ODYSSEY - Native New Yorker

In 1968 the Virgin Island-born Lopez Sisters - Carmen, Lillian and Louise - formed a trio and sought gigs performing at small clubs and events in and around New York City. After almost a decade of small-time success as The Lopez Sisters, Carmen decided to leave the group to get married and settle down. After the departure the remaining sisters brought in bassist and vocalist Tony Reynolds and changed the name of their group to Odyssey, developing a more pop-oriented sound. It wasn't long before the group hit it big-time with their first single in 1977, Native New Yorker, which had been recorded by Frankie Valli earlier that year. The group released numerous other charting singles off the several albums they released between 1977-1982, however their Caribbean-influenced disco sound was more successful commercially in the UK. Native New Yorker, their biggest US hit, has been sampled sampled and/or used numerous times. In 2014 the song was used in commercials to promote the debut of the seventh incarnation of The Tonight Show with it's new host Jimmy Fallon.