Junior Giscombe | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Norman Washington Giscombe |
Also known as | Junior |
Born | Wandsworth, London, England | 6 June 1957
Origin | London, England |
Genres | R&B, soul, funk, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1981–present |
Labels | Mercury Records |
Website | juniorgiscombe |
Norman Washington "Junior" Giscombe (born 6 June 1957) [1] is an English singer-songwriter often known as Junior who was one of the first British R&B artists to be successful in the United States. He is best known for his 1982 hit single, "Mama Used to Say". [2]
Giscombe was born in Wandsworth, London, England, [3] and was a backing vocalist with Linx between 1980 and 1982.
When turning towards a solo career, he was first billed simply as Junior. He scored a No. 7 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1982, with "Mama Used to Say". [4] His follow-up single, "Too Late" also made the top 20 in the UK. [4] "Mama Used to Say" was also a top 40 Pop and top 5 R&B hit in the United States, earning him a "Best Newcomer" award from Billboard magazine. [5]
Sometime (most likely) around 1984 and 1985, Giscombe recorded (and very possibly co-wrote) an unknown number of songs with Phil Lynott, the former leader, vocalist and bass player of hard rock band Thin Lizzy. Lynott died in January 1986 and the songs were never officially released. Most remain as demos, but one of the songs, "Lady Loves to Dance", was mastered and nearly released before being pulled by the record company. Some of the songs are available on YouTube, including "What's the Matter Baby" (Giscombe provides backing vocals) and "Time (and Again)" (Giscombe shares vocals with Lynott).
After a period outside the charts, he made a brief return to the top 10 in 1987 when he sang a duet with Kim Wilde on "Another Step (Closer to You)". [3] He also became involved with the formation of Red Wedge in 1986 with Billy Bragg, Jimmy Somerville and Paul Weller, and had been a part of the Council Collective with the Style Council, Jimmy Ruffin and others for the 1984 fundraising single, "Soul Deep". [3] In 1992, Junior appeared on stage at the 1992 Labour rally in Sheffield singing Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up". Later, Giscombe became better known as a songwriter for artists such as Sheena Easton. [3]
In 2014, Giscombe formed "The British Collective" with fellow British artists Don-E, Noel McKoy and Omar. [6] [7] In 2017, Giscombe appeared on Mike City's album The Feel Good Agenda, Vol. 1 on the song "Sang and Dance".
Junior Giscombe was raised as the youngest of eight children.
He met his childhood sweetheart Nardia when he was 19 and she was 17 and remained together until her death. At the age of 24, Nardia was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and died of complications from the condition in 2008 aged 50. Junior and Nardia had two children. Their second child, Jenique, was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008 (six months before her mother's death) and she died in May 2017. [8] Giscombe dedicated his 2020 album "Everyting Set" to his daughter's memory. [9]
Giscombe is the uncle of British comedian Richard Blackwood, who sampled "Mama Used to Say" on his single "Mama – Who Da Man" in June 2000.
Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [10] | US R&B [11] | UK [12] | |||
1982 | Ji | Mercury Records | 71 | 15 | 28 |
1983 | Inside Lookin' Out | 177 | 54 | — | |
1985 | Acquired Taste | London Records | — | 34 | — |
1988 | Sophisticated Street | — | 56 | — | |
1990 | Stand Strong | MCA Records | — | — | — |
1992 | Renewal | — | — | — | |
1995 | Honesty | Provocative Records | — | — | — |
2005 | Oceans | (N/A) | — | — | — |
2011 | Prisoner of Hope | — | — | — | |
2020 | Everyting Set | — | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [13] | US R&B [14] | US Dance [15] | UK [12] [16] | |||
1981 | "Get Up and Dance" (as Norman Giscombe Jr) | — | — | — | — | |
"Mama Used to Say" | 30 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||
1982 | "Too Late" | 102 | 8 | 67 | 20 | |
"I Can't Help It" / "Let Me Know" | — | — | — | 53 | ||
1983 | "Communication Breakdown" | — | 40 | — | 57 | |
"Runnin'" | — | — | — | 92 | ||
"Baby I Want You Back" | — | 72 | — | — | ||
"Unison" | — | 44 | 16 | — | ||
1984 | "Somebody" | — | 47 | 28 | 64 | |
1985 | "Do You Really (Want My Love)" | — | — | — | 47 | |
"Not Tonight" (1985 reissue) | — | — | — | — | ||
"Oh Louise" | — | — | — | 74 | ||
1986 | "Come on Over" | — | — | — | 87 | |
"Not Tonight" | — | 74 | — | — | ||
"Oh Louise" (1986 reissue) | — | 14 | — | 83 | ||
1987 | "Yes (If You Want Me)" | — | 24 | — | — | |
"Another Step (Closer to You)" (with Kim Wilde) | — | — | — | 6 | ||
1988 | "High Life" | — | — | — | — | |
"Say That You Care" | — | — | — | — | ||
1990 | "Step Off" | — | — | — | 63 | |
1991 | "Morning Will Come" | — | — | — | 81 | |
"Better Part of Me" | — | 51 | — | — | ||
1992 | "Then Came You" | — | — | — | 32 | |
"All Over the World" | — | — | — | 74 | ||
1993 | "Lysander's Theme" (with Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | |
1995 | "I Like It" | — | — | — | — | |
2011 | "Mama Used to Say" (2011 Version) (with Mumzy Stranger) | — | — | — | — | |
"Prisoner of Hope" | — | — | — | — | ||
2021 | "Can You Feel It" (with Sinitta and Kym Mazelle) [18] | — | — | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Philip Parris Lynott was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive pick-based style on the bass and for his imaginative lyrical contributions, including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, new jack swing was most popular from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on April 27, 1988, through Enigma Records. It proved to be the band's most successful release, and spawned four hit singles: "Nothin' But a Good Time", "Fallen Angel", "Your Mama Don't Dance" and their only number one single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200.
"Hey Mama" is a song by American musical group the Black Eyed Peas with additional vocals provided by British reggae singer Tippa Irie. It was released in 2004 as the third single from their 2003 album, Elephunk, and became a top-10 hit in 14 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Jenny Burton is an American R&B singer who had several hits on the US Billboard dance chart.
"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album Jailbreak. It is considered by Rolling Stone to be the band's best song, placing it at No. 272 on the 2021 edition of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
"Mama" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released as the first single in 1983 from their self-titled album. It is recognisable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in a minor tonality and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's most successful single in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to reach the Top 40 in Germany.
American singer Brandy Norwood entered the music business as a backing vocalist for R&B boy bands such as Immature, prior to launching her own career in 1994. Her discography, as a solo artist, includes eight studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play, 42 singles, 46 album appearances and 26 soundtrack appearances. Norwood has sold over 8.6 million albums in the United States, and more than 40 million records worldwide. Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist. In 1999, Billboard ranked Norwood among the top 20 of the Top Pop Artists of the 1990s.
Carl Carlton is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama ".
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album Slayed? It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the band their third number one single, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. In the United States, the song reached No. 76.
Robert S. Nevil is an American pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist who had five Billboard top 40 hits including his songs "C'est la Vie", "Dominoes", and "Wot's It to Ya".
Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.
Linx were a British soul/Brit funk band consisting of David Grant, Bob Carter (keyboards), Andy Duncan (drums), Canute Edwards (guitar), Peter Martin (bass) and Junior Giscombe. Carter and Duncan were session musicians who were known for their contribution to Hazel O'Connor's Breaking Glass album and film.
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was released worldwide on September 7, 2007, as the album's fourth single. The song was written by Tawanna Dabney and its producers StarGate. Michael Jackson also received a songwriting credit for the sampling of the line "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koosa" from Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Both Rihanna and Jackson were sued by Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, who asserted that the hook originated in his 1972 song "Soul Makossa". "Don't Stop the Music" is a dance track that features rhythmic devices used primarily in hip hop music.
"Home" is a song by Canadian singer Michael Bublé, and released on January 24, 2005, as the first single from his fourth studio album, It's Time. The song was written by Bublé, along with co-writers Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Gillies. Bublé's version was a number-one single on the Adult Contemporary chart formats of both Canada and the United States, in addition to certifying platinum in both countries as well as finding chart success internationally. Following his original version in 2005, two cover versions were successful by other artists: one by Irish group Westlife in 2007, and one by American singer Blake Shelton in 2008.
"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart as a single in early 1973.
"Mama Used to Say" is the debut single release by the British R&B recording artist Junior, taken from his debut studio album Ji.
"Hey Mama" is a song recorded by French record producer David Guetta featuring Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, American singer Bebe Rexha and co-production by Dutch record producer Afrojack. The song was released on 16 March 2015, as the fourth single from Guetta's sixth studio album, Listen (2014). It was produced by David Guetta, Afrojack, and Giorgio Tuinfort, who also wrote the song with Rexha, Minaj, Ester Dean, and Sean Douglas. American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax is also credited as a writer, as the track samples his recording of "Rosie", a field holler sung by an Afro-American chain gang at the Mississippi State Penitentiary.
Ji is the debut studio album by English singer Junior, released in May 1982 by Mercury Records. The album was recorded with producer Bob Carter after the pair initiated their collaboration with the single "Mama Used to Say" (1981), which was remixed for Ji and became a transatlantic hit. A Britfunk record, the album mixes styles of soul and funk, with expansive synthesised production and a funk backing group. Giscombe and Carter's lyrics were based on realist stories. Music critics compared the singer's voice and melodic style to Stevie Wonder.