The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George and Louis E. Johnson. They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three singles topping the R&B charts.
Keith Douglas Sweat is an American singer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever," "I'll Give All My Love to You," "Make You Sweat," "Get Up on It," "Twisted," and "Nobody." He has released 13 solo albums and discovered the groups Silk and Kut Klose. Sweat's sound reportedly was influenced by Slave front man Steve Arrington and go-go music.
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands of the 1980s, and attained international chart success as part of the Second British Invasion.
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.
Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi.
Lipps Inc. was an American disco and funk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is best known for the chart-topping 1980 worldwide hit single "Funkytown", which hit No. 1 in 28 countries and was certified as double platinum in sales.
Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.
C+C Music Factory was an American musical group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. The group is best known for their five hit singles: "Gonna Make You Sweat ", "Here We Go ", "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...", "Just a Touch of Love", and "Keep It Comin'". The band stopped recording in 1996, following Cole's death. In 2010, C+C Music Factory reformed with Eric Kupper replacing Cole. Original member Freedom Williams acquired trademark rights to the name in 2003 and still tours under that moniker.
52nd Street was a British jazz-funk and R&B band formed in Manchester in late 1980. Throughout the 1980s the group enjoyed success not only in the UK but also on the Billboard chart in the United States. Their biggest and best-known hit single was "Tell Me ", released in 1985 by the 10 Records subsidiary of Virgin Records in the UK, and then months later on in 1986 on MCA Records in the US.
The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American funk rock band founded in Minneapolis in 1981. They contributed to the development of the Minneapolis sound, an eclectic fusion of funk, R&B, new wave, synth-pop and dance. Led by singer-songwriter Morris Day, the band members are known for having been close associates of musician Prince, and are arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him, achieving success with singles such as "Get It Up", "The Bird", "Cool", "777-9311", "Jungle Love" and "Jerk Out".
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and initially produced by Full Force.
Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts in the 1990s. Cynthia Johnson of Lipps Inc. and Ann Nesby are the group's most prominent alumni.
Show and Tell is the American band Silvertide's full-length debut album. Produced by Oliver Leiber and mixed by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, the band released it on September 28, 2004. Show and Tell features a melodic hard rock style deliberately reminiscent of the aggressive work done by groups achieving prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, examples being AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin.
Jesse Woods Johnson is an American funk musician best known as the guitarist in the original 1981 lineup of The Time.
Midnight Star is an American musical group that had a string of hit records in the 1980s.
Leon Frank Sylvers III is an American singer, songwriter, disc-jockey, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the family group The Sylvers and became one of the most successful producers in black music in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s through his association with Dick Griffey's SOLAR Records. Artists such as J Dilla, Dr. Dre, and Madlib have sampled songs written and produced by him.
Josh Abrahams is an Australian musician who emerged from the underground dance music scene in the early 1990s. He has performed and recorded under the stage name Puretone, and is also known as The Pagan and Bassliners.
Deborah Cox is the self-titled debut album by Canadian singer Deborah Cox. It was released by Arista Records on September 12, 1995, in the United States by Arista Records and was executive produced by Clive Davis. Deborah Cox is a blend of dance-pop, hip hop soul and R&B and features productions from producers such as Tim & Bob, Babyface, Daryl Simmons and Dallas Austin. A commercial and critical success, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales of over 500,000 units, and earned Cox a Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording at the 1996 Juno Awards.
Margaret Cox is an American singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the Minneapolis sound band Ta Mara and the Seen, and for her work with Prince.
Ta Mara and the Seen is the 1985 debut album by Minneapolis, Minnesota group Ta Mara and the Seen, produced by the Time's guitarist Jesse Johnson. The album peaked at number 20 on the US R&B albums chart, while its lead single, "Everybody Dance", reached number three on the R&B singles chart.
