Maurice Starr, born Larry or Lawrence Johnson, moved from Central Florida to Boston around 1973. He and his brother Michael, in the 1970s, played such Roxbury clubs as Vern's, Lane's, the Coral, Parker Street, and Roscoe's Lounge. We'll have to research this further, but it appears that he also played the part of Little Richard in the successful feature film, American Hot Wax. In 1978, he released "'Bout Time I Funk U" b/w "Baby Come On." This single was a big hit in Boston, thanks in large part to Sunny Joe White putting it into heavy rotation on WILD-FM; and it also reached the national soul charts, after being re-released as a twelve-inch single by RCA Records. When the Johnson Brothers traveled, it expanded to include four other brothers--Ray, Elvin, Donny (a.k.a., Sonni Ali), and Calvin.

Around this same time, Starr produced local hit records for Constant Contact and Prince Charles and the City Beat Band.

The Maurice (pronounced like "Morris") Starr solo albums that followed were good, but they were not conspicuously successful.

Starr came to national prominence once again as a mentor for the New Edition. After shopping around a tape of "Candy Girl" to a number of labels, he struck a deal with Tommy Boy Records. His relationship with New Edition did not last long, and it ended in an unsuccessful court contest over ownership of the rights to the group's name.

New Kids on the Block must have seemed like Maurice Starr's folly when he introduced them to the Boston public at a show called "WILD Live" in the spring of 1986. Brett Milano, on that occasion, said that they "succeeded on youthful charm." (There may be a euphemism to be found in there somewhere.) The first album was not a big seller to start with; and even the first single from the much-stronger second album did not do well. But Starr may have had reason to know that the New Kids had real commercial potential. Even back before "Stop It Girl" was released as the first single from the debut album, the Boston Globe reported that young people seemed to go "bonkers" over their performances.

Say what you will about NKOTB, they had a serious impact on the world of pop music. For a time, there was a news story on them nearly every day.

Back in the late 1950s and well into the 1960s, a few producers--some of them very well known--put together vocal groups to record songs chosen and arranged by the producer. More than a few of these ensembles were pretty much faceless; but nonetheless, they occasionally put out some great singles. As tempting as it may seem to assign Starr to this category, it's really not such a close fit. This producer/promoter worked hard with his young proteges on how to perform on stage and entertain an audience.

Maurice Starr has associated himself with many acts in addition to New Edition and the New Kids. They include Phaedra Butler, Classic Example, Ladysoul, Main Event, Perfect Gentlemen, the Superiors, and Ric Wes.

MICHAEL JONZUN is Starr's well-known brother. Jonzun came to a degree of prominence with his old group, the Jonzun Crew. Since then he has made a name for himself as a solo artist and record producer. Michael Jonzun received much publicity for his collaboration with Peter Wolf on Wolf's first solo album, after leaving the J. Geils Band.

In 1993, Maurice Starr departed the field of pop music for gospel; and late in the year, he left New England for Atlanta.

Starr's Boston years were both productive and controversial. It makes for a great story, which certainly has a place in the New England Music Scrapbook. Many of the articles about his career, though, are still in a huge stack of material waiting to be organized. (I have not yet learned to take a positive attitude toward filing.) This brief artist bio., then, will have to suffice for the time.

-- Alan Lewis, December 13, 2000

New Edition

• Ricky Bell
• Michael Bivins
• Bobby Brown
• Ronnie DeVoe
• Ralph Tresvant

New Kids on the Block

• Jon Knight
• Joey McIntyre
• Jordan Knight
• Donnie Wahlberg
• Danny Wood

Ladysoul

THE WAY I REMEMBER IT, Margo Thunder and Phaedra Butler were in Ladysoul, a trio produced by Maurice Starr; but the members I found listed on the Ric Wes debut album, North, South, East, Wes (CD, Epic, 1990), are Zina Carter, Cassandra Reeves, and Janice Robinson.* Since writing that, the reasonably comprehensive article about Ladysoul, that was once buried in our archive, has turned up; and we have received additional information about the group, by e-mail, from Cassandra Reeves. We plan to update this section, or post a separate Ladysoul page, when we can.

Cassandra Reeves has recently released a wonderful DiY album--Cassandra Yvette, Woman (CD, Bromasis, 2002)--that features clear, simple, and beautiful production. The themes--love, family, and faith--are timeless. If radio stations were to select records mostly on merit, I have no real doubt that "I Know We Can Make It" would be a national Top 20 hit. A couple other tracks are also quite radio-friendly. I counted this disc among my 2002 Top 10 albums. Reeves is getting airplay in Boston, and with any luck her disc ought to sell very well. Stephen Reeves, Cassandra's brother, was a big help with this project; and simultaneously, he released an album of his own--Jus' Stephen (CD, Bromasis, 2002)--which, too, is well-produced and includes radio-ready performances. Contact: www.bromasisrecords.com.

-- Alan Lewis, August 5, 2002

* The group's name, as given on the Ric Wes album, is two words: Lady Soul.

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