One of the busiest vocalists in pop music with arguably the most diverse résumé ever,
Bernard Fowler has been hired by the likes of
the Rolling Stones,
Bootsy Collins, left-field producer
Adrian Sherwood, and minimalist composer
Philip Glass. Born and raised in New York City,
Fowler first appeared on record in 1974 with the band Total Eclipse. In 1982 he appeared on two dance club hits, "Don't Make Me Wait" with
the Peech Boys and "I'm the One" by the
Bill Laswell project
Material. A year later he was on
Herbie Hancock's successful
Future Shock album while 1985 found him landing on
Public Image Ltd.'s Compact Disc, the
Sly & Robbie album Language Barrier, and
Mick Jagger's solo album
She's the Boss. He delivered a
Paul Simon song specially written for
Philip Glass' album
Songs from Liquid Days in 1986, sang backup on
James Blood Ulmer's
America: Do You Remember the Love? in 1987, and joined
Bootsy Collins for his 1988 effort
What's Bootsy Doin'? In 1989 he fronted the
Adrian Sherwood-associated band
Tackhead and joined
the Rolling Stones for their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle world tour. The '90s were filled with more
Tackhead albums, more work and tours with
the Stones, a featured role in
Stones drummer
Charlie Watts' jazz band, and guest shots on albums by
Herb Alpert,
Little Axe,
Todd Terry, and
INXS singer
Michael Hutchence's solo debut. In 2006 he finally got around to making his own solo record, Friends with Privileges, released by Sony Japan. ~ David Jeffries