08/18/2025
Happy Birthday to Kym Miller (born August 18, 1955),
a founding member of the "Instant Funk" band from out of Trenton, New Jersey.
The group consisted of Raymond Earl on bass guitar, Scotty Miller on drums, and Kim Miller on guitar. In the beginning, the group was called "The Music Machine" and they were very successful as a backup band for The Manhattans, Bunny Sigler, and the TNJs. Throughout their careers, "Instant Funk" would be the backup band for many stars, including Lou Rawls, Loleatta Holloway, The O'Jays, MFSB, Curtis Mayfield, and Evelyn "Champagne" King (they are the backing band on the hit single, "Shame").
The group relocated to Philadelphia in 1976 to release its first album, "Get Down With the Philly Jump," as they formulated their sound. The group followed this album up with a release for former MFSB guitarist Norman Harris' new record label Gold Mind, with front man Bunny Sigler entitled "Let Me Party With You".
The Gold Mind label folded, and "Instant Funk's" new cut "I Got My Mind Made Up" was transferred to the Salsoul label, which pushed the record heavily to all of the disco clubs. The remix of this song by club DJ Larry Levan and engineer Bob Blank quickly became the talk of Manhattan. "I Got My Mind Made Up" hit #1 on both the R&B and disco charts and #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1979. The group's eponymous first album on Salsoul was also a hit, reaching #1 R&B and being certified gold disc status.
Scotty Miller (born Steven Scott Miller on August 22, 1951, in Trenton, New Jersey) died on April 11, 2017, at the age of 65. (RIP).
The members of the "Instant Funk" band included:
Raymond Earl: Bass
Scotty Miller: Drums
Kym Miller: Guitar
Dennis Richardson: Keyboards
James Carmichael: Lead vocals
Larry Davis: Trumpet
Eric Huff: Trombone
Johnny Onderlinde: Tenor and alto saxophone
Charles Williams: Congas
Bunny Sigler: Piano
Jimmy Sigler: Organ
Fred Bahler: Synthesizer
www.thefunkcenter.org
