Chicago singer, composer, and producer Darryl Duncan began playing the organ at nine and was an accomplished pianist in his teens. He joined a local band called Cashmere (not the Philly unit) while in high school. He later left Chicago to work on his compositional skills, and eventually became a staff writer at A&M. Relocating to Los Angeles, Duncan wrote songs for several artists, including Maurice White, Michael Jeffries, and Chaka Khan; he also produced sessions for Billy Always, the E.U. Band, and Sarah Dash. Motown signed him as a performer in 1988. His self-produced debut, Heaven, yielded only a very minimal single, "James Brown (Part 1)." ~ Ron Wynn, Rovi