Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. is an American singer,songwriter,record producer,and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores;writing and recording the hit singles "Easy","Sail On","Three Times a Lady",and "Still" with the group before his departure. In 1980,he wrote and produced the US Billboard Hot 100 number one single "Lady" for Kenny Rogers.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer,songwriter,and record producer. Throughout his career,he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice",Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone,as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. NPR additionally named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards,including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded shortly before his death,"Dance with My Father". In 2021,he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm &Blues Hall of Fame.
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists,most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022,the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
"I'll Be There" is the first single released from Third Album by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy,Hal Davis,Bob West,and Willie Hutch.
"Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey featuring American rapper Jay-Z for her seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). It was released on August 23,1999,by Columbia Records as the lead single from Rainbow. The song was written by the artists and produced by Carey and DJ Clue,with additional writers being credited for the hook being built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game" by Stacy Lattisaw. "Heartbreaker" pushed Carey even further into the R&B and hip hop market,becoming her second commercial single to feature a rapper. Lyrically,the song describes lovesickness towards an unfaithful partner.
American singer Mariah Carey has released 88 official singles,22 promotional singles,and has made 30 guest appearances. Her self-titled debut album in 1990 yielded four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100,the first being "Vision of Love",a song credited with revolutionizing the usage of distinguished vocal stylings,predominantly the practice of melisma,and effectively influencing virtually every female R&B performer since the 1990s. Subsequent singles "Emotions" (1991) and Carey's cover of the Jackson 5 track "I'll Be There" (1992) continued the singer's streak of US number-one singles,with the latter becoming her fourth chart-topper in Canada and first in the Netherlands. With the release of Carey's third studio album,Music Box (1993),the singer's international popularity surged upon release of "Hero" and the album's third single,her cover of Harry Nilsson's "Without You",which became the singer's first number-one single in several countries across Europe.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album,Merry Christmas (1994). She wrote and produced the song with Walter Afanasieff. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 29,1994,by Columbia Records. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes,backing vocals,and synthesizers. It has received critical acclaim,with The New Yorker describing it as "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". The song has become a Christmas standard,with a significant rise in popularity every December.
Greatest Hits is the second greatest hits album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey,released on December 4,2001,by Columbia Records. Released after her departure from Columbia,the album includes most of Carey's singles from 1990 to 2000,spanning her tenure at the label. It features her then fifteen US number-one singles,along with the UK number-one hits "Without You" and "Against All Odds".
"Hero" is a song by American singer-songwriter and record producer Mariah Carey released on October 18,1993,via Columbia Records as the second single from her third studio album,Music Box (1993). The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. While writing the song,Carey did not connect to its style or sound,therefore forfeiting it to Gloria Estefan,who was intended to sing it for the soundtrack of the film of the same name (1992). However,after being convinced by Sony executive Tommy Mottola to keep it for herself,she changed some of the lyrics to more precisely fit her personality. Lyrically,the song is regarded as one of Carey's most inspirational and personal ballads,with its protagonist declaring that even though people may feel discouraged or down at times,in reality,they are "heroes" if they look inside themselves and see their own inner strength;in time,it will help them "find the way".
Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31,1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff,with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991),and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development,Carey wanted to broaden her audience,choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame,she experimented with different musical instruments,leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.
"I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written by Babyface,it was released in July 1994 as the lead single from their second album,II (1994). The song was a commercial success,spending 14 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also the third best performing song in the 1990s on Billboard,as well as ranking on Billboard Greatest of All-Time chart. "I'll Make Love to You" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and was nominated for Record of the Year. Its accompanying music video was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
Songs is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released by LV Records and Epic Records on September 20,1994 in the United States. The album,a collection of cover versions,produced the singles "Endless Love","Always and Forever",and "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". According to an interview both Vandross and Mariah Carey gave in Japan following the release of their duet "Endless Love",there was mention that Carey had given advice as to what songs Vandross would cover on this album.
Lionel Richie is an American R&B and pop singer,who has released 11 studio albums,three live albums,and seven compilation albums. Formerly the lead vocalist of The Commodores,Richie began a solo career in the early 1980s and has released over 40 singles,five of which became number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100.
One Night with You:The Best of Love,Volume 2 is the third compilation album released by American singer Luther Vandross,released on September 15,1997,by Epic Records. It is his second compilation album to be released stateside,and is a continuation of his triple-platinum selling first compilation The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love (1989). One Night with You contains four newly recorded songs including the R. Kelly-penned and Grammy-nominated "When You Call on Me/Baby That's When I Come Runnin'" and selections compiled from his later studio albums such as Songs (1994),This Is Christmas (1995),Never Let Me Go (1993),Power of Love (1991) and Your Secret Love (1996).
The Essential Luther Vandross is a greatest hits album by American singer Luther Vandross,released on March 5,2002 in the UK and June 10,2003 in the US,by Sony Music and Legacy Recordings as part of The Essential Series. The two-disc compilation features thirty-five tracks from Vandross's recording catalog. The collection contains R&B and pop hit songs spanning from Vandross earlier albums to the later—Dance with My Father,a Grammy win for Best R&B Album.
The Ultimate Luther Vandross is a greatest hits album by American R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross,released in 2001. The compilation was re-released in 2006 with a different track listing,along with two previously unreleased songs. The unreleased cut "Got You Home" which appears on the 2006 edition of the compilation,earned Vandross a posthumous nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007.
Endless Love:Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. The album was released worldwide by Mercury Records and PolyGram in 1981.
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on 3 December 1977,the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists,becoming something of a standard.
"Ballerina Girl" is a song written and recorded by Lionel Richie,from his 1986 album Dancing on the Ceiling. The song was written for Lionel's daughter,Nicole. In the US and Canada,the song was released as a double A-side,with "Deep River Woman" entering the charts in January 1987.
#1 to Infinity is the third greatest hits album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on May 18,2015 in the United States,by Sony Music. The North American edition of the album compiles Carey's then eighteen US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles,the highest for a solo artist,while the international edition excludes some US number-ones in favor of international number-one hits. Also included in the album is one new recording,"Infinity",which was released as the album's only single on April 27,2015.
