b. Norman Connor, 1 March 1948, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Connors took up drums and was writing his own music from the age of five. After graduating from the Julliard School of Music he pursued a career as a sideman, working with Billy Paul, Jack McDuff, Archie Shepp, and Charles Earland. He moved to New York in 1971 and was immediately hired by Pharoah Sanders, touring the world with his band and appearing on five of his albums. In 1972, he signed as a solo artist with the Buddah Records subsidiary Cobblestone, recording his first album, Dance Of Magic, that same year. After recording a follow-up, Dark Of Light, Cobblestone Records folded and Connors was switched to the main Buddah label. After two albums (Love From The Sun and Slewfoot) had enhanced his reputation on the jazz fusion scene, he began to achieve major success on the R&B charts in his US homeland, owing to his championing the talents of vocalists such as Michael Henderson, Jean Carne and Phyllis Hyman. He collaborated with singer-songwriter Henderson on "Valentine Love" from Saturday Night Special, a Top 100 hit in January 1976 and then, later in the year, broke into the US Top 30 with the title track of You Are My Starship (incidentally, the boat used on the cover of this album belonged to the actor John Wayne). Connors recorded five more albums for Buddah in a similar vein, showcasing the talents of Eleanor Mills, Prince Philip Mitchell, Glenn Jones, the Jones Girls and Beau Williams (and featuring Henry Fonda's aeroplane on the cover of Romantic Journey), although without breaking back into the pop charts. He also successfully developed a career as an outside producer, forming and guiding the Starship Orchestra and producing Aquarian Dream, Pharaoh Sanders, Al Johnson, Phyllis Hyman and Jean Carne. In 1988, he signed as a solo artist with Capitol Records, releasing one album, Passion, and producing Angela Bofill for the label. Connors was then chosen to spearhead Motown Records' jazz launch, Mojazz, recording Remember Who You Are in 1993 and Easy Living in 1996. Connors launched his own Starship label with his first new album in four years, Eternity.

Listen to Norman Connors at Finetune.

• (1997)  Easy Living

• You Are My Starship
• You Go To My Head
• Saturday Afternoon
• Every Time I Fall In Love
• River Nile

• The Isley Brothers
• Earth, Wind & Fire
• Luther Vandross
• Marvin Gaye
• Prince
• The Temptations
• Teddy Pendergrass
• Commodores
• Stevie Wonder
• Barry White
• Rick James
• Quincy Jones
• Ohio Players
• The O'Jays
• Maxwell
• Chaka Khan
• Michael Jackson
• Teena Marie
• L.T.D.
• Al Green

• 709
• TNH274