Rachel Sweet

Last updated

Rachel Sweet
Born (1962-07-28) July 28, 1962 (age 61)
Alma mater Columbia University (BA)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
  • television writer
  • producer
Known for
Spouse
​
(m. 1997)​
ChildrenTwo
Musical career
Born Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Genres
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active1974–present
Labels Stiff, Columbia

Rachel Sweet (born July 28, 1962) [1] is an American singer, television writer and actress.

Contents

Early life and education

Rachel Sweet was born in Akron, Ohio, [2] [3] Because she pursued her singing career so young, she dropped out of high school to concentrate on her career, but she was still required to devote time to her studies. [2] [4] [5]

Sweet resumed her education via correspondence courses, and she eventually graduated from Columbia University with a degree in French and English Literature in 1988. [4]

Singing career

Sweet began her singing career at age three when she won an electric garage door opener in a local talent contest after singing "I'm a Little Dutch Girl." [6] She began recording commercials at the age of six, toured with Mickey Rooney, and performed in Las Vegas as the opening act for Bill Cosby at the age of 12. [2] [3] [7] She began recording country music in 1974, but with little success beyond one minor hit. [2]

Switching to rock and roll, she signed to Stiff Records and released her first album, Fool Around , in 1978, dropping out of high school to concentrate on her career, although she was still required to devote time to her studies. [2] [4] [5] Sweet was backed by The Records on the Stiff Records tour in 1978. [2] The album was a critical success, but sales were poor, although she did have some success with the single "B-A-B-Y" (a cover of the 1966 Carla Thomas song), which was a top-40 hit in the UK. [8] The record label generated some controversy by pushing a Lolita-like image for her. [2] Her follow-up album, Protect the Innocent , produced by Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley, [9] was largely ignored by the public and the music press, although it was popular with her fans and launched a well-received North American tour in 1980 with her band The Toys. She signed to Columbia Records in 1981, releasing the album ... And Then He Kissed Me and its hit single "Everlasting Love", a duet with Rex Smith. [2] The album also includes "Shadows of the Night," later a hit for Pat Benatar.

Sweet released only one more album, 1982's Blame It on Love, which featured the song "Voo Doo". The video for the song was played on MTV, and she performed the song on the musical TV show Solid Gold . [2] An album she recorded tracks for in 1982-83 remains unreleased.

She returned to music sporadically as she focused on her education, co-writing and recording the title song for John Waters' film Hairspray , and several songs for Waters' musical film Cry-Baby . [4]

In 1992, Rhino Records released Fool Around: The Best of Rachel Sweet. The CD compilation includes all of her first album, Fool Around, as well as tracks from her other three albums and the theme from Hairspray. [10]

Film and television

In 1982, Sweet had a starring role in the low-budget musical film Rock 'n' Roll Hotel, which also featured Judd Nelson and was filmed in Richmond, Virginia, at the then-inoperative Jefferson Hotel. Shooting in Richmond with local extras began in October 1982 and was halted abruptly in December. The film's original 3D version, with scenes in the style of early MTV music videos, received only two screenings in 1983, in Los Angeles and New York. It was never released theatrically, even after it was eventually re-cut and completed in 1986 under the supervision of Sweet's father, Dick. [11]

Sweet also appeared in the 1989 musical film Sing , performing "Life Ain't Worth Living (When You're Dead)". While the song does not appear on the soundtrack album, Columbia Records released it as the B-side of the soundtrack single "Romance (Love Theme from "Sing") by Paul Carrack and Terri Nunn. [12]

In 1989 and 1990, Sweet hosted a show on The Comedy Channel (forerunner of Comedy Central) called The Sweet Life, [4] which also featured Jon Stewart. Her recording of the theme song to the Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All [4] was a reworking of the theme song from The Sweet Life; and she provided vocals for songs in the Barbie animated series. [4]

Sweet had a minor role as George Costanza's cousin in "The Contest", a 1992 episode of the TV sitcom Seinfeld . She played a waitress in the 1994 film comedy All Tied Up .

Focusing on a writing and producing career in television since the late 1990s, [4] she has been a writer and/or executive producer on series including Dharma & Greg , Commando Nanny, George Lopez , Hot in Cleveland , [13] [14] 2 Broke Girls , The Single Guy and The Goldbergs . [15]

Personal life

Sweet owned Madonna's former home Los Pavoreales, selling it in 2010. [13]

Sweet married television writer and producer Tom Palmer in 1997 and has two children.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pretenders</span> British-American rock band

The Pretenders are a British-American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. Following the deaths of Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and Farndon in 1983, the band experienced numerous personnel changes; Hynde has been the band's only consistent member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plasmatics</span> American punk rock band

The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theatrics. These included chainsawing guitars, destroying speaker cabinets, sledgehammering television sets and blowing up automobiles live on stage. Williams was arrested in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee Police before being charged with public indecency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debby Boone</span> American singer, author, and actress (born 1956)

Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year. Boone later focused her music career on country music, resulting in the 1980 No. 1 country hit "Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again". In the 1980s, she recorded Christian music which garnered her four top 10 Contemporary Christian albums as well as two more Grammys. Throughout her career, Boone has appeared in several musical theater productions and has co-authored many children's books with her husband Gabriel Ferrer.

Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen McGovern</span> American singer and actress (born 1949)

Maureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure; "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974; and her No. 1 Billboard adult contemporary hit "Different Worlds", the theme song from the television series Angie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack & Diane</span> 1982 single by John Mellencamp

"Jack & Diane" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, then performing as "John Cougar." Described by critics as a "love ballad", this song was released as the second single from Mellencamp's 1982 album American Fool, and was chosen by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as one of the Songs of the Century. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and is Mellencamp's most successful hit single.

The Records were an English power pop band formed in 1978. They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Carlton</span> American guitarist (born 1948)

Larry Eugene Carlton is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorded on hundreds of albums in many genres, including more than 100 gold records, as well as for television and movies. He has been a member of the jazz fusion group the Crusaders and the smooth jazz band Fourplay, and has maintained a long solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kulick</span> American guitarist and producer (1950–2020)

Robert Joel Kulick was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the elder brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Knight</span> American songwriter, musician, and singer

Holly Knight is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as "Rag Doll", "Obsession", "Love Is a Battlefield", "The Best", "Invincible", "Better Be Good to Me", "The Warrior", and "Change".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everlasting Love</span> 1967 single by Robert Knight

"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since covered numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Rex Smith & Rachel Sweet, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, U2 and Gloria Estefan. The original version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded by Knight in Nashville, with Cason and Gayden aiming to produce it in a Motown style reminiscent of the Four Tops and the Temptations. When released as a single, the song reached No. 13 on the US chart in 1967. Subsequently, the song has reached the US top 40 three times, most successfully as performed by Carl Carlton, peaking at No. 6 in 1974, with more moderate success by the duo Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet and Gloria Estefan.

<i>Fool Around</i> 1978 studio album by Rachel Sweet

Fool Around is the debut album by American singer Rachel Sweet. It was first released in the United Kingdom on October 13, 1978 by Stiff Records. The album was released in the United States in July 1979, by Stiff and Columbia Records, with a revised track listing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Simpson</span> American singer (born 1980)

Jessica Ann Simpson is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, Sweet Kisses (1999), sold two million copies in the United States and saw the commercial success of the single "I Wanna Love You Forever". Simpson adopted a more mature image for her second studio album, Irresistible (2001), and its title track became her second top 20 entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In This Skin (2003), Simpson's third studio album, sold three million copies in the United States.

Liam Sternberg is an American songwriter and producer who wrote the Bangles hit "Walk Like an Egyptian".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lani Hall</span> American musician (born 1945)

Lani Hall is an American singer, lyricist, and author. From 1966 to 1971 she performed as lead vocalist for Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66. In 1972, Hall released her first solo album, Sun Down Lady. She may be best known, however, for providing the most recognizable (female) face and (female) vocal signature sound to Sérgio's group during her tenure there, and for her rendition of the theme song to the 1983 James Bond film, Never Say Never Again, with its accompanying video, in which she prominently appears. In 1986, she was awarded her first Grammy for Es Fácil Amar, as "Best Latin Pop Performance."

David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Beauvoir</span> American musician

Jean Beauvoir is an American singer, bassist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and entertainment executive. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with the punk group the Plasmatics and went on to work with Little Steven, Kiss, the Ramones and as a solo artist.

<i>Protect the Innocent</i> (Rachel Sweet album) 1980 studio album by Rachel Sweet

Protect the Innocent is the second album by American singer Rachel Sweet. It was released on February 15, 1980, and was issued by Stiff Records and Columbia Records. The album was produced by Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley, with the latter also handling engineering.

David Mackay is an Australian record producer, arranger and musical director. He began his music career at the age of 15 in a production of Bye Bye Birdie for J. C. Williamson Theatre Company. He also worked for a time recording musical sessions for local radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Lowe discography</span>

Nick Lowe is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer. His discography consists of 14 studio albums, 1 live album, 3 EPs, 23 singles, and 6 compilations. In addition, he has been a performer and producer on numerous albums by other artists.

References

  1. ↑ "Rachel Sweet". Oldies.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Woodstra, Chris. Rachel Sweet biography at AllMusic . Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Campbell, Mary (1979), Rachel Sweet: Busy Singer at 16, Made Debut at 5", Lewiston Daily Sun, September 12, 1979, p. 16, retrieved 2010-11-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Adams, Deanna R. (2002) Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection, ISBN   978-0-87338-691-3, p. 397-8
  5. 1 2 Loder, Kurt (1980) "Singer Rachel Sweet needs to take school books on tour", Tuscaloosa News , May 23, 1980, p. 12
  6. ↑ Dawidziak, Mark. " Akron native Rachel Sweet savors writer-producer role on 'Hot in Cleveland'", Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 14, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ Patterson, Jim (1992) "Best-of Album Leaves Desire for new Rachel Sweet Release", Daily News, November 8, 1992, p. 12C, retrieved 2010-11-22
  8. 1 2 "Rachel Sweet", Chart Stats, retrieved 2010-11-22
  9. ↑ Deming, Mark "Protect the Innocent Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2010-11-22
  10. ↑ Woodstra, Chris (2002). Bogdanov, Vladimir (ed.). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Winona, Minnesota: Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 1, 1107–1, 108. ISBN   9780879306533.
  11. ↑ Macfarlane, Steve (May 16, 2012). "Talking to the Official Historian of Rock N' Roll Hotel, the Long-Lost, Recut 3D Music Video Trainwreck". The L Magazine . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Romance (Love Theme from 'Sing')". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Beale, Lauren (April 12, 2010). "Singer Rachel Sweet sells Los Pavoreales for $4,895,000". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  14. ↑ "'Commando Nanny': A Sweet Deal". Akron Beacon Journal . July 18, 2004.
  15. ↑ Rachel Sweet at IMDb
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rachel Sweet - Charts and Awards", Allmusic, retrieved November 22, 2010
  17. ↑ "Rex Smith And Rachel Sweet", Chart Stats, retrieved November 22, 2010
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.