Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band was a big band\swing music-influenced disco band from the Bronx, New York that was formed by half-brothers Stony Browder Jr. (born on February 7, 1949) and August Darnell (born Thomas August Darnell Browder on August 12, 1950) in 1974. It also consisted of singer Cory Daye (born on April 25, 1952 in New York, New York), drummer Mickey Sevilla (born in 1953) and percussionist Andy Hernandez (born in 1952).
The band’s concept was a re-creation of a 1930s’ dance band blending disco beats with rhythms from various musical genres such as calypso, rhumba, cha-cha-ch and compas along with their songs’ witty lyrics.
Prior to the band’s formation, August began his musical career in a band called The In-Laws along with Stony, but they disbanded so August could pursue a career as an English teacher. He would later earn his master’s degree in English.
In 1976, they released their self-titled debut album on RCA Records which peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 and #31 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. It was certified Gold.
Their first single “I’ll Play the Fool” which peaked at #80 on the Billboard Hot 100, #92 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart (staying on the chart for only 3 weeks) and topped Billboard’s National Disco Action Top 30 chart.
The second single from the album “Cherchez La Femme” (the full song title name is called “Whispering”/”Cherchez La Femme”/”Se Si Bon”) became their only hit song to date, topping Billboard’s National Disco Action Top 30 chart (along with the tracks “I’ll Play the Fool” & “Sour and Sweet”) for a week in October of 1976.
It also reached the pop charts as well, peaking at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band’s only highest charting song on the chart to date. It also peaked at #22 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart and #31 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart.
The song would later be covered in 1994 by singer Gloria Estefan and sampled in 2000 by rapper Ghostface Killah in 2000 on his track “Cherchez LaGhost.”
The track “Sour and Sweet\Lemon in the Honey” managed to peak at #72 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.
One of the tracks from their debut album “Sunshower” has been sampled by artists such as De La Soul, M.I.A., A Tribe Called Quest, Ghostface Killah and Doug E. Fresh. The band was also nominated for a Grammy.
In 1978, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band released their sophomore album “Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Meets King Penett” which peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 and #36 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The tracks from the album “Mister Love,” “An Organ Grinder’s Tale”, “Auf Wiedersehen, Darrio” and “Transistor Madness” managed to peak at #22 on Billboard’s dance music chart.
In 1979, the band released their third album “Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Goes to Washington” on Elektra Records which was a commercial flop, failing to chart at all on the Billboard charts.
By that time, the decline of the disco music craze was starting to die down causing the band’s popularity to decline and internal issues within the band eventually led to August Darnell & Andy Hernandez to leave Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. The two of them would go on to create musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts a year later. August also created another band called Elbow Bones and the Racketeers.
During that same year, Cory Daye released her debut album “Cory & Me” and had a minor hit with the song “Pow Wow” which peaked at #79 on the Billboard Hot 100. She released a follow-up album in 1987 called “In The Middle Of The Night.”
The band’s last album “Calling All Beatniks!” was released in 1984 on Passport Records under the name “Dr Buzzard’s Savannah Band.” It’s unknown how or if the album made any impact at all.
These days, August continues to perform with the current line-up of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. He resides in Sweden and Hawaii where he and his wife, Eva run a martini bar in Maui & also set up an entertainment company called 2C2C Entertainment Group.
Andy Hernandez (who now goes under the name Coati Mundi) is still active in the music business, releasing music, acting and working with various people such as Paul Anka, Tito Puente, Phoebe Snow, Ruben Blades, Lisa Fischer, Wyclef Jean, La Lupe, Spike Lee, Karyn Parsons (from the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) and many more.
Mickey Sevilla is still active in music, teaching master drumming.
Cory Daye went on to perform with Kid Creole and the Coconuts as a featured vocalist. These days, she still continues to perform as a solo artist and appeared in an off-Broadway play called “My Big Fat Italian Wedding.”
Mickey Sevilla is still active in music, teaching master drumming. Sadly, Stony Browder Jr. passed away from complications of a stroke in 1991.
To see Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ official website, go to:
http://kidcreoleandthecoconuts.com
To see Coati Mundi’s official website, go to:
http://coatimundiworld.com/cm/Bio.html
To see a fan-page for Cory Daye, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/CoryDayeFanPage/
To see a video of the band performing “Cherchez Le Femme,” go to:
To see a video of the band performing “I’ll Play the Fool,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Sour and Sweet\Lemon in the Honey,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Sunshower,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Mister Love,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “An Organ Grinder’s Tale,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Auf Wiedersehen, Darrio,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Transistor Madness”, go to:
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