Over the weekend, Rolling Stone broke the news that the critically acclaimed musician, songwriter, and record producer, Reggie Lucas, passed away on May 19th at the age of 65. As confirmed by Lucas’ sister, the Grammy-winning artist died due to complications from heart disease.
Hailing from Queens, New York, Lucas became a celebrated musician at an early age, joining Miles Davis‘ electric band in 1972 at the age of eighteen. Lucas remained in Miles Davis’ band for five years, collaborating with bandmates Davis, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, and Al Foster and appearing on 1972’s On The Corner in addition to a number of tracks of 1974’s Get Up On It and the live recordings that became Davis’ renowned jazz-funk trilogy of Dark Magus, Pangaea, and Agharta. After meeting percussionist James Mtume while recording “Mtume” on Get Up On It, the two became close, and both ended up joining Roberta Flack‘s band and touring with Andrew Baijnath for several years.
However, Reggie Lucas perhaps was most renowned for his production work and songwriting that came after his years working as a touring musician. With Mtume, he wrote and produced hit songs for artists like Flack, Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman, Lou Rawls, The Spinners, and others. By the end of the ’70s, Lucas was writing and producing on his own, with one of his first solo projects being pop icon Madonna‘s self-titled debut album in 1983, which sold over five-million albums. Eventually, Lucas would go on to found Quantum Sound recording studios in Jersey City, NJ, which worked with artists like Pet Shop Boys, Jodeci, Jeff Buckley, and others.
Thank you, Reggie, for all your amazing contributions to music over the years. Rest in peace.