it was Slave - same sound featuring a lot of the same , but an interesting difference - instead of Slave Bassman Mark Adams, This time it was Steve Washington on the Bass and he proceeded to do everything that Mark was known for - All The trademark pops, slides and growls, this timed thumbed by the "Fearless Leader".
1982's A Little Love which yielded the song "What's On Your Mind", and 1983's Live and Let Live — were also released on Salsoul . Around the time Live and Let Live came out, financial matters began to cause turmoil within the group. Washington left and offered to sell Aurra's trademark to Young and Jones but he ended up keeping the name — allegedly after Young and Jones failed to follow through on the offer — and recorded an Aurra album for Quest Records with new members , including former Bride of Funkenstein Sheila Horne and (Chaka Khan sibling) Mark Stephens. because of the legal protestations of Young and Jones, the record was never released.


Young and Jones recorded a fifth Aurra album after leaving Salsoul, . Released on Next Plateau, 1985's Like I Like It gave Aurra their first chart hit in the U.K, . Weary of further legal hassles, Young and Jones continued under the name Déjà and scored a number two R&B chart hit in 1987 with "You and Me Tonight", and "That's Where You'll Find Me" Young split from Jones in 1988 and went solo; she released an album in 1991 and also did background vocal work for her husband, Kool & the Gang's J.T. Taylor. Jones continued with Mysti Day and released a second album under the Déjà name.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 2 12:34:07 2004 by paligap]

Great thread, paligap (as usual)! I actually have the Aurra Anthology CD collection you have pictured above. A great 2-CD set!

I remember "Are You Single" but my favorite is "What's On Your Mind".

Great thread, paligap (as usual)! I actually have the Aurra Anthology CD collection you have pictured above. A great 2-CD set!