General Caine

General Kane (known as General Caine before 1986) was an American music group fronted by Mitch McDowell.

General Caine
Origin	California, United States
Genres	Funk, rap, soul, R&B
Years active	1978–1988
Labels	Groove Time Tabu Capitol Motown
Past members	Mitch McDowell, bass, percussion and lead vocals / rap Wayne Sanders Wayman Ballinger, lead and background vocals Kevin Goins, lead and background vocals Rodney Trotter, lead and background vocals Daryl Haywood, background vocals Nelson Hardwick Jr., bass vocals Trey Stone, lead guitar Robert Palmer, lead guitar Rick Hendrix, lead guitar David Chadwick, keyboards Jim Morrison, keyboards Tony Patler, keyboards Brenda Jackson, keyboards Robert G. Summers, keyboards Johnny "Guitar" Carson, lead guitar Dave Dobler, keyboards and synthesizers Craig Owen, drums, background vocals Alvino Bennett, drums Gerry Davis, drums Marion McQuery, trumpet David Findley, trumpet David Jarimillo, trumpet Gary Metz, alto sax Jimmy Carter, tenor and soprano saxophone Sidney Washington, background vocals

Background

Mitch McDowell (born Mitchell Leon McDowell was born on June 29, 1954, in San Bernardino, California. He died January 22, 1992, in San Bernardino).^[1]

He formed the band Booty People. He would later form General Kane.^[2]

McDowell took the professional name General Kane in tribute to an officer who had supported his artistic ambitions when he was at military school.^[3]

Booty People career

Booty People was made up of childhood friends, Richard Le Mon Smith aka Lemonsmyth, Ricky Goodloe aka Riki Hendrix, Mitch McDowell, Robert Palmer, and Joe Phillips.^[4] Riki Hendrix is related to Jimi Hendrix.^[5][6]

"Spirit of '76"

Success would come their way with the song "Spirit of '76".^[7] Producers, Steve Gold and Jerry Goldstein were in a room with ABC vice president Otis Smith. Smith played a tape by Booty People and said that he loved the record as a single, but he just didn't know. He said that he thought it had to come down. Goldstein interjected with "Way down". Gold closed his eyes and put his head back and was apparently grooving to the music while Goldstein was dancing in the room. He screamed out, "Now That's funk. Great damn, I love it". Smith then said to get this one ready to go right away and said he going to show them why he was the best at his job and would break in the record for them.^[8] Making its debut on the Cash Box Top 100 R&B chart for the week of 22 May 1976,^[9] and the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for the week of 29 May 1976.^[10] it peaked at no. 63.^[11][12] no. 55 respectively.^[13][14]

Further activities

In 1977, the group's self-titled debut album was released.^[15]

Career

They released one album for MCA Records. Mitch assembled an eight-piece funk group and signed with Groove Time Records in 1978, releasing two albums: Let Me In (1978) and Get Down Attack (1980).^[3]

The group then moved to Tabu Records. General Caine's third album entitled Girls features the hit song "For Lovers Only". The radio station 93.1 FM WZAK in Cleveland (Ohio) penned "For Lovers Only" as a theme song for their late night segment with the same title. Their debut single for the Tabu label and the fourth album Dangerous with many songwriting chores, were done by Johnny Guitar Carson.

After a brief appearance at Capitol Records with one single released called "Where's the Beef?" (a popular catch phrase at that time), a slimmed down version of the group with new writers and producers signed a recording contract with Motown Records in the mid-1980s. With a slightly new name (from General Caine to General Kane to reflect the changes in the band's lineup) and sound, they debuted for the new Motown Records label with the album In Full Chill (1986).^[3] "Crack Killed Applejack" was an uncompromising reflection of drug addiction on the inner city streets and reached number 12 in the black music charts despite being barred from airplay.^[3] Subsequent releases mellowed General Kane's approach without losing their commitment to the basic rap sound of the late 1980s. The group's album Wide Open included a romantic ballad, "Close Your Eyes", which featured vocals from two of the group's less prominent members, Cheryl McDowell and Danny Macon.^[3]

Later years

Mitch McDowell pursued a career in law enforcement as a bail bondsman after leaving the music industry. He was murdered in January 1992 along with a nephew, Akili John Davis, 18, who worked in his office. Police noted that the office safe was empty.^[16]

General Kane's catalogue remained in print through the efforts of their former producer, Grover Wimberly III, who runs his own label, Groove Time Records.^[3]

Discography

Albums

• Let Me In (1978)
• Get Down Attack (1980)
• Girls (1982)
• Dangerous (1983)
• In Full Chill (1986)
• Wide Open (1987)

Singles

Year	Song	US R&B [17]
1981	"Shake"	—
	"L.R.J. Pop"	—
	"Get Down Attack"	—
1982	"Don't Stop"	—
	"The Girls"	72
1983	"Ooh, Aah"	—
	"Bomb Body"	74
1984	"Where's the Beef?"	—
1986	"Can't Let Go"	—
	"Crack Killed Applejack"	12
	"Hairdooz"	—
	"House Party"	—
1987	"Girl Pulled the Dog"	33
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.