On 10 June 2011, Chicago lost one its finest pioneers of House Music. His incredible voice helped the burgeoning genre cross over into mainstream success.
Pandy had been seriously ill for some months, leading to several benefit shows for him.
He was known for his six-octave voice, and sang lead on Farley Jackmaster Funk’s 1986 cover of Isaac Hayes’, “Love Can’t Turn Around,” the first house record to chart on the UK singles. The song again made the pop charts when it was rereleased in 1996.
The following year Darryl released his self-titled album on Trax Records which included some of his greatest hits and a few remixes.
Darryl is one of the most sought-after voices in the house music world.The Chicago native has toured extensively expressing love, joy and peace through his music and his 6-½-octave range never fails to amaze.
The ‘round mound of chocolate sound’ first hit UK and European shores in 1986 with his explosive performance on Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk’s house hit ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’. The single shot straight to the top of the Pop charts in the US, the UK and all over Europe and its success earned Darryl the coveted BPI Award for Dance Music. He followed it up the same year with performances on ‘Animal Magnetism’ and ‘Climax’.
Darryl’s live performances consistently draw praise from the best in the music business and, on the back of early hits like ‘I Love Music’, ‘Heaven’s In Your Heart’, ‘Love Turns To Pain’, ‘Work Your Body’, ‘Freeman’, ‘Put My Love On The Line’, ‘Tossin and Turnin’, ‘Get Your Hands Off My Man’ and ‘Searching For Love’, he has established an ever-growing fan base.
In January 1997, ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ was re-released complete with additional remixes by Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk; it was another hit, reaching the UK Billboard Top 40 chart. The following year Darryl released his self-titled album on Trax Records which included some of his greatest hits and a few remixes.
In 1999 Darryl sung on CZR’s ‘Bad Enough’ single, released on Erick Morillo’s Subliminal imprint. It was very well received, charting in the Billboard Top 40 in both the US and the UK. Darryl then reunited with Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk on the gospel house hit ‘He’s My Best Friend’ before ‘Raise Your Hands’ was released in February 1999 and debuted at #1 on the UK dance club charts.
The new millennium brought continued success for Darryl. ‘Sunshine and Happiness’ and ‘Feel It’ were released to critical acclaim and the subsequent release of ‘Get Your Body On The Floor (U Can Do It)’ received substantial support from MTV. Darryl’s most recent projects include 2003’s ‘Joy’ release alongside Dutch Johnson and his 2004 ‘Dancing’ cut alongside Laurent Wolf. In 2005 Darryl teamed up Réne Süss to release ‘Clap Your Hands On The Dancefloor’ on German imprint Tiefenrausch Records. He continues to spread his love for house music throughout the world and will appear on number of new releases in 2006.
