OSIRIS

Led by singer Osiris Marsh, Osiris was a fine but obscure soul/funk outfit that was active in Washington, D.C., in the late ’70s. The band’s influences included Sly & the Family Stone and Funkadelic, and like Earth, Wind & Fire, Osiris was interested in the culture of ancient Egypt. Osiris’ debut album, Since Before Our Time, came out on Warner Bros. in 1979; unfortunately, the LP received very little attention, and Osiris (which Warner dropped), broke up without ever recording a second album. In addition to lead singer Marsh, Osiris’ members included bassist Tony Jones, keyboardist Maceo Bond, saxman Ron Holloway, bassist Tyrone Brunson, guitarist Brent Mingle, drummer Kenny Jones, and percussionist Jimmy “Sha Sha” Stapleton. After Osiris’ breakup, Holloway kept busy as a jazz musician and went on to record several hard bop albums for Milestone/Fantasy in the 1990s. ~ Alex Henderson