good Producer

good arranger

but the Voicebox gimmick hurt him because the cat wasn't much of a singer and he wanted to be Smokey Robinson Jr in the worst way on the Sho Nuff.

i followed his career and huge fan of his playing skills, but listening to him trying to croon was a trip but he hid behind the voicebox to cover his vocal shortcomings.

his songwriting wasn't nothing special, but he had so much groove and rhythm that it covered it up nicely except for folks like myself who value real songwriting.

he is important to Funk, but not the end all be all and he ain't quite top ten in the Funk All time, but he is high on the list.