C.J. & Co

1970s American Disco Group

Disco-soul band which hailed from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1977 by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore. Their first single, "The Devil's Gun", was also their biggest hit. Two albums followed after that but the success only faded. A projected 3rd album" "with a proposed release date of 1979" was never released but tracks intended for it appeared up on CJ & Co.* - USA Disco (1998) and C.J. & Co - Ain't It Amazing (The Unreleased Westbound Masters) (2018). The origins of the band go way back. In 1966 the group, then known as The Strides, cut a handful of tracks for M-S Records. While failing to achieve great commercial success outside of their Detroit hometown, the Theo-Coff association proved to be one that would pay dividends in future years. In 1974 a very short stint at Sussex, saw the group, who had split up and reformed with two female members, calling themselves C. C. & Company. The Theodore-Coffey arranged contract proved to be short-lived as the label went out of business soon after. The group comprised of two female singers (Joni Tolbert and Constance Durden) and three male singers (Charles Clark (2) of Floaters, Curtis Durden and Cornelius Brown Jr.). The group disbanded in 1979.