CeCe Rogers | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Kenneth Jesse Rogers III |
Born | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | April 30, 1962
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active |
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Labels | |
Website | cecerogers |
CeCe Rogers (born Kenneth Jesse Rogers III, April 30, 1962), [1] is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio. [2]
He was given the nickname CeCe by James Brown, who watched him performing at 11 years of age, imitating Chubby Checker. [2] [3] He is considered one of the most popular male vocalists in house music. In 1987, he recorded the track "Someday" in collaboration with Marshall Jefferson, an anthem of house music, having been rated number 3 in Mixmag's 100 Greatest Singles of All Time.
His track "All Join Hands" became popular in 1991, after Laurent Garnier began to mix it with Pulsation's "Transpulsation".[ citation needed ]
Rogers attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio and Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. He began studying piano at the age of five. His mother, a music teacher, introduced him to gospel, the genre that forms his musical foundation. [4] He was considered a child prodigy and at the age of nine, he was a featured musician on the weekly television program, The Gene Carroll Show.
Moving to the New York area in 1984, he taught voice and piano, as well as doing session work with such artists as Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, and Curtis Hairston. He also formed his own group, CeCe & Company, whose repertoire included jazz and R&B tunes. [4] Some of the group's vocalist at the time were Sybil Lynch, [4] Adeva, and Kenny Bobien.
In 1987, Rogers recorded the track "Someday" with its songwriter, Marshall Jefferson, and was then signed to Atlantic Records, [2] making "Someday" the first house-music song released by a major label. [4]
Not realizing the massive appeal house music was having in Europe, Rogers moved away from the house scene and released his debut album, CeCe Rogers, in 1989. [4] The album was a mix of contemporary R&B and house tracks that received rave reviews but poor sales. His second album, Never Give Up (1991), also failed to chart selling only 300,000 units. He was dropped from Atlantic and went back to doing session work singing backgrounds for TV commercials. In 1993, David Morales recruited Rogers to work on his debut album, Games. He worked on many of Morales's remix projects including "The Best Things In Life Are Free" by Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross, and the soundtrack of Sister Act . Rogers has written and produced many songs with his friend and business partner, Marshall Jefferson.
In 1989, Rogers wrote the UK hit single, "Got to Get You Back" for Kym Mazelle. [5]
The house scene grew quickly, starting out in Chicago and establishing roots in New Jersey. Soulful house became popular in Europe when Rogers toured with Jefferson.
In 1994, Rogers recorded a string of hits with the Italian band Jestofunk. This would lead to three world tours. After five years with Jestofunk, Rogers decided to stop touring and give teaching a try. Seeing the need for more African American male teachers in the urban community, Rogers taught music production for eight years at the Essex County Vocational School in New Jersey. He became a supervisor for the district and formed a gospel choir that won many competitions, including the McDonald's Gospelfest and Cherry Blossom music festival.[ citation needed ]
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Dance [8] | UK [9] | ||||||
1987 | "Someday" (US only) | — | — | CeCe Rogers | |||
1989 | "Forever" | — | 100 | ||||
"Lonely Girl" (US promo only) | — | — | |||||
"Forever / Someday" | — | — | |||||
1990 | "All Join Hands" | 34 | — | Non-album single | |||
1991 | "Never Give Up" (US only) | — | — | Never Give Up | |||
"Thick Girlz" (US only) | — | — | |||||
1992 | "Brothers & Sisters" (US only) | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
"All Join Hands / Brothers & Sisters" | — | — | |||||
1993 | "Its Gonna Be Alright" (with The Unity Crew)(US only) | — | — | ||||
1994 | "No Love Lost" | 15 | — | ||||
1995 | "Come Together" | — | 77 | ||||
1996 | "In the Morning" (US only) | — | — | ||||
2002 | "Come On and Dance" (UK only) | — | — | ||||
2005 | "It's Alright" (UK only) | — | — | ||||
2020 | "I'll Be Your Friend" [10] (with Benny Benassi) | — | — | ||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
Year | Single | Artist | Album |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | "Say It Again" | Jestofunk | Love in a Black Dimension |
"Can We Live" | |||
1996 | "Symphonic Tonic" | Street Corner Symphony | Single only |
"Hollar (Throw Up Your Hands)" | Morel Inc. | N.Y.C. Jam Session | |
1997 | "My Sweet Lord" | Papasun Style | The Positive Life |
"Superstar" | Project MSC | Singles only | |
"Take Me Higher" | Inner Spirit | ||
1998 | "Movin' On" | Moodlife | |
1999 | "Gimme Your Love" | Starphunk | |
"Happy" | Jestofunk | Universal Mother | |
2014 | "I Want You" | Bob Sinclar | Single only |
2016 | "Come with Me" | David Morales | Single only |
2017 | "Can't Let Go" | Andrea Ferrini | Single only |
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David Morales is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer.
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Marshall Julius Jefferson is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house.
Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" reached the number 5 spot on the Hot 100 and number 2 in the UK Top 75.
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Jocelyn Lorette Brown, sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one Billboard Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the music industry and is well known in the world of dance music. Brown sang on 23 hit singles from the Official UK Singles Chart, 8 of which have reached the top 20.
"Finally" is a song by American singer-songwriter CeCe Peniston, released in September 1991 by A&M Records as her debut single from her first album of the same name (1992). Co-written by her, it received critical acclaim, becoming Peniston's first hit song, peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1992. Prior to that, the track was a major success on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it spent two weeks at number one in late 1991. In addition, a dance remix of the song, the "Choice Mix", peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 1992. The remix appeared on many dance music compilations in the early '90s. Its music video was directed by Claude Borenzweig. Billboard ranked "Finally" among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.
"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a 1979 song recorded by American singers Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. It was written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Gary Klein. The song was recorded for Streisand's Wet album and also as a new track for Summer's compilation double album On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II. The full-length version was found on Streisand's album, while a longer 11-minute edit (the 12" version) was featured on Summer's album. The longer 12" version features additional production by frequent collaborator Harold Faltermeyer, and incorporates a harder rock edge.
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"That's the Way Love Is" is a song by Chicago-based dance trio Ten City, released in 1989 by Atlantic Records as a single from their debut album, Foundation (1989). The song was written by the trio and produced by them with Marshall Jefferson. It reached number eight in the UK and number eighteen in West Germany, and was also the group's highest charting single on both the Billboard R&B and dance charts in the US. The song peaked at number twelve on the Hot R&B Singles chart, and number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rolling Stone ranked "That's the Way Love Is" number 165 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022.
"Sweet Harmony" is a song by British dance act Liquid, originally released on the Liquid EP in 1991, and as a single in 1992. The song samples heavily from CeCe Rogers' "Someday" released in 1987. New remixes of the song were released in 1995, and it was re-released in 2004 and again in 2007, featuring more new mixes.
"Someday" is a song by American singer-songwriter CeCe Rogers. It is well-known for its recognisable piano riff and widely acclaimed for its influence on electronic music culture. Marshall Jefferson wrote the lyrics to "Someday" and recruited Rogers to sing the vocals after seeing him in a show with 'Ce Ce & Company'. Jefferson recorded Rogers' warm up vocal. When Rogers said he was ready to start recording the first take, Jefferson told him they had already finished. It was the greatest vocal performance Jefferson had heard on a dance record, but Rogers wanted to re-record it and he did it. Rogers was signed to Atlantic Records, making "Someday" the first house-music song released by a major label. The track went on to sell millions, a landmark release for house music. British band M People released a cover of the song in 1992.
"Missing You" is a song by British Contemporary R&B band Soul II Soul, released in November 1990 as the fourth and last single from their second album, Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade (1990). It features American singer-songwriter Kym Mazelle on lead vocals and Lamya on background vocals. It was a top 30 hit in Ireland and the UK. Outside Europe, it peaked at number nine in Zimbabwe, number 39 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in the US and number 166 in Australia. A black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single. It shows Mazelle and Jazzie B dancing together on a dancefloor while performing it.
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Believe for It is the first live album and twelfth overall album by American gospel singer CeCe Winans. It was released on March 12, 2021, via Puresprings Gospel and Fair Trade Services. The deluxe edition of the album was released on April 1, 2022. The album was produced by Kyle Lee.