Club Nouveau singer performing at Dimitri’s
FAIRFIELD — Samuelle Prater sang on a No.1 song that won a Grammy.
But what he’s most proud of is his relationship with God and his family, he said.
Samuelle Prater
- 9:30 p.m. Saturday
- Dimitri’s, 700 Main St., Suite 106, Suisun City
- 419-5024
- http://www.dimitrislounge.com
It’s that love of a higher power, his wife and teen daughter that he will bring to Dimitri’s on Saturday for a Valentine Extravaganza. Performing under his first name, Prater said he and his band, F8, will slow down the music for couples who want a smooth groove.
“It will be a fun-filled show. We’re not like Top 40 dance bands. We don’t play fast music,” he said, adding that audience can expect to be taken on a musical journey of his work.
His band members bring a variety of experience, he said. One member played music with Marvin Gaye.
Prater is also very involved with Club Nouveau, which had four consecutive hits in the mid-1980s with “Jealousy,” “Situation No. 9,” a cover of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and “Why You Treat Me So Bad.”
“Lean on Me” hit the top of the charts and earned the group a Grammy. Prater sang lead on the song.
“It was simple. We took a sad song and it became a happy tune,” Prater said of the dance beat added by the group.
The song was intended to be a filler — one more song was needed for the album.
“I’m surprised it came out like it did. God worked his magic on that one,” Prater said.
He and other Club Nouveau original members, Valerie Watson-English and Jay King, are getting ready to record some new material.
One of his most memorable stories comes from the group’s earlier days when they were playing a show in the South. With a few hours to spare, the band decided to check out the local mall. When it was time to leave they called a cab, which took more than an hour to arrive. The gig was 30 minutes from the mall.
“We got there just as (we) were announced. We had no time to change our clothes,” Prater said.
In addition, when they got to the venue, they were = denied admission because they didn’t have their laminates. The misunderstanding was fixed and the band ran on the stage, to see about 40,000 fans waiting for them.
For Prater, that signaled the band had made it in the eyes of the world — even though he was dressed in a green-and-white sweatsuit.
Another fond memory is his hit single, “So You Like What You See.” The video for the tune featured a relatively unknown at that time, Tyra Banks.
The song was also featured in the video game, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”
“Music has been good to me,” Prater said. And, while the business has changed in the past 25 years, he feels he’s adapted well while staying true to his R&B roots. Doing so, he said, works in his favor.
“I’m singing from the heart,” he said. “I want to connect (with the audience).”
This won’t be his first time at Dimitri’s. He played there with Secrecy about a year ago. Prater and his brother D’Lynn Prater were members of Secrecy.
“We had a wonderful turn out. We had some fun,” Prater said, adding the two will probably work together again.
Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=133655
Posted by Amy Maginnis-Honey
on Feb 10 2012.
Filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
