The Boogie Boys were an incredible talent. Although I liked Fly Girl, my favorite song was City Life, on the same 12" as Fly Girl.
The people downtown breathe dirty air, but they'd rather be there than anywhere.
Relatives visit from far away, afraid to let their kids go out and play.
Advice about the city, you just can't give it.
The only way to learn about life is live it.
Classic.
Another great song they had was called Run It, also on 12" vinyl.
One of my best friends is a huge fan of the Boogie Boys and I know he will be sad to learn that Boogie Knight died in 2001. You were lucky to know him. Word.
John, I just read your post and must say it was definitley on the mark. I too knew William Stroman AKA "Boogie Knight" and he was a great person. I had the chance to work with him back around 1997-1998. He was always bright and energetic and had just graduated from college, so it seemed really strange that he died the way he did. I produced a 6 track EP for him that included "Dimepiece" a "Fly Girl" update. I have never released nor tried to sell the EP out of respect for him. In fact I still have some grafitti photos of a "Boogie Boys " mural and a copy of his resume that he left at my house in addition to a couple of emails that he sent me. He was a very respectful person and should always be remembered. RIP Boogie, I miss you....
I recently learned of William's death & I was in shock. I new him well, @ one time we were in love, I was with him from 86 - 88. We talked about marriage, but it didn't work out. He followed a pattern my brother - in - law had done, Air force then Army.That happened as part of our break up. His life had turned a different way than he expected a that's what he did to change it. He wrote a few songs for & about me me & mentions me on Romeo Knight.He was a great guy & I'm sorry he's gone. I just wanted someone to know I loved him @ one time!
I saw your post on Williams death and thought I'd contribute what I knew of him. I served with him in the Air Force while he was trying to get his career going (1984-1985). I had no idea he later ended up in the Army.
I knew him as Darrell (William) Stroman and was his shift supervisor at Griffiss AFB in upstate New York. Sometimes we'd work the mid-shift overnight together. He'd spend as much time as he could writing lyrics. He once confided to me that he did rap because he felt his singing voice wasn't up to pop standards. He'd tell me about "The Boogie Boys" and show me his music. I remember I didn't understand much of it (I was a white kid from Texas), but some was more mainstream (i.e. accessible to my sheltered worldview) and was as good as anything in top-40 rotation at the time. His passion for it was so intense.
Every weekend he'd drive like a madman to get to NY City to perform, then drive back to make it to work. Sometimes he'd be a bit late returning and I'd try to cover for him for a few hours.
He complained the Air Force made it hard to do his music and would not grant him an early discharge. Having to make long distance calls and only see people on weekends left him out of the loop and was very frustrating to him. He saw this was his chance and so wanted to take the ride.
He and I once went to see the movie "Brazil" and spent hours and hours afterwards talking politics. We had such different backgrounds and experiences but he was sharp and could cut to the heart of the debate.
I remember "Fly Girl" started to get broader airplay as he was leaving the military and I'd remark to friends "Hey I worked with that guy!"
He was a very interesting and talented person and I was sad to hear of his passing.
RIP William.
29 JUN 2007:
I just heard the news about William Darryl "Boogie Nights" Stroman. [please excuse me if I spelled his middle name incorrectly - I am not sure of it].
I still can not believe that he is gone. Please forgive me, but I have to assume that he is still alive. I am not trying to diss anyone, but could it be possible that it is just mistaken identity?
I too worked with Darryl in the Air Force around 1986. Our job was Computer Maintenance. The computers never really broke down too often, so we had a lot of time on our hands. Darryl would write his songs - popping and whatnot. His face lit up when he came up with something that really worked. Sometimes he would run his lyrics (poetry) by me. I was more of a Heavy Metal rocker, but I did like of lot of his music.
I remember "Fly Girl" and "Zodiac". He told me once that the Gemini lyrics in Zodiac were based a little on me.
One time while on leave in Connecticut, I saw his album in a record store. I bought and took it back to Rome, New York to show him. All he said was, "Pauuuul!" With that distinctive huffing laugh - I can still hear him today.
One time his mother called him at our shop and I answered the phone. Before I could announce myself, she broke into a chorus of "I just Called" by Stevie Wonder. It was so cool I didn't stop he until she was finished. She was a little embarrassed, but I assured her that it was alright - she had a lovely voice.
If you have any additional info on Darryl, please contact me at romsk22@msn.com
Peace
Can anyone please tell me where I may be able to download an audio file of a fly girl and the other songs on the album survival of the freshest?
What an awesome story you shared. I am sick to hear he had passed. I am curious though, does anyone know the cause of death.Thanks Bryan
I was just talking about Stroman ion a message board. I was in a room next to him in Boebingan Germany. He would rap everynight untill about 12 and then got to bed. He never did anything else. He seemed to be a good guy. I thought I would look him up and found this web site. I also heard the same story about him and doing the rap "fly girl". He also showed us the tape of him and the guys. God bless him.
I know this is coming kind of late. But i am in total shock right now. I knew William as me and him where stationed in Germany together on the same base. It's even more hard for me because we used too do music together. I was just like you when I first met him. But there was something about him that stood out. Back in 1984 when I was in high school he performed a concaert in my hometown back in Florida and that's how I was able to reconize him. To make a long story short Boogie had the rights too the Boogie Boys name because he used it in Germany and release a couple of songs over there. I was one of the members in the group along with a female DJ and two other guys, we started out as his dancers. We opened for a lot of artist who came to Germany; EPMD, Public Enemy, Young Black Teenagers, and wee performed for Tina Turners 50th birthday party. Man this is hard. Me and the DJ (her name was Texas Trouble), and her husband was just talking about the time we had in Germany. Man Boogie taught me alot of things about the music from DJaying, rapping, too making tracks and producing music. He did have a love for it. He was a very dear friend and he will surly be missed.
Al Williams (Willy Will)
alrwilliamsjr@yahoo.com
My name is Erik Manuel. Me and Boog were in the Air Force together(1983-1985)at Griffiss AFB Rome NY. I was not into the music the way Boog was, but there was about 8 of us that hung out together everyday. I played a lot of ball but Boog would always be in his room playing his cassette tapes on the phone to people in NY.Would somebody email me ERIK.MANUEL@navy.mil to give me some clarity on his death.This has really blown me away. Boog was a great brother with a lot of integrity, and wisdom. We lost touch when I got out of the Air Force.
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