The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, Wash and Armstead began their musical careers as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After several years of singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records as Two Tons O' Fun. The duo changed their name to The Weather Girls and were launched into somewhat more mainstream recognition following the release of the single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one song on the US Dance Chart and their biggest hit. Despite having several hit songs on the Dance Chart as Two Tons O' Fun and The Weather Girls, the duo never achieved a top 40 hit on the main US Hot 100 and ultimately disbanded in 1988 after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls.
La Bouche is a German-American Eurodance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me" and "S.O.S." La Bouche was founded in 1994 by record producer Frank Farian in Frankfurt am Main. He worked together with techno DJ Ulli Brenner and producer Amir Saraf to produce the music, while American singer Melanie Thornton and American rapper and backup singer Lane McCray fronted the act.
"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981, that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.
"Men in Black" is the debut solo single of American rapper and actor Will Smith from the 1997 film of the same name, in which he also played the lead role. The song was released by Columbia Records on June 3, 1997, as the lead single from both the soundtrack and Smith's debut solo album, Big Willie Style (1997), and it was Smith's first solo single following his work with DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Patrice Louise Rushen is an American jazz pianist, R&B singer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
Crystal Waters is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits "Gypsy Woman", "100% Pure Love", and 2007's "Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her studio albums produced a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as one of the most successful dance artists of all time. Her accolades include six ASCAP Songwriter awards, three American Music Award nominations, an MTV Video Music Award nod, four Billboard Music Awards and twelve No. 1 Billboard Dance Chart hits. Her hit song "Gypsy Woman” has been sampled hundreds of times. Though her music sales have yet to be re-certified, Waters has sold over 7 million records worldwide.
Older is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 13 May 1996 in Europe by Virgin Records and Aegean Records. The American release, which occurred one day later, was the first album released by DreamWorks Records. It was Michael's first studio album since 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 – the five-and-a-half-year gap was due to the legal battle that Michael experienced with his former record company Sony Music. Michael dedicated two years to the recording of Older, and the album found him exploring new musical territories in a more serious fashion compared to his previous work.
"Fastlove" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 22 April 1996 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by DreamWorks Records in the United States as the second single from his third album, Older (1996). Written by Michael, Patrice Rushen, Freddie Washington and Terri McFaddin and produced by Michael and Jon Douglas, the song interpolates Rushen's 1982 single "Forget Me Nots".
"Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album Jazz and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 24 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song is included in their 1981 Greatest Hits compilation.
Straight from the Heart is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Patrice Rushen, released on April 14, 1982, by Elektra Records. It features her most recognizable song, "Forget Me Nots", the oft-sampled "Remind Me" and the popular instrumental workout "Number One". Straight from the Heart scored Rushen her first two nominations at the 1983 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Forget Me Nots" and Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "Number One".
Pizzazz is the fifth album by American singer Patrice Rushen, released in 1979.
Now is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Patrice Rushen issued in May 1984 on Elektra Records. The album rose to No. 7 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart, No. 4 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 40 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Watch Out! is a 1987 album released by R&B singer Patrice Rushen. This album was the only album Rushen released with Arista Records after leaving Elektra Records. The album produced several R&B hits for Rushen.
Anything but Ordinary is the eleventh album by R&B singer Patrice Rushen, released on November 1, 1994. After her contract with Elektra Records expired in 1986–87, Rushen moved to Arista Records and afterwards in 1993, Patrice signed with Disney's Hollywood Records. Anything but Ordinary was first and only album to be released under her contract. Hollywood Records wasn't satisfied with the album and shelved it. Sin-Drome Records bought rights to the album and reissued it with the single "My Heart, Your Heart". Some of the album's tracks received airplay on R&B and smooth jazz radio stations.
The Benzino Project is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Benzino. It was released on October 30, 2001 through Motown and ZNO Records. Recording sessions took place at Daddy's Home and at The Hit Factory in New York, at Source Sound Lab, at Future Recording Studios in Virginia Beach, at Audio Vision Recording Studio, Hit Factory and Bogart Studio in Miami. Produced primarily by Benzino's production team Hangmen 3, as well as Teddy Riley, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Trackmasters, it features guest appearances from Bobby Brown, Black Rob, Cormega, Foxy Brown, Outlawz, Pink, Prodigy, P. Diddy, Raekwon, Ray Ray, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Superb, and Made Men. The album peaked at number 84 on the Billboard 200 and number 24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Its lead single, "Boottee", made it to #11 on the Hot Rap Songs.
"I Love to Love" is a song recorded by German Eurodance group La Bouche, released in November 1995 as the fourth and last single of their debut album, Sweet Dreams (1995). The song achieved a minor success in comparison with "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams", but made it to number five in Hungary and number six in Australia. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 37 in February 1996. In Canada, "I Love to Love" peaked at number two on the RPM Dance/Urban chart. The CD maxi's cover features also the title of the fourth track, a cover of Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots", another song taken from the same album. "I Love to Love" earned a gold record in Australia, with a sale of 35,000 singles.
"The Greatest Hit" is a song by Norwegian singer Annie. It was written and produced by Annie and DJ Tore "Erot" Kroknes. The song samples Madonna's 1982 debut single "Everybody", and she received a co-writing credit. The track was released as a limited edition 7-inch single in 1999. It became an underground club hit in Norway and the United Kingdom. Retitled "Greatest Hit", the song was later included on Annie's debut album, Anniemal (2004).
Tongue 'n' Cheek were a British electro music group formed by Robin Achampong and Delroy Murray of Total Contrast, that were primarily popular in the UK club scene between 1987 and 1992. The group's members were Conor Col Henry, Maureen Mason and Junior Williams.
Men in Black: The Album is a soundtrack album to the film Men in Black, released on 1 July 1997. Distributed by Columbia Records, the album featured production from producers such as Poke & Tone, Jermaine Dupri and The Ummah.
"I Need You Tonight" is the second single released from Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s debut album, Conspiracy. The album version featured Faith Evans singing the chorus, while the single version featured Aaliyah singing instead.
