Wayne Garfield facts for kids

Wayne Garfield is an American songwriter, singer, and music producer. He was born in 1952 in New York City. He is known for helping to start the music group Change. This group helped launch the career of famous singer Luther Vandross with their hit song "The Glow of Love". This song became number one on the Billboard Dance/Disco Chart in 1980.

Wayne Garfield's songs have also appeared on very popular albums by artists like Luther Vandross, J. Cole, and Janet Jackson. He also worked with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a player representative, helping basketball players with their careers.

Music Career

Wayne Garfield started his music journey as a singer with a group called The Voices of East Harlem. This rock and soul group formed in 1969 in Harlem, New York City. The group was quite large, with about 20 members aged 12 to 21. They recorded music with big record labels like Elektra and Motown.

Later, Garfield became a member of the Change group. He has written music for many famous artists, including Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Roy Ayers, Kurtis Blow, Taj Mahal, and Aretha Franklin. He has worked as a composer, lyricist (someone who writes song words), manager, and arranger for over thirty years. In 1973, he wrote the music and sang for the movie Coffy.

He also helped other artists, like Angela Winbush and Debye Burrell, grow their music careers.

Community Work

Wayne Garfield is also a co-founder of the Black Spectrum Theater in South Jamaica Queens, New York City. He started this theater with Carl Clay in the 1970s. It is a place where people can enjoy plays and other performances.

Special Projects

In 1986, Wayne Garfield brought together two very different musicians: Kurtis Blow, a hip-hop artist, and Bob Dylan, a folk and rock legend. They worked together to produce a song called "Street Rock." This song became a "hip-hop crossover," meaning it blended hip-hop with other music styles and became popular with many different listeners.

In 2002, Garfield started a group called "Writers Rule Coalition." This group works to help songwriters get awards and recognition for their work. The next year, thanks to his efforts, songwriters and producers who used samples (parts of other songs) in their music started getting official certificates for Grammy-nominated and winning recordings. This was a big step in giving them credit for their contributions.

Music Recordings

Wayne Garfield has worked on many music recordings. Here are some of the albums where he is listed as a composer or vocalist:

Composer

• 2019: Everything and More: The Complete Collection 1980–2019 (with Change Collective)
• 2018: KOD (by J. Cole)
• 2014: The Box Set Series (by Luther Vandross)
• 2010: Best of Number Ones (by Janet Jackson)
• 2009: Number Ones (by Janet Jackson)
• 2001: Now That's What I Call Music! 7
• 2001: All for You (by Janet Jackson)
• 2001: Upside Down/Music of Many Colours (by Fela Kuti)
• 1998: A Rose Is Still a Rose (by Aretha Franklin)
• 1980: The Glow of Love (by Change)

Vocals

• 1986: Kingdom Blow (by Kurtis Blow) - Background Vocals
• 1980: Kurtis Blow (by Kurtis Blow) - Main and Background Vocals
• 1977: Evolution (The Most Recent) (by Taj Mahal)
• 1975: A Tear to a Smile (by Roy Ayers / Roy Ayers Ubiquity) - Arranger, Vocals, Composer
• 1974: Change Up the Groove (by Roy Ayers / Roy Ayers Ubiquity) - Arranger, Vocals, Background Vocals, Performer, Composer
• 1973: Coffy (by Roy Ayers) - Vocals, Featured Artist, Primary Artist for the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Record Labels

Wayne Garfield's music has been released by several record labels, including:

• Polydor Records
• Universal Records
• Universal Music Group International
• Elektra
• Just Sunshine

Awards

• 2002: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Award for "Most Airplay on Pop and R&B Radio" for the song "All for You" by Janet Jackson.
• 2002: Grammy Award for "Best Dance Recording" for "All for You" by Janet Jackson.
• 1980: Billboard Disco Chart Longevity Award.