Pepper MaShay | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jean McClain |
Also known as | Sista Jean McClain |
Born | March 8, 1953 |
Genres | Dance, gospel, R&B, soul, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1977–present |
Jean McClain (born March 8, 1953), better known as Pepper Mashay, is an American soul, house and dance music singer-songwriter [1] who has had success as a touring and studio performer.
McClain grew up in Muncie, Indiana. Growing up, her musical influences were Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. She left Indiana in her 20s to pursue her career.
Mashay was contracted to sing back-up for the soundtrack of Tina Turner's movie What's Love Got to Do with It . She spent two days with Tina Turner saying, "She is rock n' roll".
In 1995, Mashay's manager at the time contacted Michael O'Hara to work on an initial demo for a possible recording deal. They wrote five songs together in her California home, but the songs never went anywhere. Mashay ended up writing a song called "Something to Feel" and it got picked up by Island Records. In her thirties, music labels in the '90s thought she was too old for a record deal but she never gave up.
Mashay has an extensive résumé of work as a background and session singer working, most notably, with Gladys Horton in a 1980s regrouping of The Marvelettes. Mashay's photo can be seen on the cover of the CD The Marvelettes: The Very Best of the Motor City Recordings.
As a lead vocalist, Mashay has released many tracks that have performed well on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart and the Hot Dance Airplay chart. Those singles include "Something to Feel" (1995), "Happiness" (1997), "Step into My Life" (1998), "Sextacy" (2000) and "Send Me an Angel" (2005). Her voice is probably best known from the "Let's get soaking wet!" chanting throughout the Barry Harris track "Dive in the Pool", made famous by its inclusion in the American television series Queer as Folk . Another collaboration with Harris, "I Got My Pride", hit number two on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001. In late 2006, Pepper Mashay earned her first solo chart-topper on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with the song "Lost Yo Mind". It has attained moderate to heavy rotation on dance-oriented radio stations, charting well on the Hot Dance Airplay. Mashay issued her single, "Got to Give the People What They Want" in late January 2008 and "Does Your Mamma Know" during the fourth quarter of 2008. She toured with House's Hugh Laurie officially as part of his band, Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band.
Mashay also performs as Sista Jean & CB, has released two albums under that name. The first was the 2013 release Back to the Root. Next was the 2015 album Requiem for a Heavy Weight, a tribute to Odetta, an icon in the folk & blues genre.
Céline Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", she is noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical music. Her recordings have been mainly in English and French, although she has also sung in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese, and Chinese.
Diane Eve Warren is an American songwriter. She has won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and, three consecutive Billboard Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year.
"My Heart Will Go On" is a 1997 song recorded by the Canadian singer Celine Dion as the theme for the film Titanic. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings. It was produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen. "My Heart Will Go On" was released as a single internationally on November 24, 1997, and was included on Dion's album Let's Talk About Love and the Titanic soundtrack.
The Colour of My Love is the twelfth studio album and third English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Sony Music on 9 November 1993. The songs were produced mainly by David Foster, Ric Wake, Guy Roche, Walter Afanasieff and Christopher Neil, and four of them were written by Diane Warren. The album features cover versions of "The Power of Love" and "When I Fall in Love".
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
"River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released on Philles Records as the title track to their 1966 studio album. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Rolling Stone ranked "River Deep – Mountain High" No. 33 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. NME ranked it No. 37 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Celine Dion is the eleventh studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her second English-language album. It was originally released by Sony Music on 30 March 1992, and features the Grammy and Academy Award-winning song "Beauty and the Beast", and other hits like "If You Asked Me To" and "Love Can Move Mountains". The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake, Guy Roche and Humberto Gatica. It reached number one in Quebec, number three in Canada and was certified Diamond there, denoting shipments of over one million copies in this country. At the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, Celine Dion was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide. To support it, Dion toured as the opening act for Michael Bolton on his "Time, Love and Tenderness Tour" in the summer of 1992 through the United States. From August 1992 till March 1993, she toured Canada with her Celine Dion in Concert tour.
"The Power of Love" is a song co-written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion.
"If You Asked Me To" is a song written by American songwriter Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by American singer Patti LaBelle for her ninth studio album, Be Yourself (1989), and also for the soundtrack to the James Bond film Licence to Kill. The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who pleads to her significant other: "If you asked me to, I just might change my mind, and let you in my life forever". Three years later, Canadian singer Celine Dion covered the song for her 1992 self-titled second English-language studio album. Released as the album's second single, Dion's version topped the Canadian charts and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Misled" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion for her third English-language studio album, The Colour of My Love (1993). It was released as the second single from the album in March 1994 by Columbia Records. The song was written by Peter Zizzo and Jimmy Bralower and produced by Ric Wake. "Misled" topped the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and reached number four in Canada. It also peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas.
"Think Twice" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released as the third single from her third English-language album, The Colour of My Love (1993) in North America in July 1994, in the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan in October 1994, and in other European countries in 1995. It was written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield, and produced by Christopher Neil and Aldo Nova. In this rock-influenced song with a guitar solo, the protagonist is telling her lover to "think twice" before leaving her. The song became one of Dion's most successful hits in Europe and Australia, topping multiple charts, including those of Flemish Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Remaining at the top of the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, it eventually became the fourth single by a female artist to sell in excess of one million copies in the UK.
"To Love You More" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, written by David Foster and Edgar Bronfman Jr., writing under the pen-name Junior Miles. It was released as a single in Japan on 21 October 1995 and became a hit, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling 1.5 million copies. The lyrics are about a woman who makes an impassioned plea to her lover so that he does not leave her for another woman.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 137 singles in both English and French discography as a lead artist. According to Billboard, Dion is the world's best-selling contemporary female artist of all time. As of 2021, she has reportedly sold around 200 to 250 million records worldwide. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion has released a string of worldwide hits, with "My Heart Will Go On" being her career's biggest hit, with estimated physical sales of over 18 million worldwide, making it the 2nd best-selling physical single by a woman in history. It reached over 117 million radio impressions during its peak, becoming the most-played radio hit in history and became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. "Because You Loved Me" is her biggest hit on Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks atop the charts and sold six million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" was the 4th biggest hit of the 1990s in France and has sold over four million copies worldwide.
"I Want You to Need Me" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion for her 1999 greatest hits album, All the Way... A Decade of Song. It was written by Diane Warren and produced by Matt Serletic. "I Want You to Need Me" was released as the second single in North America and Japan in April 2000, and third single in selected European countries in July 2000. Several club remixes were created by Thunderpuss. The song received positive reviews from music critics and topped the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Liz Friedlander.
"Treat Her Like a Lady" is a song by Jamaican-American singer Diana King from the 1995 album, Tougher Than Love. It was written by King, Andy Marvel and Billy Mann, and produced by Marvel. In 1997, it was covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion for her album, Let's Talk About Love.
"Send Me a Lover" is a song by American singer-songwriter and actress Taylor Dayne. It was written by Rick Hahn and George Thatcher, and released on September 6, 1993, as the second single from her third album, Soul Dancing (1993). In the United States, it peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. In Canada, "Send Me a Lover" reached number 24 on the Top Singles chart and number eight on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song was originally recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion in 1992, but her version remained unreleased until 1994.
Bini & Martini were a duo composed of house music producers and DJs Gianni Bini and Paolo Martini, from Italy. They are known under a variety of pseudonyms, including House of Glass, Eclipse, The Goodfellas and The Groovelines.
Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with "Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Keep Your Body Working" featuring Martha Wash. Moran also has a total of seven number one hits on the Billboard Dance Club Songs music charts in the United States and he has recently had four number one Billboard chart hits in the years 2016 and 2017.
Michael Thompson is an American guitarist and songwriter.