Barbara Joyce Lomas

Barbara Joyce Lomas (born 19 May 1952) is an American singer and songwriter born in Bessemer, Atlanta. She is best known as a founding member and the primary female lead vocalist of the 1970s funk and disco group, B.T. Express.

Her distinctive vocal performance contributed to the unique sonic identity of the ensemble during their peak commercial period. Her artistic specialisation encompasses lead vocal performance, arrangement, and songwriting within the rhythm and blues, funk, and disco genres.

Early Life

Barbara Joyce Lomas spent her childhood and early formative years in Bessemer, Atlanta. Her early musical foundations were shaped within the local community, where she developed an interest in vocal performance. During her high school education, she studied alongside several students who would also establish careers in the music industry. Notable contemporaries from her school years included singer-songwriter Frederick Knight and William Bell, who was also known professionally as Bill Spoon of the vocal group Bill Spoon & The Soul Notes. This environment provided an early network of musical peers before she relocated northwards to pursue professional opportunities in the entertainment sector.

Career

In the early 1970s, Lomas relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where she joined a collective of local singers and musicians. In 1972, she became a foundational member of the King Davis House Rockers. The ensemble subsequently altered their name to the Madison Street Express and Brothers Trucking, before permanently settling on the moniker Brooklyn Transit Express, which was later shortened to B.T. Express. Lomas served as the lead female vocalist for the group for the next four years. In 1974, the band achieved substantial commercial success with their debut studio album on Scepter Records, titled Do It ('Til You're Satisfied). The title single, "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)", reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and number two on the Billboard Hot 100, earning a gold disc certification. Lomas also co-wrote and performed lead vocals on the 1975 follow-up single "Express", which similarly achieved gold status and topped the R&B charts. Her tenure with the group yielded multiple chart-entry singles and albums, establishing her as a prominent voice of the mid-1970s dance music movement. In the post-group era, she continued occasional session work, including the release of the solo boogie-funk single "Message In The Love" in 1984.

Legacy

Lomas has maintained a lasting professional legacy as an influential female voice within a predominantly male-dominated funk landscape. Her performance style and vocal arrangements have been cited as a primary influence by subsequent generations of dance and hip-hop artists, many of whom have heavily sampled the discography of B.T. Express. Her contributions to the genre have been recognised by institutions such as The Recording Academy. Beyond her studio recordings, she has engaged in selective community and archival preservation efforts to maintain the history of 1970s soul and funk music.