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Lakeside is a former funk band, best known for their 1980 number one R&B hit, "Fantastic Voyage".
Stephen Shockley formed what would become Lakeside in Dayton, Ohio as the Young Underground in 1969, with vocalist Mark Wood joining soon after. Mark Wood's last name is Wood, and not Woods, as many people presume. Wood's arrival brought about a more mature sound, and they landed a deal with Curtom Records, following a winning turn at a talent contest in Chicago, Illinois. This led nowhere as Curtom disbanded before the group could record, and they were left without a contract. At this time they changed their name to Lakeside Express, after the Lakeside Express Newspaper in Chicago.
By 1974, Lakeside Express had moved to Los Angeles, California, crossing paths with similar groups like Liquid Funk, which featured drummer, Fred Alexander, Jr. Over the next years, Liquid Funk and Lakeside Express constantly met each other as they tried to "make it" performing in small venues. When Liquid Funk moved back to their native Dallas, drummer Fred Alexander, Jr. stayed behind with Lakeside. Two of the original members of the group was replaced by Donald Tavie' and Barrington Henderson in 1985. Tavie' is still a member.
Things seemed to be turning up in the late '70s, when Lakeside signed with Motown, but this again led nowhere. Finally, in 1977 they recorded an album for the label, ABC Records. This time things were really turning up for the nine piece band with a move to SOLAR Records. They dropped the "Express" from their name, and began to make the R&B charts, starting with "It's All the Way Live" (#4 R&B). Bassist Marvin Craig, drummer Fred Alexander, percussionist Fred Lewis, guitarist Steve Shockley, and four male vocalists including Mark Wood's sound stemmed from years of playing together. The band dressed in costumes on their album covers, including pirates, 1920's police officers, cowboys, Arabian knights, and even Robin Hood.
Lakeside's biggest hit came in 1980 with "Fantastic Voyage" which topped the R&B charts, and also made the pop charts, the first and last time for the band, peaking at number 55. They followed the song up with a remake of the Beatles' song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which made the R&B Top Ten again. More hits on the R&B charts kept the group going until their split in the late '80s.
Coolio took a rap version of "Fantastic Voyage" to number three on the pop charts in 1994.
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