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.
Lisa Jane Stansfield is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists and albums his songs have appeared on have sold over 250 million copies. In 2020, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached number one on the R&B charts and peaked at number 21 on the pop charts.
"What's Up?" is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, released in March 1993 by Interscope and Atlantic Records as the second single from their debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). The song was written by lead singer Linda Perry and produced by David Tickle. It has gained popularity in the United States and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The accompanying music video was directed by American film director Morgan Lawley and was also nominated in the category for Best Alternative Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981, that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.
Karyn Layvonne White is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), "Secret Rendezvous" (1989), "The Way You Love Me" (1988), and the U.S. Hot 100 No. 1 single "Romantic" (1991).
All-4-One is an American male R&B and pop group best known for their hit singles "I Swear", "So Much in Love" and "I Can Love You Like That". The group is composed of Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez, and Tony Borowiak, all from the Antelope Valley and Mojave, California areas.
"Have You Ever?" is a song by American recording artist Brandy for her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). The song was written by Diane Warren, while production was handled by David Foster. It was released as the album's third single by Atlantic Records in October 1998. The song became Norwood's second song to reach the top position on the US Billboard Hot 100, following the worldwide chart-topping of "The Boy Is Mine". The former further reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Iceland, number eight in Australia, and the top 30 in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
"Crazy" is a song written by English singer-songwriter Seal and English songwriter Guy Sigsworth. Produced by Trevor Horn, it was released by ZTT Records on 26 November 1990 as the lead single from Seal's debut studio album, Seal (1991). The song became his first commercial hit, reaching No. 2 in the United Kingdom, while becoming his first top ten single in the United States. It has since been covered by several artists, including Alanis Morissette, whose version was released as a single from her 2005 compilation album, The Collection.
"Suddenly I See" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her debut studio album, Eye to the Telescope (2004). It was inspired by New York singer and poet Patti Smith, whose album cover for Horses (1975) also inspired Tunstall's album cover for Eye to the Telescope. The song was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released as the album's second single on 27 February 2006.
"Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the 32-year-old Cohn won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
"Believe" is a song by the American singer Cher, from her 22nd studio album, Believe (1998). It was released as the lead single on October 19, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. After circulating for months, a demo written by Brian Higgins, Matthew Gray, Stuart McLennen and Timothy Powell, was submitted to Warner's chairman, Rob Dickins, while he was scouting for songs to include on Cher's new album. Aside from the chorus, Dickins was not impressed by the track so he enlisted two more writers, Steve Torch and Paul Barry to complete it. Cher contributed some lyrics but received no songwriting credit. Recording took place at Dreamhouse Studio in West London, while production was handled by Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling.
Treasures is the thirty-fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 24, 1996, by Rising Tide Records and Blue Eye Records. The Steve Buckingham-produced album is made up of covers of rock and country hits from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spawned three singles: "Just When I Needed You Most", which peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart; a dance remix of "Peace Train", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Dance Music chart; and a dance remix of "Walking on Sunshine". The album's release was accompanied by a CBS television special, Dolly Parton: Treasures.
"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his twelfth album, I Can See Clearly Now (1972), and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box charts. It also reached number one in Canada and South Africa. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including a hit version by Lee Towers that reached no. 19 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1982, and another recorded by Jimmy Cliff for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings that peaked at no. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.
"I Swear" is a song written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery in 1993, and for American R&B group All-4-One in 1994.
"When I Close My Eyes" is a song by Shanice, released as the first single from her fourth album, Shanice. It was her first single in over four years. On April 3, 1999, the single made chart history when it made the biggest jump in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, moving 75 positions from number 91 to number 16, a record held by the single until 2006. It became her first top 20 hit since "Saving Forever for You," and her last one to date.
Jason Joel Desrouleaux, known professionally as Jason Derulo, is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 million singles worldwide and has achieved fourteen platinum singles in the US.
"Right Here (Departed)" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood. It was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and The Writing Camp members Evan "Kidd" Bogart, Victoria Horn, Erika Nuri, and David "DQ" Quiñones and produced by Jerkins for her fifth studio album, Human (2008). Not recorded until late into the production of the album, it set much of the tone for the final Human track listing as it was the first out of several new songs Norwood and Jerkins recorded together following his absence on her previous album Afrodisiac (2004). Its lyrics chronicle a woman's talks about mutual support with loved ones.
"Right Here" is the debut single of American R&B girl group SWV, released on August 20, 1992 by RCA Records, as the lead single from their debut album, It's About Time (1992). The song was written by Brian Alexander Morgan, who also produced it. A remixed version, referred to as "Right Here (Human Nature Remix)" and based on a feature of Michael Jackson's 1982 song "Human Nature", was released in July 1993, and charted on the US Billboard charts as a double-A-side with "Downtown". This version, produced by Teddy Riley, became a number-one R&B single, selling 1,000,000 copies and earning a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also a number-one hit in Zimbabwe. The music video for the song was directed by Lionel C. Martin, featuring SWV riding horses and fishing.
