Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Control is the third studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on February 4, 1986, by A&M Records. Her collaborations with the songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis resulted in an unconventional sound: a fusion of rhythm and blues, rap vocals, funk, disco, and synthesized percussion that established Jackson, Jam and Lewis as the leading innovators of contemporary R&B. The distinctive triplet swing beat utilized on the record is also considered to be a precursor to the new jack swing genre. The album became Jackson's commercial breakthrough and enabled her to transition into the popular music market, with Control becoming one of the foremost albums of the 1980s and contemporary music.
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James.
I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album has been certified quadruple platinum in the US by the RIAA.
The Emotions are an American soul/R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time.
Philip James Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his four-octave vocal range and distinctive falsetto register, Bailey has won seven Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Bailey was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work with the band.
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, Whitney (1987). It was released as the fourth single from the album on February 25, 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn and Chuck Jackson and produced by Narada Michael Walden. Due to Wildhorn's previous working relationship with Arista Records CEO Clive Davis, he had been approached about potentially writing for Houston. He contacted Jackson, who came up with the title, after which Wildhorn completed the music and lyrics for the song. Smokey Robinson originally wanted to record the song; however, Wildhorn and Jackson held the song for Houston.
"Butterflies" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and dancer Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Andre Harris and Marsha Ambrosius, and produced by Jackson and Harris. The track appears on Jackson's tenth studio album, Invincible (2001), and is Jackson's final single from a studio album. The song also appeared in The Ultimate Collection (2004). "Butterflies" is a midtempo ballad. The single received generally positive reviews from music critics; some music reviewers described the song as being one of the best songs on Invincible while others felt that it was a "decent track".
Finally is the debut album by American singer CeCe Peniston, released on January 30, 1992 by A&M Records. Prior to the release of this album, Peniston released her debut single "Finally", which topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart on October 26, 1991, peaking eventually at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two in the UK Singles Chart. The album yielded two additional singles which achieved dance number one status in the US; "We Got a Love Thang", co-written by Chantay Savage, and "Keep On Walkin'", written in collaboration with Kym Sims. Both songs entered the UK Singles Chart top 10 and the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 in the US. Despite the success of the singles, the album itself climbed only to number seventy on the US Billboard 200. However, during its thirty-six weeks long presence in the chart it sold over 554,000 copies in the US. The album peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart. The total worldwide sales of the album surpassed 3,000,000 units. Two further tracks were released from the album which were more in the R&B field; "Inside That I Cried" charted at number ten in the US R&B chart and at number forty-two in the UK, while "Crazy Love" peaked at number thirty-one in the US and at number forty-four in the UK. The album was part of the resurgence of dance music in the United States during the mid-1990s.
It Must Be Magic is the fourth studio album by Teena Marie, released on May 14, 1981. It was her last album for Motown and the highest-selling of Marie's tenure with Motown. The album peaked at No. 2 on the US Black Albums chart and No. 23 on the Pop Albums chart.
The Revival is the second studio album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on May 8, 1990, by Wing Records. It was produced and arranged primarily by the band, although they were assisted on a few songs by the production duo Foster & McElroy, who had produced their first album, Who? (1988). The band recorded at several studios in California with the assistance of the Synclavier, an early music workstation.
Touch the World is the fourteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1987 on Columbia Records. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 33 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. Touch the World was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Congo Square is the thirteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Teena Marie. Released in the United States on June 9, 2009, it would be her only album for the revived Stax label and the final album released before her death in late December 2010.
Irons in the Fire is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Teena Marie, released on August 14, 1980 by Motown. Her first self produced effort, it was dedicated to her father, Thomas Leslie Brockert (1919-1976). It received positive reviews on its release. In a 2009 interview she named it as her personal favourite of all her albums.
Naked to the World is the eighth album by Teena Marie, released on March 21, 1988. It is a return to her soul/funk roots following the experimentation of her previous album Emerald City, which had been a critical and commercial disappointment.
Passion Play is the tenth album by the American musician Teena Marie, released in 1994. The album was produced by Marie and Doug Grigsby. She had parted company with Epic Records following disappointing sales of her 1990 album Ivory, and Passion Play was released on her own independent label, Sarai. Without the backing of a major label, the album received only limited distribution, sold modestly, and failed to chart. Marie engaged in legal action related to the album's distribution.
"Lovergirl" is a song by American singer Teena Marie from her sixth studio album, Starchild (1984). Written, composed and produced by Marie, the song was released as the lead single from Starchild in October 1984. It was Marie's first hit single under her new label, Epic, after a lawsuit with Motown. "Lovergirl" also became Marie's biggest hit, peaking at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Whip Appeal" is a song by American musician Babyface. It served as the third single from his second album, Tender Lover. Written by Babyface and Perri "Pebbles" Reid, "Whip Appeal" was released on February 22, 1990 by SOLAR Records and Epic Records.
Code Red is the eighth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released on December 18, 2015, by RCA Records and coincided with the twentieth release anniversary of her debut album Miss Thang (1995). For the project, Monica reteamed with her cousin Polow da Don, who had co-executive produced her previous album New Life (2012). The pair enlisted a variation of producers and songwriters to work with her, including Danja, DJ HardWork, Fatboi, KEYZBABY, Pop & Oak, and Timbaland – in addition to longtime collaborators such as performers Missy Elliott and Akon, and songwriters Crystal Nicole and Johntá Austin.
