Ruby & The Mudflaps

In 1972 Alabama-born singer Mel Canady was invited by keyboarder and composer Mike Thatcher to join Family Tree, a Munich-based band featuring Donna Summer, a.o. When Family Tree disbanded a year later, Mel and his band colleague Lucy Neale, a long-time member of Germany's HAIR cast, decided to start their own project, a Chicago-style rock/jazz/funk outfit. The band's name was born during a brainstorming session when someone put ''Ruby & The Mudflaps'' out there just for fun. After the broad laughter was over, they had found a name for their nine-piece band. Based on its fancy live shows, the band soon found a considerable following in Munich and Southern Germany, skillfully combining soul and funk with sophisticated arrangements. Soon, Ruby and The Mudflaps became the house band of Munich's jazz club, ''Domicile''. Mel Canady is the brains behind the band. At a young age while living in the south of the U.S.A., he got in touch with blues, and soul music. While attending the Alabama A&M College he first met Fred Wesley. During the mid-sixties Wesley, who went on to work with James Brown a.o., already played the kind of music that made a lasting impression on Mel. After four semesters Mel left Alabama for the Nassau Com. College on Long Island, New York. It was there that he gained experience as concert shows with Chick Corea, Hank Mobley, Thad Jones, or James Brown were a daily occurrence. Post-graduate, Mel joined the U.S. army to be based at Munich where he soon begins working as a studio musician. One of his employers is Germany's famous Schlager music producer, Ralph Siegel. In 1977, Mel introduces his new music project to Mr. Siegel. Siegel, impressed, agrees to release a 7'' record on his Jupiter record label with his business partner Werner Schüler on the producer's chair.