Song:Street Life
Album:The Crusaders' Finest Hour
The Crusaders have been around in one form or another since the 60s. The 1979 song Street Life is probably their biggest hit and made Randy Crawford a star. The leader of The Crusaders is pianist Joe Sample (born Feb. 1, 1939 in Houston). He teamed up with sax player Wilton Felder (born Aug. 31, 1940 in Houston) and and drummer Nesbert "Stix" Hooper (born Aug. 15, 1938 in Houston) to form The Swingsters and then The Nite Hawks. They added trombonist Wayne Henderson (born Sept. 24, 1939 in Houston) and moved to Los Angeles in 1961 as The Jazz Crusaders. They recorded for Pacific Jazz in the 60s. When they left for Blue Thumb Records in 1971, they changed their name to The Crusaders and added guitarist Larry Carlton (born Mar. 2, 1948 in Torrance, CA) and bassist Robert "Pops" Popwell (born Dec. 29, 1950). As the 70s progressed, The Crusaders started to have mainstream R & B success. Henderson left in 1975 to become a producer. Street Life was written by Sample and lyricist Will Jennings and the group brought in Randy Crawford for a guest vocal. It was their only top 40 pop hit and you can get the full 11 minute version on this Verve comp. Street Life was also used in Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown. The Crusaders split up in 1983 after Hooper left. Joe Sample has had a significant solo career and they have reunited occasionally. Here's the video for Street Life by The Crusaders featuring Randy Crawford.
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