Naturally 7

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Naturally 7
2018-07-01 ZDF Fernsehgarten Naturally 7-0347.jpg
Naturally 7
Background information
Origin New York City, United States
Genres
Years active1999–present
Labels
Members
  • Roger Thomas
  • Warren Thomas
  • Rod Eldridge
  • Dwight Stewart
  • Ricky Cort
  • Sean Simmonds
  • N'Namdi Bryant
Past members
  • Jamal Reed
  • Marcus Davis
  • Andre Edwards
  • Armand "Hops" Hutton
  • Napolien "Polo" Cummings
  • Garfield Buckley
  • Kelvin "Kelz" Mitchell
Website naturallyseven.com
Naturally 7 at the Zelt-Musik-Festival 2018 in Freiburg, Germany Naturally 7 (ZMF 2018) jm76324.jpg
Naturally 7 at the Zelt-Musik-Festival 2018 in Freiburg, Germany

Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play," which, according to group leader Roger Thomas, is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound." They simulate the sounds of an instrumental band using only their voices, mouths and distortion effects. The group was formed in 1999 in New York City. It currently consists of the Thomas brothers Roger (musical director, arranger, first baritone, rapping) and Warren (drums, third tenor), Rod Eldridge (first tenor, scratching, guitar, trumpet), Ricky Cort (first tenor, guitar), Dwight Stewart (second baritone, vocals, trombone), Sean Simmonds (second tenor, harmonica), and N'Namdi Bryant (bass guitar, trumpet). [1]

Contents

History

Early years

Naturally 7 was founded in 1999 by brothers Roger and Warren Thomas, from Rosedale, Queens. The brothers recruited five other singers they had come to know over the years of singing around the city. Roger Thomas developed his singing quality after being in and out of several traditional male groups over the years. When the group was invited to sing at a major a cappella competition in New York City, they won and moved onto the nationals before they took two more wins in the competition. Riding their new-found success and still having made no decision whether to have Naturally 7 as an a cappella group or a traditional band, Roger had the novel idea that the group would become both. [2] [3]

Ready II Fly

Naturally 7 has released a number of albums over the years since the formation at New York City in 1999, including their debut studio album entitled Non-Fiction released in 2000, What Is It released in 2003, Christmas... It's a Love Story released in 2004, and Ready II Fly in 2006, released through Virginia Records. The group gained success by the partial cover of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight", titled as "Feel It (In the Air Tonight)", which contains additional lyrics from the group. The performance of the song at a subway has received over four and a half million hits on YouTube alone, and a number of people discovering the group, which adds to a figure daily. The single itself has turned into a Top 3-chart- success in countries outside North America, such as France, Belgium and South Africa, and also made the single charts in other European countries. [3]

Wall of Sound

In January 2009, the group released Wall of Sound as an exclusive special album in the United Kingdom and Ireland to commemorate their participation at the Royal Variety Performance. It contains known material from their previous albums, as well as five brand new tracks, which entered the British Album-Charts in the first week after release at #29. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, performing "Stardust" with Michael Bublé. In November 2009, the group travelled to Bermuda, as they took part in Quincy Jones's 2009 Bermuda Music Festival performing before an enthusiastic crowd. [3]

Vocal Play

The CD/DVD version of Vocal Play, which was released in 2010, contains original self-made tracks, such as "SOS (Anybody Out There)", the power ballad of "Love Me", the Motown-influenced “Ready or Not”, the Latin 768 and a duet with Michael Bublé on the Dinah Washington classic, “Relax Max”. The DVD includes HD live material from their performance at Madison Square Garden, extensive interviews with each group member, as well as their video clips. In fall 2010, the group, along with American rapper Ludacris, were featured on a track that appeared in Quincy Jones's album, Soul Bossa Nostra, which led them to a performance at The View in November, before continuing on touring with Bublé. Naturally 7 contributed a few songs for the soundtrack of the 2010 German/English dub film Animals United , including "King of the Road", "Splish Splash", "Hokey Pokey", and "Move On Up". [3]

Members

Current

NameVoice partPrimary vocal play roleSecondary vocal play rolesYears present
Roger Anthony Thomas1st baritone, 4th tenor, leaderrapkeyboard, synth, trumpet, strings, wah wah guitar1999 ~ present
Warren Andre Thomas3rd tenordrums, percussiontrumpet, string, electric guitar1999 ~ present
Roderick Lowell Eldridge2nd tenorDJ scratching, loop pedalpercussion, electric and rhythm guitar, trumpet, string, flute, keyboard, rap1999 ~ present
Dwight Martindale Stewart2nd baritone, lead vocaltrombonerhythm guitar1999 ~ present
Lee Ricardo "Ricky" Cort1st tenor, lead vocalelectric guitartrumpet, strings, synth, rapApr 2015 ~ present
Sean Anthony Simmonds3rd tenor, lead vocalharmonicatrumpet, rapMay 2018 ~ present
N'Namdi Olufemi Bryantbassbass guitarcontrabass, bass synthAug 27th 2021 ~ present

Former

NameVoice partPrimary vocal play roleSecondary vocal play rolesYears present
Armand "Hops" Huttonbassbass guitarcontrabass, bass synthOct 2006 ~ Dec 2014, Dec 2020 ~ August 15, Nov 6th 2021
Kelvin “Kelz” Mitchellbassbass guitarcontrabass, trumpet, bass synthJan 2015 ~ Dec 2020
Garfield Rolando Buckley2nd tenorharmonicatrumpet, strings, rhythm guitar1999 ~ May 2018
Napoleon “Polo” Cummings1st tenorelectric guitartrumpet, strings, synthOct 2010 ~ Apr 2015
Jamal Mackram Reed1st tenorelectric guitar, flute, violintrumpet, synth, strings2000 ~ Oct 2010
Andre Edwardsbassbass guitar2006 ~ 2006
Marcus H. Davisbassbass guitar1999 ~ 2006
David LaRoche1st tenor1999 ~ 2000

Timeline

Naturally 7

Discography

Studio albums

YearTitlePeak chart positions
AUS
[4]
FRA
[5]
GER
[6]
UK
[7]
2000 Non-Fiction
2003What Is It?5240
2004Christmas: It's a Love Story
2006 Ready II Fly 1464
2009Wall of Sound29
2010Vocal Play
2012Live
2015Hidden in Plain Sight
2017Both Sides Now
2018A Christmas Xperience
2020XX 20/20
2024Naturally 7 @theMovies, Volume One

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positions [8]
AUT BEL (Vl) BEL (Wa) FRA GER ITA SWI
2003"Music Is the Key"
(with Sarah Connor)
631112
2006"Feel It (In the Air Tonight)"3155514

Other songs

The following songs are included on the soundtrack for the 2010 German/English dub film, Animals United:

MLK Day performance

In January 2016, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the group performed with The Maccabeats, a Jewish a cappella group from Yeshiva University, in a cover of James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light." The music video was filmed in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. [10] [11] Taylor called the performance "one of the best covers of 'Shed a Little Light' I've ever heard." [11]

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References

  1. Naturally 7 Biography
  2. Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi Naturally 7 - Biography Billboard Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Naturally 7 Biography Naturally 7 Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  4. "Discography Naturally 7". australian-charts.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
    • What Is It: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 199.
  5. "Discography Naturally 7". lescharts.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  6. "Discographie Naturally 7". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  7. "Naturally 7 | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  8. GER single chart positions AUT FRA ITA SWI BE single chart positions
  9. Animals United (Original Soundtrack) iTunes Retrieved September 2, 2014
  10. "Watch: Maccabeats Release Song for MLK Jr. Day". Arutz Sheva. January 12, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Herreria, Carla (January 19, 2016). "This A Capella-Beatbox Collaboration Is MLK's Dream Personified". The Huffington Post . Retrieved March 27, 2017.