Larry Blackmon Net Worth

What is Larry Blackmon's net worth?

Larry Blackmon is an American singer and musician who has a net worth of $800 thousand. Larry Blackmon is best known as the founder and frontman of the funk-R&B band Cameo. The group had many hit songs in the late 1970s and throughout the '80s, including "I Just Want to Be," "Shake Your Pants," "Freaky Dancin'," "She's Strange," "Word Up!," and "Candy." In addition to Cameo, Blackmon founded the funk quartet CA$HFLOW.

Legal and Financial Problems

In 2014 Larry was sued by a former landlord for allegedly owing back rent and damaging an Atlanta apartment. The landlord was suing for $16,000 to cover debt and repairs.

In October 2018, Larry was sued by his former bandmates for allegedly cashing group royalty checks without paying them a cut. They claimed that Larry had cashed over $100,000 in royalties without paying them a dime. They also claimed that Larry was using Cameo's music in his Vegas residency without their permission. The lawsuit demanded he hand over 80% of the live show's profits.

In June 2019, Larry sued his former bandmates alleging that they were using the name "Cameo" without his permission for a group that they had formed called "The Original Cameo Family". His lawsuit sought $2 million in damages.

Early Life

Larry Blackmon was born on May 29, 1956 in New York City. His father, Lee Black, was a former boxer.

Cameo

In 1974, Blackmon formed the New York City Players, a funk group that signed with Casablanca Records as the Players in 1975. However, after Mercury Records threatened legal action due to the name being too similar to the label's Ohio Players, the group changed its name to Cameo. Blackmon became the group's lead singer and percussionist.

In 1977, Cameo released its debut album, "Cardiac Arrest," which spawned the successful singles "Rigor Mortis" and "Funk Funk." Two albums followed in 1978: "We All Know Who We Are" and "Ugly Ego." Cameo had its mainstream breakthrough in 1979 with its fourth studio album, "Secret Omen," which peaked at number four on the Billboard Soul LP's chart and number 46 on the Billboard 200. Boosted by the hit singles "I Just Want to Be" and "Sparkle," the album became Cameo's first to be certified Gold in the United States.

The group had even greater success with its next album, "Cameosis," which reached number one on the Soul LP's chart and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in 1980. It included the hit single "Shake Your Pants." Also in 1980, Cameo released the album "Feel Me." That was followed in 1981 by "Knights of the Sound Table," which launched the hit single "Freaky Dancin'." In 1982, Cameo released "Alligator Woman," its fifth consecutive album to receive a Gold certification in the US.

Cameo underwent major changes in 1983 with its ninth studio album, "Style." The group's first album on Blackmon's new label Atlanta Artists, it emphasized electronic instrumentation in place of the group's typical big funk sound. Perhaps as a result, it failed to match the commercial success of Cameo's previous albums. This was only a brief lull, however, as Cameo scored a hit with its next album, 1984's "She's Strange." A number-one album on the Top Black Albums chart, it spawned the hit title song, which peaked atop the Hot Black Singles chart.

Cameo had another success with its 1985 album "Single Life," which featured the hit singles "Attack Me with Your Love" and the title track. The group ascended to an even higher level of popularity in 1986 with the album "Word Up!," another number-one hit for the group on the Top Black Albums chart. It spawned three of Cameo's biggest hit singles: "Candy," "Back and Forth," and the title song. The group's next album, 1988's "Machismo," became its ninth and final album to be certified Gold. In the 1990s, Cameo released the albums "Real Men… Wear Black," "Emotional Violence," and "In the Face of Funk" to varying degrees of success. Following a six-year break, Cameo put out the album "Sexy Sweet Thing" in 2000. After an even longer period of inactivity, the group reunited for a residency in Las Vegas in 2016. Three years later, Cameo released its first new single in 19 years, "El Passo."

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Other Musical Projects

Blackmon has been involved with other musical groups and artists beyond Cameo. He played drums on a number of hit songs for the R&B group Black Ivory in the 1970s, and formed the Atlanta-based funk quartet CA$HFLOW. In the late 1980s, Blackmon contributed backing vocals to Ry Cooder's album "Get Rhythm" and Cyndi Lauper's album "A Night to Remember."

Performance Style

In addition to his singular vocal style and funk instrumentation, Blackmon presented a unique image during his time with Cameo, characterized by an intricate hi-top fade haircut and a codpiece worn over his pants. He also had a catchphrase, "Ow!," which was used as an intro for some of Cameo's songs.

Personal Life

Blackmon has two sons, one of whom is involved in politics and the other of whom is in the hip hop music industry.

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