As teenagers, they began writing songs and forming bands, and when attending Kentucky State University, they formed Midnight Star, a synth-funk outfit that hit big in the early to mid 1980s.
The Calloways were instrumental in orchestrating the band's 1983 multi-platinum breakthrough album, No Parking on the Dance Floor, and Midnight Star would continue to experience mainstream success throughout the brothers' tenure in the group.
After Midnight Star ran its course, the two left to focus on solo work.
During their time with Midnight Star, they had also written and produced hits for acts like Klymaxx ("Meeting in the Ladies Room") and The Whispers ("Contagious").
Following their exit from Star, they continued writing for other musicians, such as Teddy Pendergrass[1] ("Joy"), Gladys Knight & the Pips ("Love Overboard"), Natalie Cole ("Jump Start"), and Levert ("Casanova"), before forming their own eponymous group, Calloway, in the late 1980s.