The Boogie Boys
Members
Boogie Knight (William Stroman) d. 10/01
Romeo JD (Joe Malloy)
Lil’ Rahiem (Rudy Sheriff)
Kool Ski (Keith Short)
This Harlem based group has an often misunderstood history. The Boogie Boys originally are Keith Short (Kool Ski) and William Stroman (Boogie Knight). They battled Pernellio and Crew at the popular IS 201 128th and Madison Avenue to get their first record deal with Mike and Dave Records. The song was called “Rappin Aint No Thang” and was mixed live by Crash Crew D.J. Darryl C with three records (Eagles, Johnny The Fox and E.U. Freeze). Following this song (which was #1 locally in NYC) they quickly became Manhattan’s top duo performing various clubs including Harlem World, Celebrity Club, Audubon Ballroom, T-Connection, Disco Connection and Ecstacy Garage Disco.
They landed a record deal on Capitol Records with producer Ted Currier who had just produced the monster hit “Atomic Dog” by funk legend George Clinton. Their first single on Capitol “Breakdancer/Zodiac” landed them an album deal. This is when things get a bit mixed up. Ted Currier and Kool Ski could not see eye to eye and that left Boogie Knight with an album deal by himself while he was in the Air Force. The album was eventually completed and including the song “Fly Girl”. Ted Currier was a well known remixer and had done previous work for WBLS and WKTU. At this point Currier placed Lil Rahiem and Romeo JD into the group. From there he asked HUSH productions to manage Boogie Boys as a favor since HUSH had an excellent relationship with Capitol Records.
Under HUSH Productions, Lil Rahiem and Romeo J.D. took pictures and lip-synced the video “You Ain’t Fresh” without the knowledge of Boogie Knight or Currier. The songs “Fly Girl” and “You Ain’t Fresh” were so popular that people to this day swear that Rahiem and Romeo are the originators. This group from Harlem entered the scene with “A Fly Girl” in 1985. The song was quite successful, but the group never again hit big. They also put out “Rappin’ Ain’t No Thang” on Mike & Dave Records. They also made the ‘City Life’ LP in1985. They released an LP called “Survival of the Freshest” in 1986. Later on, Romeo produced many tracks for the Freestyle/Disco group Sweet Sensation that featured a lot of drum layering and a Latin influence.
Their last album “Romeo Knight” came out in early 1988.
Sadly William Stroman had just completed a solo project under the name (9x)Delight when he passed away in October 2001.
Additional info submitted by WillHigh01, Ed Roberts and William Stroman
Check Out “A Fly Girl”
April 26, 2015
I knew William Stroman AKA “Boogie Knight”very well and was both saddened and stunned at the time of his passing. He was a real humble dude and a great person. I keep reading that prior to his passing he had finished a new CD with La Bruja (who I also know) and Reggie Reg but in all these years I have never heard any of the music. I know that I was working on a new CD with him during that time but we were on hiatus as I had to take a personal break. We finished 6 songs that were never mixed due to his passing. Maybe he started a project with them during that time (I don’t really know) because I had also gotten a job and my time was sparse. In any case I have 6 unreleased tracks by him. I’m not trying upset anyone or question anyone’s story as I can only talk about my relationship and the work I did with him. I would love to present his songs so that his fans can see what he was working on and enjoy them but I’m not sure how to do that. I would definitely want his family involved in some way. Anyway you have my email if you’re interested in speaking more.
September 18, 2015
Whatever happened to original Boogie Boys member Keith Short?
March 30, 2016
May not matter but if accuracy is important I believe that Boogie Knight was in the Army not the Air Force. He was stationed at Panzer Kaserne in Boblingen Germany with the First Infantry My Driver knew him.
January 19, 2018
God bless you brother’s fan for life
February 14, 2020
Great album reached this white boy just south of DC and took over our world..RIP Sir..
December 12, 2020
Nice site. I’m an old school DJ / Soundman / Promoter 35 yrs.
August 29, 2022
They had members in the Air Force stationed at Grissom AFB. NY. as Security Policemen.