The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once the producers Gamble & Huff signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with Back Stabbers (1972), and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Keith Douglas Sweat is an American singer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", "Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give All My Love to You", "Make You Sweat", "Get Up on It", "Twisted" and "Nobody". He has released 13 solo albums and discovered the groups Silk and Kut Klose.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Johnny Gill Jr. is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released eight solo albums, three albums with New Edition, two albums with LSG, and one collaborative album with Stacy Lattisaw. Gill has sold over 15 million copies worldwide as a solo artist.
Gerald Edward Levert was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Levert was also a member of LSG, a supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and himself. Levert was the son of Eddie Levert, lead singer of the R&B/soul vocal group the O'Jays. He released 9 solo albums, 6 as a member of LeVert, 2 with his father, and 2 as a member of LSG. Levert was also credited with the discovery of R&B groups the Rude Boys, Men at Large, and 1 of the Girls. Levert was also part of the R&B group Black Men United.
"Your Precious Love" is a popular song that was a 1967 hit for Motown singers Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song was written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. The doo-wop styled recording features background vocals by Fuqua, Gaye, Terrell and Bristol, and instrumentals by The Funk Brothers with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The song peaked at #5 on Billboard Pop Singles chart, #2 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, and the top 40 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The song was later sampled by Gerald Levert on the song, "Your Smile", on his 2002 album, The G Spot.
Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B singer who had top 10 hit songs in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, including "Baby, Be Mine" (1987), "Come Share My Love" (1986) and "Love Under New Management" (1990). "Ain't Nobody Like You" (1992) and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" (1989) both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.
Troop is an American R&B group from Pasadena, California, United States. The group has had three number-one singles and ten top-ten singles on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. They have also completed five albums, which include three certified gold and one certified platinum album. TROOP is an acronym for "Total Respect of Other People". The group is most notable for a series of number-one R&B hits, including popular cover versions of the songs "All I Do Is Think of You" and "Sweet November", originally performed by musical group The Deele. They also had a number-one hit with the original song "Spread My Wings".
Jason's Lyric (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to Doug McHenry's 1994 film Jason's Lyric. It was released on September 27, 1994, via Mercury Records. It spawned three singles: "If You Think You're Lonely Now", a cover of the Bobby Womack hit by Jodeci lead singer K-Ci, "Crazy Love" by Brian McKnight, and "U Will Know", a major collaboration from male R&B singers comprising Black Men United (BMU), written by future neo soul artist D'Angelo.
"For the Love of Money" is a soul, funk song that was written and composed by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Anthony Jackson; it was recorded by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays for the album Ship Ahoy. Produced by Gamble and Huff for Philadelphia International Records, "For the Love of Money" was issued as a single in late 1973, with "People Keep Tellin' Me" as its B-side. The single peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and at No. 9 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart in spring 1974. Though the album version of the song was over seven minutes long, it received substantial radio airplay. The song's title comes from a well-known Bible verse, 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." The song was also used as the opening theme song for NBC’s The Apprentice.
The Rude Boys is a 1990s R&B/vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio. The group consisted of Larry Marcus, Melvin Sephus, and brothers Edward Lee "Buddy" Banks and Joe Little III. Marcus later died in October 2016. In 2019 The Rude Boys were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in Detroit, Michigan. Banks died in December 2020.
"Written All Over Your Face" is a song by American R&B group The Rude Boys, released as the second single from their debut album Rude Awakening. The song was written and produced by group member Larry Marcus with additional production from session musician and recording engineer Jim Salamone. The song became the group's signature song and spent one week at number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart. It also peaked at number sixteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. "Written All Over Your Face" made the group a sensation, as the single topped the R&B charts and reached the national top 20. The single rode the charts for 31 weeks, and made it to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Sean Edward Levert was an American singer-songwriter and actor. Levert was best known as a member of the R&B vocal group LeVert. Levert was the son of O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert and younger brother of singer Gerald Levert.
Conya Doss is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, and has been a major figure in independent music for over two decades. Conya is known as an innovator and is widely known for her eclectic work and light vocal range. She is known as The Queen of Indie Soul. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, neo soul, and jazz.
Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album is the second tribute album dedicated to Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye, released by Motown in 1999. The album featured covers of Gaye's hits including "Sexual Healing", "Your Precious Love" and "Distant Lover". Artists such as Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, El DeBarge, Chico DeBarge, Joe, Brian McKnight and Gerald Levert took part in paying tribute to Gaye, all of whom considered the singer one of their biggest influences. The album peaked at number 97 on the Billboard Top 200 and number 20 on the Billboard R&B chart and released the cover versions of "Your Precious Love" and "You Sure Love to Ball" as singles.
Miki Howard is the third studio album by American R&B singer Miki Howard, released in 1989 on Atlantic Records. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. Howard scored her first number-one song with the lead single released from the album, "Ain't Nuthin' in the World", on the Billboard R&B Singles chart.
Love & Consequences is the third studio album by the American R&B singer Gerald Levert. It was released on July 21, 1998, on East West Records. In addition to his longtime collaborator, Edwin "Tony" Nicholas, Levert worked with more writers and producers including R. Kelly, Joe Little III of The Rude Boys and Darrell "Delite" Allamby. A commercial success, it peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and at number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, while receiving a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The Other Side is the only solo album by American R&B singer Sean Levert. It was released by Atlantic Records on June 20, 1995, in the United States. While Jermaine Dupri was recruited to work with the singer on the majority of the album, Levert also secured that his first album would showcase some "love-making music." Thus, he also worked with his LeVert bandmates, Marc Gordon and his brother Gerald Levert, as well as Edwin "Tony" Nicholas on several songs.
