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Rose Royce music biography continued...

and Henry Garner (drums), Rose Royce was rounded out by Terral "Terry" Santiel (congas), Lequeint "Duke" Jobe (bass), Michael Moore (saxophone), Rose Norwalt (real name Gwen Dickey, lead vocals), Kenji Brown (guitar, lead vocals), Freddie Dunn (trumpet), and Michael Nash (keyboards). They auditioned for "War" singer Edwin Starr, and he hired them as his backup band. The gig brought them into contact with Motown producer Norman Whitfield, who hired them as sessions musicians and later oversaw the recording of their debut album, the soundtrack to the movie Car Wash, released in 1976 on MCA. The movie and the soundtrack were big hits, bringing national notoriety to the soul outfit with such Top Ten R&B hits as "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," and "I'm Going Down." The former was also a number one single on the Billboard pop charts. The group followed with their sophomore album, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, in 1977, returning to the Top Ten with "Do Your Dance" and "Ooh Boy." In 1978, they released their third album, entitled Rose Royce III: Strikes Again!, and it featured "I'm in Love (And I Love the Feeling)" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," two hits which climbed into the Top Five. Rose Royce IV: Rainbow Connection appeared in 1979, but was a commercial disappointment. Nevertheless, Rose Royce continued to record throughout the 80s, and were very popular in the U.K., though they would never return to their previous heights of popularity in the U.S. The Very Best of Rose Royce was released on Rhino in 2001, introducing a new generation of fans to the classic soul act.