Black Box is an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group is currently made up of DJ Daniele Davoli,classically trained clarinet teacher Valerio Semplici,keyboardist and electronic musician Mirko Limoni,and vocalist Celestine Walcott-Gordon. French fashion model Katrin Quinol joined the act in 1989 and became the official face of Black Box,appearing on the cover of their single and album releases as well as in music videos,including the hit "Ride on Time",which was the highest-selling single of 1989 in the UK. The following year,it was revealed that Quinol was lip-syncing and had not performed on the recording. American singer Martha Wash performed the majority of the songs on the group's debut album,Dreamland,while being uncredited.
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway. It was released in July 1991 as the lead single from their debut album,Music for the People (1991). The song became a number-one hit in the United States,Denmark,Sweden and Switzerland.
"U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written,produced,and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released as the third single from his third album,Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (1990),and has been considered his signature song. Along with Hammer,Rick James shares songwriting credits with Alonzo Miller,as the song samples the prominent opening riff of James' 1981 single "Super Freak". The song has been used and referred to in many television shows,films,commercials,and other forms of media. It has also received multiple awards and recognition.
Martha Elaine Wash is an American singer-songwriter,actress,and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice,Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun,who sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel ". After gaining their own record deal,they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men",which brought them to mainstream pop attention. The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.
"Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by American dance band Deee-Lite,released in August 1990 by Elektra as their debut and lead single from their first album,World Clique (1990). Written and produced by the band,it was a hit in many countries,reaching number-one in Australia and on both the Canadian RPM and US Billboard dance charts. Today it is widely recognized as a classic of its genre. It was accompanied with a psychedelic 60s-themed music video.
"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" is a song by American dance music group C+C Music Factory,released by Columbia in late 1990 as the debut and lead single from their first album,Gonna Make You Sweat (1990). The song is sung by singer Martha Wash and rapper Freedom Williams. It charted internationally and achieved great success in the United States,Austria,Germany,and Sweden,where it reached number one on the charts. The music video for the song was directed by Marcus Nispel. Billboard magazine ranked "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.
"Unbelievable" is a song written and recorded by British band EMF,originally appearing on their debut album,Schubert Dip (1991). It was released as a single in the UK in October 1990 by Parlophone,peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart on 1 December 1990. It was the 30th-best-selling single of 1990 in the UK,and a top 10 hit also in Belgium,Germany,Ireland,the Netherlands,Norway,Spain and Sweden. In the United States,"Unbelievable" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 in 1991. The song was produced by Ralph Jezzard,and contains samples of US comedian Andrew Dice Clay and a Black Panther Party member shouting "What the fuck?" Its music video was directed by Josh Taft.
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi,electric guitarist Bryan Bassett,bassist Allen Wentz,and drummer Ron Beitle,with session players Chuck Berginc,Jack Brndiar (trumpets),and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer (saxes) on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. The single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18,1976;it was also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.
"I'm Too Sexy" is a song by British pop band Right Said Fred,released in July 1991 by Tug Records as their debut single from their first album,Up (1992). The song was written by band members and brothers Fred Fairbrass and Richard Fairbrass with Rob Manzoli and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom,it topped the charts in seven countries,including Australia,Canada,Ireland,and the United States. James Lebon directed the music video for the song,featuring various clips of models walking on the catwalk. In 2023,Billboard magazine ranked "I'm Too Sexy" among the 500 best pop songs of all time.
"Two Princes" is a song by American rock group Spin Doctors,released in 1992 by Epic as the second single from the group's debut album,Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991). The song peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Cash Box Top 100. Outside of the US,it topped the charts in Iceland and Sweden,and peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Australia,Canada,Germany,the Netherlands,Ireland,and the United Kingdom. The song earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. The group filmed two different music videos for "Two Princes";one of them was in black-and-white. One of the videos was directed by Richard Murray and premiered in February 1992.
"The Power" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!,released as their debut single. It was released on 3 January 1990 as the lead single from their debut studio album,World Power (1990). The song reached number one in Greece,the Netherlands,Spain,Switzerland,the UK and Zimbabwe,as well as on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts. On the Billboard Hot 100,"The Power" managed to reach number two for one week.
"Fantasy" is a song by American band Earth,Wind &Fire,which was issued as a single in 1978 by Columbia Records.
Dreamland is the debut studio album by the Italian music group Black Box. It was released on May 8,1990 through RCA Records,and was preceded in 1989 by the international hit single "Ride on Time". The album was certified Gold in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album is mostly remembered today for the song "Ride on Time" and the ensuing lawsuits by Loleatta Holloway and Martha Wash over their lack of proper credit and payment for their vocal contributions to the album.
"100% Pure Love" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Crystal Waters from her second studio album,Storyteller (1994). It was released on April 11,1994 by Mercury and A&M (UK),as the album's lead single. The song was a hit in many countries,reaching the top 20 in Australia,Finland,the Netherlands,Switzerland,the United Kingdom,and the United States. It is certified platinum in Australia and gold in the US. In 1995,it was awarded the prize for Top ASCAP Dance Song. And its accompanying music video,directed by Marcus Nispel,was nominated for Best Dance Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Touch Me (All Night Long)" is a 1984 song by American singer Fonda Rae and American band Wish. It was a minor hit for Rae and the band,and was featured in the 1985 slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2:Freddy's Revenge. In the original,it is alternately spelled as "Tuch Me (All Night Long)" or simply just "Tuch Me".
"Everybody Everybody" is a song by the Italian house group Black Box,with uncredited vocals by American singer Martha Wash,from their debut studio album,Dreamland (1990). Wash was replaced by French model Katrin Quinol as the credited vocalist who made several appearances with Black Box,which led Wash to file a lawsuit against the group. The song was written by Daniele Davoli,Mirko Limoni,and Valerio Semplici,while produced by Groove Groove Melody. It was released by RCA Records as the third single from the album. The house,pop,and Eurodisco song consists of an organ,drums,horns,and strings. "Everybody Everybody" contains a sample of Larry Blackmon's vocals and a drum loop from Bobby Byrd's 1987 remix of James Brown's song "Hot Pants" (1971).
"I Don't Know Anybody Else" is a song by Italian music group Black Box. It was the second single from their debut album,Dreamland (1990),and was originally released in the United States in December 1989. It was released worldwide in the early months of 1990 and had a great success in record charts,including Ireland,Switzerland,Norway and the United Kingdom,where it reached the Top 5. In other countries,it peaked between number 5 and number 10. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 17 February 1990 and remained for eight weeks.
"Carry On" is a song by American singer Martha Wash,released on October 30,1992 through RCA Records as the lead single from her debut solo self-titled studio album,Martha Wash (1993). It was written by Eric Beall,who also composed the instrumentation in collaboration with Steve Skinner and peaked at number-one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"Give It to You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Martha Wash and the second release from her self-titled debut album,Martha Wash (1992). The song is the follow-up single to "Carry On",and is written and produced by Brian Alexander Morgan. It would be her second number-one single on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart,reaching the top spot on April 3,1993. It also became a modest crossover hit on the Billboard Hot 100,peaking at number 90 in 1993.
American singer and songwriter Martha Wash has released three studio albums,one compilation album,and 34 singles. She has a total of 12 number-one hits on Billboard's Dance chart to date. Her success has earned her the honorific title The Queen of Clubland.
