James Washington is the founder, and Artistic Director of the First Ladies of Disco LLC, a multi-faceted strategic marketing, management, and brand development company. The company specializes in working with talented artists to help them develop their careers, increase their visibility, and capitalize on various opportunities available in the marketplace.
Washington's multiple award-winning (Emmy, Telly, Communicator, and w3) expertise in artistic direction and management has been instrumental in the success of the American girl supergroup First Ladies of Disco, which was formed in 2015. Created and managed by Washington, the group is composed of three legendary disco soul artists: Martha Wash, Linda Clifford, and Norma Jean Wright, formerly of Chic.
The LLC manages the group's various business interests, including their tours, merchandise, recordings, and legal and financial aspects of the operations. In addition, the LLC is also involved in the production and distribution of the group's music and other creative content.
Overall, the First Ladies of Disco LLC serves as the central hub for the artist’s business activities, allowing them to focus on their music and performances while ensuring that their business interests are properly managed and protected.
Martha Wash is a two-time Grammy Nominee, known for her distinctive and powerful dramatic soprano voice. Ms. Wash has been dubbed "The Queen of Clubland" due to her ongoing success in the dance music genre. Martha's fame would have made her mentor, the late disco pioneer Sylvester, proud. As a member of The Weather Girls (previously known as Two Tons of Fun), Wash achieved tremendous success with the immortal "It's Raining Men," one of dance music's all-time greatest hits. Wash also performed lead vocals on Black Box's chart-toppers "Strike It Up" and "Everybody Everybody," as well as C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)," which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
James Arena is an accomplished author and the innovator of the first and, to date, only two published books directly focusing on the artists who pioneered the disco music genre. Led by the book "First Ladies of Disco," these two volumes celebrate the men and women who sang and created some of the world's biggest selling and most celebrated songs in all of pop culture history. Released between 2013 and 2014, these remarkable books arrive just in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of disco music.
First Ladies of Disco (#1 ranked in the US and Canada on Amazon's bestsellers charts - Music and Performing Arts category) is the first in the series. This book places the spotlight on 32 female vocalists who pioneered the original disco music sound. Major featured artists include Gloria Gaynor of "I Will Survive" fame, Martha Wash of "It's Raining Men," Linda Clifford, Carol Douglas, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Madleen Kane, and many other celebrated stars. The book has been the subject of segments on FOX-TV - New York, WCBS-FM - New York, KTLK - Los Angeles, and others.
First Ladies of Disco continues to reveal the fascinating personal stories of disco stars. This highly anticipated follow-up volume to "First Ladies of Disco" focuses on a mix of 40 respected male and female vocalists, producers and DJs, including France Joli of "Come To Me" fame, Sister Sledge, who topped the chart with "We Are Family," Alfa Anderson (formerly of Chic), members of the groups Crown Heights Affair, The Trammps and Tavares, George McCrae, Studio 54 DJ Robbie Leslie, producer Eddie O'Loughlin (Midland Records founder and A&R producer of NBC's The Voice), and many more.
Mr. Arena is also the author of Friday Night on Channel 9 (Top 100 ranked on Amazon bestsellers - Genre Films category). An up-close examination of a small New York television station's obsession with horror films, this book shows how WOR-TV's Saturday late-night television show defined after-hours entertainment in the '70s. Interviewed personalities include notorious drive-in film producer Samuel M. Sherman and station programming executive Lawrence P. Casey.
James' career accomplishments include almost 20 years as a marketing and rights management executive for a division of BMG Entertainment. As a freelance writer, he has also penned extensive liner notes for major DVD movie release from such companies as Image, Troma and Wellspring. James also served as editor of The Street, a popular music news magazine produced by the Record World retail chain in the '80s.
He is currently developing the next book project in his highly unique dance music historical series, this time with a focus on the 1980s. The book will feature profiles of such internationally renown artists as producer Lewis A. Martineé, Alisha, Animotion, The Flirts' Linda Jo Rizzo, Italy's Ryan Paris, Sabrina Salerno, and many more.
FLOD Spotlight is an online, seasonal, entertainment magazine, for the American market. Founded on January 3, 2016, by two-time Grammy nominee, singer/songwriter/producer, actress and businesswoman Martha Wash, and business manager James Washington.
Our magazine takes a streamlined approach to celebrity access, focusing solely on the featured artist’s views on life and lifestyle trends. We highlight the accomplishments of artists whose work may not be widely known to the general public and to bring attention back to legacy artists whose opportunities for exposure are limited. When it comes to diversity, intelligence and entertaining points of view, we’ve got it all!
We believe that it is everyone's social responsibility to support and contribute to our communities and those who are less fortunate. Here are some of the amazing organizations the First Ladies of DiscoLLC proudly support and have supported over many years.
Telephone: 917-570-6796
Email: flodllc@gmail.com
