The Parliaments were an American doo-wop quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956 and named after the cigarette brand. After some early personnel changes their lineup solidified with George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas. Clinton was group leader and manager, and part owner of the barbershop where the group convened to entertain customers. The group later evolved into the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, which found success in the 1970s.
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B/soul/funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.
"It's Your Thing" is a funk single by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late 1968.
"You Make Me Wanna..." is a song by American recording artist Usher. It was released by LaFace Records and Arista Records as the lead single from Usher's second studio album, My Way on August 5, 1997. "You Make Me Wanna..." was written by Usher along with Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, who both produced the tune. An R&B, soul and pop song in C minor, it makes use of acoustic guitar, hi-hat and bell instrumentation. The song focuses on a love triangle relationship, with the protagonist wishing to leave his girlfriend for his erstwhile best friend, with a hook in which Usher states, "You make me wanna leave the one I'm with and start a new relationship with you". The record won a Billboard Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and a WQHT Hip Hop Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
James Eddie Lewis was an American soul singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. He was a member of the Drifters in the 1960s, worked as a songwriter and producer with Ray Charles, and wrote songs for Z. Z. Hill among many others.
Hinda Hicks is a British and Tunisian-born singer, actress and artist who first gained notability with her musical career in the late '90s. She is best known for her debut album Hinda, that charted at #20 on the 1998 UK Top 40 Chart, and led to three nominations in the MOBO Awards and nominations for Best British Female Artist and Best British Newcomer at the 1999 Brit Awards.
Timothy Earle Thomas was an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, "Why Can't We Live Together".
Jerome Louis Jackson known as J.J. Jackson, is an American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger. His singing style is as a belter. Jackson best known for the song "But It's Alright", which he co-wrote with Pierre Tubbs. The song was released in 1966 and then re-released in 1969, to chart success on both occasions. The liner notes to his 1967 album, J.J. Jackson, on Calla Records, stated that he weighed 285 pounds.
Bloodstone is an American R&B, soul, and funk group, most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The band charted thirteen songs between 1973 and 1984.
Jacob Taio Cruz is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which he wrote, arranged and produced. The album achieved certified gold status in the United Kingdom and earned him a Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO) nomination.
Rear End is the only studio album released by American recording artist Mercedes. It was released on June 29, 1999 on No Limit Records and Priority Records. It was produced by Beats By the Pound. Rear End found mild success on the Billboard charts in the United States, but was not as successful as some of their other chart-topping releases during that time, only peaking at #72 on the Billboard 200 and #12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"Take Me in Your Arms " is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.
Supernatural is the eighth studio album and ninth album overall by American soul and R&B singer Ben E. King. Released in 1975, it marked King's transition to the main Atlantic Records label after time on subsidiary labels. The single "Supernatural Thing" brought him a return to chart success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles and peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track and other tracks on the album featured King singing in a higher key as second tenor, rather than his usual baritone.
The Sisters Love was an American R&B and funk ensemble active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
This Is It is the fifth album by singer Melba Moore, released in 1976.
Josephine Armstead, also known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s. She also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968. As a songwriter, Armstead teamed up with Ashford & Simpson. The trio wrote hits for various artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Tina Britt, Ronnie Milsap, and Syl Johnson. In the 1970s, Armstead appeared in the Broadway musicals Don't Play Us Cheap! and Seesaw.
Whisper a Prayer is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Mica Paris. It was released on 8 June 1993 by 4th & B'way Records, her last for the label. Recording sessions for the album commenced in the spring of 1992 and concluded the following spring with Paris co-writing four of the twelve songs and producing one. Whisper a Prayer features writing and production from Narada Michael Walden, Rod Temperton and Terry Britten all of whom were top record producers at the time.
I'm Coming Home is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 1973, by Columbia Records and was mainly composed of material written by the songwriting team of its producer, Thom Bell, and Linda Creed. Unlike several of the Mathis albums before it, I'm Coming Home relied primarily on new songs and included only two covers of established chart hits, both of which were by The Stylistics.
"I'm Yours " is a song written by Philip Reese and Calvin Lane. It was recorded and released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner on United Artists Records in 1971.
