Originally known as the Ebony Rhythm band, the Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign was formed in 1969 in Indianapolis. It recorded locally on LAMP records. The Diplomatics, Amnesty and the Vanguards were also recorded on LAMP. The Ebony Rhythm Band was the house band for LAMP artists in the Motown tradition. The group relocated to California in 1971 and became the Ebony Rhythm Campaign. This was when it opened for Curtis Mayfield and other LAMP artists such as New Birth, Curtis Mayfield and Doby Gray. Wayne Henderson, a member of the Jazz Crusaders, produced ERFC’s first album Reach For It in 1973. Henderson played trombone. The band also returned to Indianapolis that year and recorded “How’s Your Wife (And My Child)” two years later. It reached #69 on Billboard’s Hot Soul 100 charts. The flip-side of the album was “Oh Child,” which received airplay in the east but didn’t chart. The band released Watch You Watchin’ Me on Chi-Sound Records in 1976. ERFC played with many big names such as Al Green, Donny Hayaway, Jackie Wilson and the Stylistics. In 1976, they released Watch You Watchin’ Me on Chi-Sound Records.
