Cheryl started guitar lessons at the age of 11. She went onto learning music composition, orchestration & arranging at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, then onto
earning a degree in commercial music at Los Angeles City College.While her then-brother-in-law, Hubert Laws was on tour with Latin Artist, Mongo Santamaria, she accidentally tuned her toy guitar to play a television theme song. When her sister heard it she suggested to their mother that Cheryl should take guitar lessons. From there Cheryl continued to broaden her studies in music classes all through out her school years.
After graduating college, Cheryl was playing in various local bands. When she was rehearsing at a studio in Hollywood, she was approached by some girls that said they had been getting together an all-female band called KLYMAXX (AFB) and wanted her to come and start rehearsing with them. Cheryl was apprehensive about the musicianship level as to which they might have been, but agreed to come and rehearse and check it out, anyway. The energy and fun that the girls were having
pulled Cheryl into continuing to develop the band and with that they appointed her to be the musical director.
While working in a bank and rehearsing with the band, Cheryl was telling her supervisor about this all-female band called KLYMAXX she was in. Her supervisor, Linda Pate, told Cheryl that her uncle, Johnny Pate, was a producer for Artists like, Pebo Bryson and Minnie Riperton; and that if Cheryl would bring her the band’s demo
tape, she would give it to her uncle to see if he could help the band. When Johnny Pate listened to the music he was not impressed but happened to have lunch with an A&R executive named,Margret Nash who worked at Solar Records and he gave it to her. She loved the idea of an all-female band and the musical direction she could hear in KLYMAXX’s demo tape. Margret took the tape and idea to Dick Griffey who was the president of Solar Records. He went to hear and see the band rehearse and signed the band immediately to a contract with Solar Records that would spawn 5 albums. Cheryl wrote the music to the demo song that got KLYMAXX the record deal
and was the first single called Never Underestimate The Power of A Woman. KLYMAXX continues to perform and make great music.They have built up a legion of fans who look forward to going to a KLYMAXX concert.
This interview available on YOUTUBE – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BDQxWwBa5M&t=20s
Find out more about KLYMAXX @ KLYMAXX.com
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