The Floaters

American R&B vocal group

The Floaters were an American R&B group. They formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1976. The group members were Paul Mitchell, Ralph Mitchell, Larry Cunningham and Charles Clark.[1]

James Mitchell, the brother of Paul, took part in forming The Floaters. The group's only major hit song was "Float On" in 1977.[2] The song hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart, in New Zealand and the United States' R&B chart. It was #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] Two other songs that followed didn't do as well.

"Float On" was covered by other music groups. Those include Full Force and Stetsasonic. It was also sampled for other songs, including the MC ADE song "Romantic Rhyme" in 1987[4] and "Float On" from the Dream Warriors in 1996.

Larry Cunningham (born June 23, 1951) died on January 10, 2019 at age 67.[5]

The group broke up in 1982.

Discography

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Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US US
R&B
AUS CAN IRE
[6]
NLD NZ UK
1976 "I Am So Glad I Took My Time" Floaters
1977 "Float On" 2 1 16 4 5 2 1 1
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" 28
1978 "I Just Want to Be with You" 36 Magic
"The Time Is Now"
1979 "Levitation" Float into the Future
1981 "For Your Love" Get Ready for the Floaters & Shu-Ga
"Get Ready"
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

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  1. "The Floaters". Oldies.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. "Floaters". All Music. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. "The Floaters and Their Classic Hit 'Float On'". Mental Itch. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. "Romantic Rhyme a Sample of Floaters' Float On". Who Sampled. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  5. "Larry Cunningham". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. "IRE Charts Search > Floaters". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  7. "The Floaters: Float On". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 1, 2020.