Larry earned a degree in engineering and Fonce Mizell earned a degree in music from
Howard University. While there they formed and performed in a jazz vocal quartet, the Vanlords. In the early 1970s, Larry and Fonce Mizell moved to
California to start their own company, Sky High Productions. They went on to produce albums for
Blue Note Records that set the tone for
jazz fusion and the era. They produced
Johnny Hammond Smith, Roger Glenn,
The Blackbyrds, and
Donald Byrd. The Mizell Brothers often used the same musicians on their albums, including
Harvey Mason on drums,
Mayuto Correa on percussion,
Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin and
David T. Walker on guitar,
Chuck Rainey on bass and
Jerry Peters on piano.
Freddie Perren and Chuck Davis were sometimes involved as co-writers or co-producers. Later hits of Sky High Productions include
A Taste of Honey's platinum-selling roller-rink anthem of 1978 "
Boogie Oogie Oogie",
L.T.D.'s "
Love Ballad", a number 1 R&B hit (#20 pop) in 1976, and
Mary Wells' funky disco
12-inch "
Gigolo" in 1982. Younger brother Rodney Mizell co-wrote some of their songs, although most material initially was written by Larry Mizell, later joined by Fonce. They also included a number of Motown hits on
Donald Byrd's albums including
Just My Imagination and
Dancing in the Street. In the 1980s, the Mizell brothers retired from the record industry, but returned in the 2000s. Larry Mizell wrote and performed vocals on the song "
Play with the Changes" on the
4hero album of the same name in 2007. ==Larry==