Summary: | Drummer Marshall Thompson was born on December 23, 1940, and grew up on Chicago's South Side. As a child, he played his snare drum on the corner of 47th and St. Lawrence, thus beginning a lifelong love of music. Growing up, Thompson would try to sneak into the Regal Theater only to be thrown out. He persisted, landing a job in 1960 as the house drummer for the Regal Theater. In 1960, he and other musicians formed the Hi-Lites. They soon achieved notoriety with half a dozen singles on the local Dakar and Ja-Wes labels. Because their name conflicted with that of another local group, they changed their name to the Chi-Lites, aligning themselves with Chicago. Their first hit, "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was," made the national charts, and hits like "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh, Girl" gained them national recognition and fame.
|