James Carmichael

James Carmichael (born, 19th April, 1948) was a singer who came to major prominence as the lead vocalist of the U.S. funk band, Instant Funk, who created the 1979 million-selling single "I Got My Mind Made Up."

Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)".

History

Instant Funk came out of Trenton, New Jersey consisting of Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Miller and guitarist Kim Miller. The group was then called The Music Machine and they were very successful as a back-up band for The Manhattans, Bunny Sigler and also the TNJs. Throughout their careers, Instant Funk would be the back-up band for many stars, including Lou Rawls, Loleatta Holloway, The O'Jays, MFSB, Curtis Mayfield and Evelyn Champagne King (they are the backing band on the hit single, "Shame").

The group relocated to Philadelphia in 1976 to release its first album, Get Down With the Philly Jump, as they started to formulate their own sound. The group followed this album up with a release for former MFSB guitarist Norman Harris' new record label Gold Mind, with front man Bunny Sigler entitled "Let Me Party With You".

The Gold Mind label folded, and Instant Funk's new cut "I Got My Mind Made Up" was transferred to the Salsoul label, which pushed the record heavily to all of the disco clubs. The remix of this song by club DJ Larry Levan and engineer Bob Blank quickly became the talk of Manhattan. "I Got My Mind Made Up" hit #1 on both the R&B and disco charts and #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1979. The group's eponymous first album on Salsoul was also a hit, reaching #1 R&B and being certified gold disc status.

Scotty Miller (born Steven Scott Miller on August 22, 1951 in Trenton, New Jersey) died on April 11, 2017, at the age of 65.