Bernard St. Clair Lee, Hues Corporation Singer, Dies at 66

[gary_james]

Bernard St. Clair Lee, 66, a baritone singer and original member of the Hues Corporation, which had an early disco hit in 1974 with "Rock the Boat," died Tuesday at his home in Lake Elsinore, said Ava Dupree, a family spokeswoman. The Riverside County coroner’s office confirmed that the death was from natural causes.

The Hues Corporation, a soul trio whose name was a pun on Los Angeles aviation giant Hughes Corp., was formed in 1969 by Lee, soprano Hubert Ann Kelly and tenor Fleming Williams.
"Rock the Boat," written by band manager Waldo Holmes, shot to No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts in 1974. The group followed with another top 20 hit that year in "Rockin’ Soul."
Kelly later left the group to become a minister, and Williams died. Lee had recently been performing with Elaine Woodard and Bruce Glover as a reformed Hues Corporation.

[juicefree20]

Man, for me this is truly sad news.

Back in Aug. 2004 when I attended my first PBS Taping, we were in Asbury Park for the "My Music: Disco Explosion" show & that night had a lot to do with my perception as regards opinions of artists & their music.

I won't get into the events which led up to it, but on stage that evening, St. Claire called motioned to a young dancer & had her dance right next to him, so that she'd be seen on tv by her family & friends & those in the audience & I thought that it was a nice thing for him to have done. It was a long day of taping which ended around 2:30 a.m. While we were all heading back to the hotel around 3 a.m. or so, St. Claire was sitting outside. I walked up to him & tod him that I saw what he had done.

Now one else watching knew what was going on, but having heard the entire conversation, I knew exactly what St. Claire was doing when he emphatically & repeatedly pointed to the floor next to him. If you ever watch the video again, look for him pointing to the floor & now you know that he was giving the young girl the signal to stand right next to him.

When I told him that I knew what he had done, we spoke further & from there, we began discussing his career & how things kinda fell apart for The Hues Corporation. It bothered him that they were labelled as a "Disco" group, especially when you consider that "Rock The Boat" wasn't truly a "Disco" song. While listening to him talk about how people kinda mocked their music, I thought about some of my own personal thoughts about music that I didn't care much about, which just happened to include some of his.

He wanted to do other kinds of music because he never considered himself, nor The Hues Corporation to be a "Disco" group. As a matter of fact, at the time, The Hues Corporation had just recorded a CD of standards & show tunes that he was tying to get picked up & he spoke about some of the difficulties with that. As I listened to him speak, staring me dead in the eyes, I could see how all of that impacted on him & I could see how it truly bothered him not to be considered to be anything more than a "Disco" singer.

We must've stood out there for 2 hours just talking. It had been a long day & everyone was tired, but I couldn't break away from the conversation, nor did I want to. I found St. Claire to be straight-forward, honest & I reaized that his music meant the world to him. That night left a permanent impression on me & changed the way that I think & speak about ANY artist & their music.

We spoke a few times after that & he kept talking to me about coming out to visit him in California, but that never panned out.

I'll miss St. Claire who proved to be one of the nicest & most decent people in the industry. I really like him & have never forgotten the lesson that he taught me, all the while never knowing that that's what he was doing. I extend my sincere condolences to his family, friends & fans.

St. Claire, thanks for the music, thank you for the lesson & most of all, thank you for being kind.

Rest In Peace my brother. You will be missed!

[mark speck]

Disco or not, that was a damned good song, and still is...RIP, Bernard, and thank you... :[[

Best,

Mark

[nosey]

Great story and lesson, Juice. I've learned to curb my tongue as well and not be so judgemental about things we know nothing about.

[marv2]

I remember him and Hues Corporation from when I first saw and heard them in 1974. Rest in peace Bernard. Thank you for bringing us your music.

Marv

[Motown_M_1056]

I remember him and Hues Corporation from when I first saw and heard them in 1974. Rest in peace Bernard. Thank you for bringing us your music.

Marv

Sad news. One of the last TV performances for Bernard St. Clair Lee was just last month on TV One's Way Black When. The Hues Corporation was on during 70s week. I recognized Lee as the only original member of Hues Corporation.

[rod_rick]

It is so sad that during that time period, quite a few acts got labled as a Disco group. I never considered Rock The Boat a disco song, it was too funky imo. I just saw the group [[Hues Corporation) on Tv1 Way Black When and I must say they were great. RIP Lee.

[splanky]

RIP, St. Claire...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWOTBT0hNjo

[paul1970]

Rock The Boat was one of my favorite songs of the 1970's..R.I.P.

[KevLo]

Hi this is Kev-Lo
I'm sorry to hear this R.I.P St. Claire