Odyssey Part 2 By Johnny Harris

Odyssey by Johnny Harris was released on Sunshine Sound in 1980. DJs were more interested in the B side, Odyssey Part 2.

Where Was It Played?

In the early 1980s when it was released, Odyssey Part 2 was associated with The Loft in NYC and was played by Larry Levan at Paradise Garage. In Chicago it appealed to Frankie Knuckles and Lee Collins. This track became popular with a new audience when it was featured on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

An Unusual Origin Story

Odyssey was originally composed for a scene in Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. Johnny Harris was working as a componser for television in LA when he was asked to write music for an episode called Space Rockers. In the episode, a future rock band has an evil manager who uses their music to trigger riots across the galaxy. Odyssey was composed as a track for the band to play on screen during the episode. Richard Finch, the co-founder of KC And The Sunshine Band, was in the audience of the TV studio for this episode. He liked the track and he got hold of the rights to make it into a disco track to release it on a record.