Weapons of Peace

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Weapons of Peace was a five‑member soul and funk group from Chicago who performed in the 1970s. The lineup was Finis Henderson III (lead vocals and percussion), Andrew Hardy (guitar and backing vocals), David Johnson (bass and backing vocals), Lonnell Dantzler (keyboards), and Bill Leathers (drums). They scored three hits on the R&B/soul charts between 1976 and 1977.

Their self-titled album Weapons of Peace appeared on Playboy Records (PB 413) and was produced by Mark Davis. A Cash Box review praised the record and compared it to Earth, Wind & Fire, saying radio and AOR stations would want to play it. The single “Just Can’t Be That Way (Ruth’s Song)” / “Mighty Hard Man” charted on several lists, reaching No. 102 on Cash Box singles, No. 55 on the Cash Box Top 100 R&B chart, and No. 64 on the Billboard chart.

The group’s other notable release, “City,” entered Record World’s R&B Singles chart at No. 73 in late January 1977. They also recorded “Roots Mural / Many Rains Ago (Oluwa)” (Playboy P-6101); Record World highlighted it as a sleeper, noting that Quincy Jones helped write it. Billboard reported that Creative Direction in Chicago had signed the group, and the album was reissued in 1977 as Playboy PZ 34747. Billboard’s June 25, 1977 issue spotlighted the tracks “Roots (Mural Theme) / Many Rains Ago (Oluwa)” and “Just Can’t Be This Way (Ruth’s Song).” Billboard also noted in August 1977 that Creative Direction Inc. had moved to a new Chicago address.

In the 1980s, Lonnell Dantzler joined the funk/rap group Wreckin’ Crew. After Weapons of Peace disbanded, Finis Henderson moved to Los Angeles, became a comedian, and worked with Richard Pryor, even touring as Pryor’s opening act. He later formed the soul group Prophesy and released a solo album, Finis, in 1983.