Dayton, Ohio natives originally formed the Young Underground after exiting the Monterreys. The group initially had a record deal with Curtom Records as a result of winning a talent contest in Chicago. However, Curtom folded shortly thereafter. While in Chicago the group renamed itself Lakeside Express, after the Lakeside Express Newspaper in Chicago.
The emerging Lakeside Express and another group by the name of Liquid Funk arrived in Los Angeles around the same time. For the next couple of years the bands performed at events around the greater L.A. area, occasionally crossing paths. The members of Liquid Funk returned to Dallas, but Fred Alexander remained in Los Angeles. Lakeside then dropped the Express from their name, was seeking additional personnel to solidify their band. After two auditions, Fred Alexander was welcomed into the group.
Lakeside inked a deal with Motown, but found no success. Consequently, they released a ballad on ABC Records, but that label went under. The good fortune they were seeking turned out to be at Mr. Dick Griffey's Solar Records. The group signed a deal with Mr. Griffey, and released their first Top Ten hit on Solar Records, "It's All the Way Live," which peaked at number four on the Billboard R&B charts.
Lakeside released a host of songs that scaled the R&B charts. Shortly after, they went storming up the charts again with their smash number one single, "Fantastic Voyage," which was produced by the self-contained band. They followed the success of "Fantastic Voyage" with another Top Ten R&B single, a remake of the Paul McCatney and John Lennon classic "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The group continued their success with the Billboard Top Ten singles "Raid," "Outrageous," and a string of R&B party songs and ballads.
Lakeside continues to rock every venue they walk into today and they have maintained their status as a classic R&B artist across the country with a must see show. Lakeside delivers all of their hits with most of the original members and creates the remembrance of back in the day that keeps the audience on their feet.
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