THE BLACKLITES

53+ years of Musical History

Soon, for over 53 years, The Blacklites Show Band have been entertaining crowds with their unique and extremely high energy performances in every type of venue. From black tie galas, private parties, corporate events, weddings outdoor events, wineries and festivals. The Blacklites captivate their audiences of all ages with their brand of R&B funk from the soul. 

The Blacklites started in 1972, merging musicians from Syracuse's east and south sides. They toured the New England states from 1977 to 1978, and were offered a contract by Boston producer Maurice Starr. However, they had a five-year deal in Syracuse they could not break. In the interim, they had recorded the song "Candy Girl" for Starr. After his Boston company could not get them out of their Syracuse deal, they heard a Starr-produced band by the name of New Edition sing "Candy Girl" on the radio. They went their own way after that. But in 1999, Syracuse common council member Mike Atkins, brother of guitarist Emmanuel Atkins, convinced them to reunite for Juneteenth. "There were 15 of us on stage," says Brown. "Six of us decided to take it from there and still play." 

R&B Funk Show Band

"Try to Understand" BL Movement and Pterodactyl were Blacklites original demos and was scheduled to be out on a vinyl 45. In the mid-1970's, disc jockeys Rick Wright and Jim Martin used to play the song regularly on Syracuse AM station WOLF (1490). "We shared loaves of bread and three dollars' worth of lunch meat," James Patterson stated. In 1978 things slowed down and the performing and singing slowly stopped for The Blacklites. They remained silent for 21 years. “We took 20 years off to have babies, tend to relationships, and get jobs and now do all the important things such as that,” E-man Atkins says. 

The young people of Syracuse needed to see an example of the, ‘All-for-one’ Bond that made The Blacklites Show Band so special. The band reunited for a 1999 Juneteenth celebration. Some of the originals had moved.  So now, just to keep the big stage show, Wallstreet and the originals enlisted Teddy Boileau on drums, Jimmy Spivey and/or Ron Dorsey on bass, and a horn section of Dave Frateschi (sax) Horn Director, with then Jeff Stockham (trumpet) and Joe Colombo (trombone).  Now we have over the past 3 decades, a multitude of gifted and skilled musicians performing with the BlackLites Show Band.

The Blacklites message of unity is reaching the younger generation, and that helps keep the band together. We entertain with our showmanship. We enjoy what we're doing, and we try to make people happy and feel good.