Related Research Articles
Usher Raymond IV, known professionally as Usher, is an American singer, songwriter, businessman, and dancer. He was born in Dallas, Texas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, until moving to Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of 12, his mother put him in local singing competitions before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records. He released his self-titled debut album Usher (1994), and rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way (1997). It spawned his first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Nice & Slow", and the top-two singles "You Make Me Wanna..." and "My Way". His third album, 8701 (2001), produced the number-one singles "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad", as well as the top-three single "U Don't Have to Call". It sold eight million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Winans also won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance for co-writing CeCe Winans's song "Pray".
"My Girl" is a soul music song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. Written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, it became the Temptations' first U.S. number 1 single, and is today their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing "My Girl" was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant".
"I Can't Get Next to You" is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Temptations and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Gordy (Motown) label. The song was a number-one single on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart for two weeks in 1969, from October 18 to October 25, replacing "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies and replaced by "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley. The single was also a number-one hit on the Billboard Top R&B Singles for five weeks, from October 4 to November 1, replacing "Oh, What a Night" by The Dells, and replaced by another Motown song, "Baby I'm For Real" by The Originals.
Free Yourself is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Fantasia, which was released on November 23, 2004. The album sold 240,000 units in its first week, reaching number eight on the Billboard 200 chart. The album is certified platinum in the United States and has been nominated for ten awards, including three Grammy Awards.
"Mercy Mercy Me " is the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, What's Going On. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding the environment. Led by Gaye playing piano, strings conducted by Paul Riser and David Van De Pitte, multi-tracking vocals from Gaye and The Andantes, multiple background instruments provided by The Funk Brothers and a leading sax solo by Wild Bill Moore, the song rose to number 4 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart and number one for two weeks on the R&B Singles charts on August 14 through to August 27, 1971. The distinctive percussive sound heard on the track was a wood block struck by a rubber mallet, drenched in studio reverb. The song also brought Gaye one of his rare appearances on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it peaked at number 34. In Canada, "Mercy Mercy Me" spent two weeks at number 9.
"Let Me Love You" is a song by American singer Mario, released as a single on October 4, 2004, from his second studio album, Turning Point (2004). The song was written by Ne-Yo, Kameron Houff and Scott Storch, and produced by Storch. The remix of the song, also produced by Storch, contains rapped verses from Jadakiss and T.I. The song garnered Mario a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2006 and became a top-10 hit worldwide, reaching number one in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Lloyd Polite Jr., better known by his mononym Lloyd, is an American singer. He began his career in music as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon. The group disbanded in 2001 and Lloyd embarked on a solo career in 2003. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. In 2004, Lloyd released his solo debut single "Southside", the title track of his debut album, Southside (2004). The single quickly charted on the US Billboard Hot 100, and became a Top 40 hit. His second album Street Love, was released on March 13, 2007. It featured the top-twenty hits "You" and "Get It Shawty".
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher. The song is co-written by Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Robert McDowell, LRoc, Ludacris, and Lil Jon, with the latter two as the featured artists for the song, and with Lil Jon also producing the song as well as incorporating crunk and R&B—which he coined as crunk&B—in the song's production. The song was released as the lead single from Usher's fourth studio album Confessions (2004) on January 27, 2004, after Usher was told by Arista Records, his label at the time, to record more tracks for the album.
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop and electronic music.
"If I Ain't Got You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys from her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the terrorist September 11 attacks, and other events in the world and in Keys' life, the song is about "how material things don't feed the soul." The single cover depicts Keys similarly to the subject of Man Ray's 1924 painting Le Violon d'Ingres.
"Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" is a 1968 single released by American and Motown recording artist Stevie Wonder. The song, co-written by Wonder and produced by Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, was the first to showcase Wonder's talents at the clavinet and was one of his first successful co-written tracks during his 1960s Motown period. The song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in 1968, and went to number one on the R&B chart.
"My Boo" is a duet between American R&B singers Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Usher, Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire, and Manuel Seal. It was included on the re-release of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions (2004). The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2004. Set over a hip hop-style track, it was produced by Dupri and No I.D.
"Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" is a hit song by R&B singer R. Kelly. Taken from the 2003 album Chocolate Factory, the song became the tenth single from Kelly to reach #1 on the R&B chart, particularly on the strength of the song's remix. It also peaked at number nine on the pop charts on December 2, 2003. The original "Step in the Name of Love", which is on the unreleased 2002 album "Loveland" as well as the Chocolate Factory album, described a dance style initially created in Chicago called "stepping". That dance, and the music associated with it, was heavily featured on disc one of his 2004 double album, "Happy People/U Saved Me". The song became an impromptu "anthem" for steppers and the dance. In the UK, the song was a double A-side with "Thoia Thoing".
Slow Dance is a number-one R&B single by R. Kelly with Public Announcement, from the album Born into the 90's. The song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart and became a minor pop hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number forty-three. This was the second #1 R&B hit for Kelly; the previous being "Honey Love" from the same album.
"Wonderful" is a song by American rapper Ja Rule. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from his sixth studio album, R.U.L.E. (2004). The song features American pop-R&B singers R. Kelly and Ashanti. "Wonderful" topped the UK Singles Chart, reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaked at number six in both Australia and New Zealand, and became a top-20 hit in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
"Tossin' and Turnin'" is a song written by Ritchie Adams and Malou Rene, and originally recorded by Bobby Lewis in the fall of 1960. The record was released on the Beltone label in December 1960. It reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1961 and R&B chart and has since become a standard on oldies compilations. It was named the number one single on the Billboard chart for 1961, after spending seven consecutive weeks at the top. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1978 film Animal House.
"She's Not You" is a 1962 song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single on RCA Victor.
"You Will Know" is a song written and recorded by American R&B singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, taken from his 1987 Characters album.
"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart.
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 590.