Lyte Funkie Ones (LFO) was an American three-man pop group consisting of Rich Cronin, Devin Lima (born Harold Lima), and Brad Fischetti. Before Devin Lima joined the group in 1999, the third member was Brian Gillis, known as "Brizz", who was with the group from its start in 1995. The band is best known for their hit song "Summer Girls". Origins In 1995, in Boston, Massachusetts, Rich Cronin met Brian Gillis, known as Brizz. Brizz convinced Rich to start a group with him, so Rich and Brian moved to Orlando and met with Lou Pearlman who asked aspiring model and long-time friend Derek Bugley, a Pilates Instructor in downtown Boston, if he wanted to join the group, to which he agreed. Their biggest single, "(Sex U Up) The Way You Like It", was produced by Chris Cate better known for all the BSB and 'N Sync hits. They also had another hit called "Can't Have You", which missed the top 10, reaching #11 on the UK charts. In 1999, Brizz was frustrated with the lack of progress that the group had made so he left to pursue a solo career, which lead him to multiple college tours and a job in the music industry with a radio promotion position in Florida with BMG. After Brizz left, Bugley and Cronin still wanted to continue to pursue their dreams of making it big, so they headed back to the United States and had an open audition. Devin Lima or Dumas, an employee of a hardware store at the time, was chosen in place of Brizz. Dumas decided that the group should discontinue being called Lyte Funkie Ones and use the name LFO exclusively instead. In the UK, however, they were unable to use the abbreviated name of LFO due to an IDM act on the Warp Records label, who had been using the name since 1988. Still signed with Trans Continental and now with Arista Records, LFO recorded some songs in former New Kids on the Block singer Danny Wood's basement. Wood had been a long-time friend of original member Brian Gillis. Among the songs LFO had recorded in an attempt to make a demo was a song called "Summer Girls". This song would change their lives, and give LFO their path to success. As well as the basement in Boston, the Newport House continued to serve as a recording studio as well as a party haven. The song was leaked to a friend at a radio station and was so catchy, LFO made it to the Billboard Hot 100. "Summer Girls" made its way to the Top 10. z100, a major Clear Channel radio station located in New York, also helped their popularity. Their debut album, LFO, sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, and scored two Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Summer Girls" and "Girl on TV". In 1999, "Summer Girls" was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Single of the Year; the song sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. The song itself contained numerous non sequiturs, such as "You're the best girl that I ever did see/the great Larry Bird, jersey 33" and "Fell deep in love, but now we ain't speakin'/Michael J. Fox was Alex P. Keaton. This album featured many vocals from original member Brizz. The label loved the original versions of the records so much that they left all of the vocals from Brizz including leads on "Can't Have You". The year 2000 was a busy year for LFO, featuring nonstop tours performing at over 230 concerts that year. They also served as opening act for Britney Spears and co-headlined Nickelodeon's All That Music & More summer tour. They also found success in the UK at the same time when "Girl on TV" entered the UK chart at #6. In 2000, the band won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Group of the Year. Play Along Toys made dolls of the group in 2001. The trio returned to the recording studio in 2001, looking to chart more hits with the release of "Life Is Good", but the album failed to yield another Top 40 hit. Lead single, "Every Other Time", peaked at No. 44 on Billboard's The Hot 100 Singles chart. Second single, "Life Is Good", missed the Hot 100, but peaked at No. 33 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart. By the following year, the group had broken up, and a brief reunion in 2009 failed to ignite much interest. Cronin died in September 2010 after a five-year battle with leukemia.
