Artists like Switch

The Whispers are an American vocal group from Fresno, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, "And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and "Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers scored 15 top-ten R&B singles, and 8 top-ten R&B albums with two of them, The Whispers and Love Is Where You Find It, reaching the No. 1 spot. They have earned two platinum and five gold albums by the RIAA.

Maze, also known as Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly and Frankie Beverly & Maze, is an American soul band founded by Frankie Beverly in Philadelphia in 1970. Under its original name Raw Soul, the band moved to San Francisco and was introduced to Marvin Gaye. Gaye took the group on the road with him as one of his opening acts, and in 1976, he suggested that they change their name from Raw Soul.

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly is the debut album by Bay Area-based R&B group Maze, released in 1977 on Capitol Records.

The S.O.S. Band is an American R&B and electro-funk group formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977. The original lineup featured Mary Davis, Jason Bryant (keyboards), Billy Ellis and Willie “Sonny” Killebrew (horns), Bruno Speight (guitar), John Simpson (bass), and James Earl Jones III (drums).

Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—first cousin, Sherman Fleetwood—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce and Shirley Murdock. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979.

Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—first cousin, Sherman Fleetwood—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce and Shirley Murdock. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979.

Loose Ends was a British R&B band that achieved several hit records throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The trio was formed in London in 1980, initially comprising vocalist and guitarist Carl McIntosh, vocalist Jane Eugene, and keyboard player and vocalist Steve Nichol.

The Average White Band were a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others, such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, the Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, and Arrested Development, making them the 15th most sampled act in history.

Roger Troutman, also known simply as Roger, was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and influenced West Coast hip-hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music.

Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know", "Jealous Guy" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.

The Mary Jane Girls are an American girl group formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. Formed by Rick James, the original lineup comprised JoJo McDuffie, Cheri Wells, Candice Ghant, and Kimberly Wuletich. Known for their on-stage sexual image, the group debuted on Motown's imprint Gordy Records with the release of their Top 10 dance songs "Candy Man" and "All Night Long" from their debut album Mary Jane Girls (1983).

The Time, later known as Morris Day and the Time and the Original 7ven, is an American funk rock band founded in Minneapolis in 1981. They contributed to the development of the Minneapolis sound, an eclectic fusion of funk, R&B, new wave, synth-pop and dance. Led by singer-songwriter Morris Day, the band members are known for having been close associates of musician Prince, and are arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him, achieving success with singles such as "Get It Up", "Cool", "777-9311", "Jungle Love", "The Bird" and "Jerk Out".

The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" in 1967, "Son of Shaft" in 1972, and "Boogie Body Land" in 1980. The Bar-Kays also served as the backing band for a variety of singers, including Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding.

The Brothers Johnson was an American funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George and Louis E. Johnson. They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three singles topping the R&B charts.