According to reports on social media, legendary House/R&B vocalist Colonel Abrams November 25. He was 67 years old.
he Detroit-born, Manhattan raised singer began playing both piano and guitar while still quite young. By the mid 1970s he became part of the band Heavy Impact. But it was nearly a decade later that Abrams really made a name for himself with the big hit “Music Is the Answer.” It began a string of dance hits that capitalized on the electronic sounds that were popular in the mid 80s, and included “The Truth”, “Over and Over”, “I’m Not Gonna Let You” and his biggest song, the dancelicious international hit, “Trapped.”
Abrams had been in bad health for some time and was homeless. In December 2015, a GoFundMe page was set up by Don Welch of the Underground Network, Tony “Tune” Herbert of The Advocates Without Borders Network and friends to help Abrams with medical expenses.
Herbert said at the time, “This talented brother albeit humble as most people, would prefer to stand strong on their on two feet and take care of themselves, however, as most of you may or may not know, a lot of recording artist don’t have medical coverage or benefits. The Colonel is very ill with no permanent place of his own to live at this time and limited financial resources. Those of us who have listened to his awesome music and know of his plight, have banned together to try and help him through this rough patch.”
Tonight Herbert posted on Facebook, “Just got word that Colonel Abrams has past away on Thanksgiving, one year to the date that I along with Don Welch, Barbara Tucker, Derek Jenkins, Ralph McDaniels, Marshall Jefferson, Larkie RUcker and a host of his biggest fans fought to get him to let us help him….Now he is at peace and our condolences go out to his family, and fans world wide, he is no longer suffering or Trapped!!!”
Here’s more from Soul Tracks: “By the mid 1970s he became part of the band Heavy Impact. But it was nearly a decade later that Abrams really made a name for himself with the big hit ‘Music Is the Answer.’ It began a string of dance hits that capitalized on the electronic sounds that were popular in the mid ’80s … Abrams continued to chart on the Dance and R&B charts into the mid-’90s, and performed around the world into the new century. He also formed his own Colonel Records and released music sporadically through the early part of this decade.”
