R&B soul band Rufus was originally founded in Chicago, Illinois in the late
1960s by former American Breed members Chuck Colbert (bass) and Lee Graziano
(drums). The group was originally known as Circus and Smoke before settling on
the band name Ask Rufus in 1970. The following year, the group signed a deal
with Epic Records, but the band was dropped in early 1973 without releasing any
material. The group’s original vocalist Paulette Williams decided to leave the
band and chose her friend Chaka Khan as her replacement. Ask Rufus started to
attract interest from the ABC/Dunhill Re...