The Bolland Brothers, taking music to the Heights

Say what you want, and truthfully many of us have a Bolland story or two, but we also have to remember that while both of them may be crazy and outrageous sometimes, Stanley and Lamont Bolland have infected us with some serious music over a 30 year period.

When I came to West Virginia in 1971, my first week in college there was an outdoor campus party held in front of the dormitory. The band that was playing was Ebony and the Greek, a funky power packed band that for all intents and purposes should have been on Soul Train (the hippest trip in America in the 70's).
On guitar completely setting the place on fire was one Stanley Von Bolland. Until that time I had heard some pretty fair guitarists over the years, but Stanley almost made you forget about Jimi Hendrix. He could groove like no one I had ever seen before or since.
Fast forward to 1973; Ebony and the Greek decided to move on without Stanley, so he sets out to start another band, and while deciding which style of music to play he decides to enlist his brother Lamont to play keyboards. Lamont had been studying piano pretty seriously for about 12 years ( if my memory serves me correctly). The Bolland Boys set out and just played here and there for a few months doing more jamming than anything else. Somewhere along the way their Father asked them "how come you guys don't have a name yet?" Stanley retorts that they don't really have a band yet, but we're workin' on it. Another 2 months go by and Stanley is piecing together some of Charleston's finest Black musicians, the band is starting to come together, his Dad again asks the question; what's the name gonna be? Mr. Bolland decides to take the bull by the horns, he takes Stanley to the front door of their house and asks him to look up and tell me what you see... a puzzled Stanley replies: clouds! What kind of clouds? Still not certain, Mr. Bolland jumps the gun and says they're Stratus clouds, thus giving birth to the name that is now going on thirty two years ( coincidentally that same month drummer Billy Cobham, released an album called "Spectrum," and the single from that album is entitled Stratus, and it was huge hit in the jazz fusion era!!).
Stanley and Lamont build the band, and they start playing around town, and in short order everybody in town who were fans of Ebony and the Greek all but abandon them for the new Funky groovemeisters.
Lamont would lay down some killer licks on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, he was also the first person in Charleston to have a Moog synthesizer and an Arp Odyssey, and Stanley could program that thing to do all kinds of stuff (well, I was impressed at least !).
It's 1974, Johnny "Redd" Booker joins the band as the lead vocalist, they get a gig in Detroit next, Jo Loyd as the drummer, Michael "Stoney" Burks on trumpet, back in Charleston, they now pick up Ernie Alexander on bass one more co-lead vocalist Alethia Helm and Dugan Carter on the tenor sax, Jimmy McLaughlin on percussion and Stratus is on their way to Charleston music history.
This band could kick any pro band out there in the butt, and they had the stuff to do it. Killer vocals, the rhythm section of life and a horn section that only Earth Wind and Fire could match.
Now it's 1976, they're playing an ongoing regular gig at the Gentleman's Club, and Johnny Redd decides one night to play "Stump the Band," someone calls out "Sara Smile," the Hall and Oates megahit, but no one knew it until a kid from the Bronx says that he knows it. They get him up to sing and the next thing you know Charlie Tee the singer is born. Stanley hounded me for the next year and when Johnny Redd leaves the band around Christmas of 1977, I get the call to become the next Stratus lead vocalist and I stayed there until 1980.
Of course I too left, over irreconcilable differences, but Stratus is still going strong.
As I said earlier, the Bolland Boys have done much to give everyone a headache now and again, but they remain Charleston musical stalwarts and because of them many of us are reaching the heights in music and for that much at least, we must be grateful

I once saw a business card for Ebony and the Greek, and since they're no longer together, I'll apply what the card said to Stratus and the Bolland Brothers, they are "foremost in funky music."

This isn't the complete history of Stratus, or the Bolland Brothers, but it's an abridged version.

Catch Stanley and Lamont Bolland with Stratus right here in the Charleston area.
Also, catch Lamont with his other group Full Flavor, featuring Dugan Carter on sax and Warren Pope on drums.
Check for local listings.