Cameo vs Cameo… a Group Divided

Seems like it happens way too often… We love our music and the bands that make great R&B hits. So as fans, we find it sad when were hear about behind-the-scenes turmoil that result in break-up. The Temptations, Shalamar, Harold Melvin & the Blue-notes, The Time, Gap Band, Ohio Players, Mary Jane Girls, Lakeside, the Delfonics and many others have succumb to excess drama and have broken-up… over control, power, rights and of course money.  Now we can add Cameo to the list. Yep, that’s right the New York City Players have divided into two groups. Front-man Larry Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, Charlie Singleton and Aaron Mills are lining up against Nathan Leftenant, Arnett Leftenant and Greg Johnson. Once one of the hottest groups in the business, Cameo had mega-hits in the ‘80’s with “Candy”, “Word Up”, “She’s Strange”, “Flirt”, “Back-n-Forth”, “Single Life”, “Sparkle” and many, many more R&B and Pop smashes. The group was a standout live performance draw playing theaters, arenas and festivals all over the world. Things were good and Cameo was hot– as was its cod-piece wearing leader, Larry Blackmon. “There was no question Larry was the leader of the group. The guys trusted him with their music, their ideas and their futures,” recalls original Cameo member Nathan Leftenant. “There were times when everything was cool, but as the years went by, things started getting shaky. The band would book dates and payment to the group would be made out of the back end, and not include the deposit,” alleges Leftenant.  “Royalty statements come out twice a year, and Larry would handle most of the business so some of the guys would look to Larry to fill them in on the details and distribute the funds.” Bad idea. Today many acts use Sound Exchange to track their music royalties and licensing on line, which is much more transparent. “Certain things came to life like monies not being properly distributed. And the first thing fellas did when they found out was to say that’s cool can we straighten this out. Then he [Larry] came back with ‘speak to my attorney.’ The lawyer told me, Larry gets 100% of the royalty as the image and voice of Cameo.” Now there’s a big problem.

Charlie, Tomi, Larry & Aaron

Nathan is hopeful that he and the rest of the members of the collective Cameo and all sit down and work out their problems and move forward as a unified brotherhood once again. “All we’re saying is brother, all you have to do is call us, sit down with us and get this thing settled and it all could be done. Hopefully, we can get this thing done” says Nathan. The fans hope so too!

Arnett, Nathan & Greg

Meanwhile, Cameo (Nathan, Arnett, Greg and Jeryl Bright) have released a new song, “We in the House”. Released independently on Cameo Records, “We in the House” is a contemporary reminder of who owns the funk category in the 21^st century. Asked to comment on their most recent release, Cameo says, “This single says no more B.S. – we are here to set things straight. ‘We in the House.’” Check out Cameo’s “We in the House” Cameo – We In The House (Single) – 01 – We In The House _44k-16b 20161115-2

https://www.amazon.com/We-House-Single-Cameo/dp/B01N4ARFC7/

Reach Cameo:

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Several attempts were made to reach Larry Blackmon to get his side of the story, to no avail.

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“We trusted Larry and the truth is he has been mishandling the funds for more than 30 years. It’s a direct insult to us. I thought we would be as close as The Rolling Stones.”