American funk Dyke & the Blazers, led by Arlester Christian, was formed in 1965. Christian, born on June 13, 1943, in Buffalo, New York, started his musical career playing bass in local bands before moving to Phoenix, Arizona. There, he joined forces with The Three Blazers and other musicians to form Dyke & the Blazers. Their breakthrough came with "Funky Broadway", recorded in 1966, which reached number 17 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 65 on the pop chart. The band's success led to extensive touring, but internal stresses caused a split in 1967. Christian then formed a new touring band, which gradually disbanded by 1969. He continued recording with various Los Angeles studio musicians, known as the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, producing hits like "We Got More Soul" and "Let A Woman Be A Woman, Let A Man Be A Man". After Christian was fatally shot in Phoenix on March 13, 1971, Dyke & the Blazers were posthumously recognised with inductions into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, and their music has been sampled by various artists including Tupac Shakur and The Heavy. Various compilation albums were released over the coming years including Dyke's Greatest Hits - The Complete Singles (2013), Down On Funky Broadway: Phoenix 1966-1967 (2021) and I Got A Message: Hollywood 1968-1970 (2021).
