EP 20: Marshall Thompson [CHI-LITES]

2021 is the year that MARSHALL THOMPSON—driving force and choreographer for Chicago hitmakers the CHI-LITES—shimmies from star to superstar status. Specifically, his group has been selected for inclusion among this year’s additions to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it’s been a long time coming. Between 1969 and 1974, the Chi-Lites sold millions of copies of their 11 top ten hits, including their eternal crowning achievements, “Have You Seen Her” (from [For God’s Sake] Give More Power to the People, 1971) and “Oh Girl” (from A Lonely Man, 1972).

The honor of receiving a Hollywood star brings things full circle for Thompson, as Gladys Knight will be performing for the occasion. She’s the one who gave Marshall his first big break—on the drums. As a teen, he was always sneaking into the Regal Theatre, only to be tossed out into the snow by the bouncer. But when he found out that Knight would be appearing, he hatched a plan. He rehearsed for weeks in the family basement, mastering the beats to all of her songs. Then he went and got himself some slick threads: cross tie, patent leather shoes, black slacks, and white shirt. When he showed up at the Regal on the big night, he looked like all the other fellas in the house band. So he walked right in with everybody else, the bouncer none the wiser.

Now this was big time. The band was at least two dozen pieces, led by none other than Red Saunders! Yet his drummer just couldn’t get the feel down. This was Thompson’s big chance. “The drummer couldn’t play the music,” he recalls “So I raised my hand… ‘Hey Ms. Gladys! Can I play your show?’ She said, ‘Come on up here. Showtime is in about 2 hours and this guy’s messin up.’” He got the gig and played with her for the week. From there, he got a chance to record with Jackie Wilson, and toured with Major Lance.

Despite all this success on the skins, dancing and singing would prove to be Thompson’s true calling. He was part of a group called the Desideros with Creadel “Red” Jones. They were frenemies with another clique of singers, the Chanteurs, which included Robert “Squirrel” Lester and songwriter Eugene Record. They would battle all the time. “They could sing real good, and we could dance real good,” Marshall explains. So when both bands broke up, they knew it would be a smart play to join forces. “We went over to their group and I taught them to dance and they had to teach us how to sing like them,” he says.

Marshall & the Hi-Lites was born. Throughout the 60s, they pounded the pavement, trying to make it. They recorded singles on local labels, but by the time they got signed to Brunswick, they discovered another band was already using the ‘Hi-Lites’ name. So they decided to change it to ‘Chi-Lites’ in honor of their homebase. That was the good luck charm, because not long after the 70s rolled in, they scored their first million-selling single, “(For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People.”

But “Have You Seen Her” was the real groundbreaker. It was a B-side at first, a tune that the Chi-Lites’ band hadn’t even bothered to rehearse for live shows. Then one night, when the group was out on the road at a gig, the crowd started screaming and hollering for the song. So they sang it a cappella, over and over again for 15 minutes. After that, they were selling 10k copies per day. The amazing part was the song clocked in at over five minutes, twice as long as the average single in those days. “We didn’t think we were gonna get it on the radio,” says Marshall. “It was too long… But the record started selling so much they said ‘Leave it like it is.’”

From there, the hits just kept coming. And along the way, Marshall made some amazing contributions to music history outside of the group as well. In this rare gem of an interview, Marshall talks about being managed by Muhammad Ali in the early years, how he started Soul Train with his good friend Don Cornelius, and helping Joe Jackson and the Jackson Five get their start, introducing them to Bobby Taylor. Thompson also raps about being the Chi-Lite’s official hairdresser, why engineer Bruce Vadim built a special microphone for each member, and how they developed their dance moves and harmonies.

Produced & Hosted by Ace Alan
Cohosted by Jay Stone
w/ Content Produced by Renee Michele Collins, Nat Collins, & Jay Stone
Website & Art by 3chards
In-Studio Pics by Debbie Jue
Engineered by Nick “Waes” Carden at the Blue Room in Oakland, CA

But we couldn’t have done it without Mawnstr and especially Scott Sheppard

L to R: Berry Gordy, Marshall Thompson, the Supremes’ Mary Wilson, & Smokey Robinson

Intro track “I Can Never Be” from Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth by the Funkanauts. Go get it wherever music is sold. RIP Brotha P.