UB Soul Friday: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Jets

This weeks “UB Soul Friday” celebrates a Twin Cities band, known internationally for their streak of pop hits, The Jets!

This year is the 40th Anniversary of the self-titled album from the band. Which features the major hits “Crush On You” “Curiosity,” “You Got It All and “Private Number.”

“UB Soul Friday,” spotlighting artists, albums, singles and videos that left a mark in R&B and Soul music!

The Jets had several of pop music’s most important trends covered.

Like DeBarge and the Jacksons, the Jets, eight members ranged in age from 11 to 19, and were siblings.

The family, the Wolfgramm, has its roots in the South Sea Islands, but hails from our own Minneapolis.

They started performing as a family band in 1977, after attending the School District 281 at Robbinsdale Cooper High School.

The music of the ’80s featured everything from the early sounds of rap and the new jack swing to dance/pop.

And that fun, energetic style of Pop & R&B, was the flavor for the The Jets.

The Jets members are five brothers Leroy, Eddie, Eugene, Haini and Rudy and three sisters Kathi, Elizabeth and Moana.

While all of them sang, they were also a self-contained band, most having learned various instruments.

In 1986, their playing for family, friends and talent shows turned into a record deal.

With innocent good looks, upbeat charm and bouncy music, The Jets soared with their self-titled debut album.

The band’s debut album was released on MCA, at the time, the home of other successful youth-oriented acts, like New Edition and Ready For The World.

The self-titled debut album was released 40 years ago this month on October 14th, 1985.

“Curiosity,” the group’s first single, made the Billboard R&B Top 10, and the initial reception accorded the follow-up Billboard R&B Top 5, “Crush On You.”

The Jets were carving a niche of their very own.

For instance, the group members were proud of the fact that, although they are based in Minneapolis, they were not Prince clones.

The only connection was their album was co-produced by former Prince engineer David Rifkin.

“People are bound to compare us to other family or kid acts,” stated Jets guitarist Leroy Wolfgramm at the time. “As long as they compare us to successful bands, it’s fine with us. A year ago we were nobody.”

According to Leroy, the Jets “were just a bar band” when first seen by manager and co-producer Don Powell.

Don Powell recalled, “They were calling themselves Quazar. After running out of excuses for why I couldn’t catch their set, I saw them perform and was impressed – mostly by their showmanship. The potential was there.”

Powell, a Minneapolis resident, worked for Motown from 1965 to 1970 in the label’s international talent management wing, with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips and the Jackson 5.

In the mid ’70s Powell was involved in the management of David Bowie and his buddy Iggy Pop during Bowie‘s glitter-rock phase.

Powell put Quazar in the studio with Rifkin to make a four-track demo.

One of the songs, “No Strings,” was co-written by Boy George.

That demo led to the group’s seven-year deal with MCA and its name change.

MCA‘s Black music vice-president at the time, industry veteran Jheryl Busby, who had previously signed New Edition and Ready For The World, engineered the signing.

Because of their unusual look and family ties, Powell viewed the Jets as a long-term “marketing dream.” “I see these kids being on Saturday morning television one day soon. Universal is right here with MCA, so anything is possible.”

“Crush On You” was followed by the Top 30 R&B “Private Number” and then another pop smash, the #3 pop/#2 R&B slow-dance anthem “You Got It All” (written by Rupert Holmes of “Pina Colada” fame).

The Jets went platinum.

During that era, they band did shows with Minneapolis own Morris Day and even appeared on “American Bandstand,” shooting the same day as Janet Jackson.

The band presented legendary Dick Clark with a platinum plaque, of their debut album.

In 1987, the group took off again with the gold-certified “Magic.”

“Cross My Broken Heart,” which also appeared on the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack, went Top 10 pop and #11 R&B on the Billboard charts.

“I Do You” was Top 20 pop and R&B.

“Rocket 2 U” reached #6 pop and #5 R&B.

The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1988, which featured lead vocals by one of the brothers Haini Wolfgramm.

Another favorite ballad, “Make It Real,” peaked at #4 pop and Top 25 R&B.

While “Magic” also included “Sendin’ All My Love.”

They performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the seventh game of the 1987 World Series, held in Minneapolis. Years later they performed at game three of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final in suburban Bloomington.

The decade was nearing it’s close, and in 1988, The Jets didn’t release a project.

It’s understandable that the group chose a brief hiatus.

That might have had an influence in their 1989 release, Believe, not becoming a big hit like that of each of the previous albums.

The memorable single “You Better Dance” contained the group’s signature energy and pop elements, and “The Same Love” looked for major airplay as well.

But the shift in musical taste now was leaning toward rap and hip-hop.

The Jets were also inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.

In 1990, MCA once again released the group’s next album, “The Best Of The Jets.”

That featured a newly recorded version of their hit “Special Kinda Love,” a song that exhibited the group’s true love and heart for their music.

For the project, the Jets toured internationally and raised five million dollars for the National Missing Children’s Organization (NMFC).

“Living in Minnesota, we observed the Jacob Wetterling situation and came to know the nature and extent of the missing children problem,” Jets band member Leroy Wolfgramm stated. “We feel we can get the attention of groups that other fundraisers can’t.”

All money was made available to children’s organizations throughout the United States.

In 1991, MCA Records tried to refashion The Jets into a street-wise hip-hop band with a R&B, urban sound.

It was such a bad fit, that the label never released the album & their hits album was the last on MCA.

Moana stated some years back “The music almost tore us apart. The business took over and the gigs were more important than our relationships, “Liz, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, just walked away from the music. We were like 20 — when kids are almost finishing college — and we were like burnt-out, has-been music artists.”

The band filed for bankruptcy and fired their high-profile manager, Don Powell in the late 90s.

$12 million was grossed between 1985 and 1990 and the split between them and their manager didn’t add up.

The group went on to release 5 independent releases since, with the last being the “Reunited” album featuring classic Jets and six new songs in 2014.

The Jets were featured on TV One‘s “Unsung” in 2019.

The Jets still tour and share their enthusiasm for music.

And though the group may have experienced only a brief stay in the musical spotlight, they will go down in harmonious history as singers and songwriters who simply love music.

The Hits from The Jets!

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with The Jets!