What You Waitin' For
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Album Summary
"What You Waitin' For" stands as Stargard's debut album, dropped in 1978 on MCA Records and produced by the legendary duo of Richard Finch and H.W. Casey — the same cats who were cooking up that irresistible Miami heat over at T.K. Records. Recorded right at that magical moment when funk and disco were locking arms on the dance floor, this album let the world know that Stargard — Rochelle Runnells, Debra Anderson, and Janice Williams — were not playing around. Their polished, silky harmonies rode on top of a production sound that was pure, uncut Miami, and every groove on this record reflected the confidence of a group ready to announce themselves to the world.
Reception
- The title track earned respectable placement on both the R&B and dance charts in 1978, giving Stargard a foothold in the competitive late-disco landscape.
- The title track became the group's signature song, pulling consistent rotation from urban radio programmers and lighting up disco venues coast to coast.
- Critics of the era took note of the trio's vocal precision and the album's clean, professional production — hallmarks of what the best acts coming out of the Miami sound were delivering at that time.
Significance
- This album arrived at the peak of the disco-funk convergence, and Stargard brought the kind of sophisticated vocal layering and rhythmic authority that put them right at the heart of that movement.
- The group's performance style and the album's overall approach helped define a blueprint for female vocal trio presentation within the disco-to-funk continuum — a blueprint that would echo forward for years.
- With Finch and Casey behind the boards, the album slotted naturally into the broader Miami soul ecosystem, aligning Stargard with one of the most creatively fertile production environments in late 1970s Black popular music.
Tracklist
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A What You Waitin' For 104
3:37
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B Smile 127
3:18
Artist Details
Stargard was a silky smooth trio of ladies — Rochelle Runnells, Debra Anderson, and Janice Williams — who came together in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, blending disco, funk, and soul into a sound that was pure, unapologetic groove. They burst onto the scene with their shimmering work on the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack and caught major fire with their sultry classic What You Waitin' For, putting them right up there with the finest funk acts of the era. Their legacy lives on as a shining example of Black women owning the stage, the sound, and the spotlight during one of the most electric decades in music history.
