 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Cover Girls | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Freestyle, pop, urban contemporary |
| Years active | 1986–1996, 2001–present |
| Labels | Fever Records Capitol/EMI Records Epic/SME Records |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
The Cover Girls are an all-female, New-York-City based freestyle music group.
The Cover Girls were formed by music producer and songwriter Andy "Panda" Tripoli and music promoter and dance club owner Sal Abbatiello. [1] The group was originally composed of singers Louise "Angel" Sabater, Caroline Jackson, and Sunshine Wright. In late 1986, they released their first album, Show Me . Five singles were released from this album, including the Top 40, Billboard Hot 100 hits "Because of You" [2] and "Promise Me". [3] Sunshine Wright left the group in late 1987 after the release of the album and its second single "Spring Love", and was quickly replaced by Margo Urban, with whom the group released three more singles off the album. [4] In 1988, they recorded the song "Better Late Than Never" for the Coming to America film soundtrack. [5]
In 1989, their second album, We Can't Go Wrong , was released and included the song "My Heart Skips a Beat" as well as the title track. The Cover Girls performed "My Heart Skips a Beat" and "We Can't Go Wrong" on the series finale [6] of American Bandstand in October 1989. "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" was the third single released from the We Can't Go Wrong album. Shortly after its release, Louise "Angel" Sabater left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced on lead vocals by Evelyn Escalera.[ citation needed ]
The first song recorded with Escalera on lead was "Don't Stop Now", released for the compilation album Music Speaks Louder Than Words , which was a joint collaboration between American and Soviet songwriters. The song's music is a cover of Russian artist Viktor Reznikov's 1988 song "Domovoy", with new English lyrics written by Todd Cerney and Harold Payne. [7] [8] The song was released as a single in 1990 with "Funk Boutique" originally as the B-Side. [9]
In 1992, they released their third studio album, "Here It Is" features for the first time two lead singers, Escalera and Valentine, and produced a cover version of the Rose Royce 1978 song "Wishing on a Star". In 1993, Evelyn Escalera recorded vocals on a promotional single titled "Can You Feel It?" by Fish released on Cupid Records.
In 1994, the group contributed the new song "You Better Change" to the soundtrack of the film I Like It Like That . [10]
In 1996, they released another album, titled, Satisfy. The first single from the album, "I Am Woman", was released originally with Valentine on lead vocals. But shortly after the single was released Valentine left the group. Lead vocals were then taken over by Gayle Ellis. On "I Need Your Lovin'", the vocals on the album mix were by Valentine and the single remix vocals were handled by Ellis and Escalera (who had then returned to the group from a hiatus). Nicki Richards also recorded her lead vocals on some of the Satisfy album tracks, notably "Whenever You Need Me" and "Keep On Giving Me Love".
In 1997, Sabrina Nieves contributed the track "Supersonic" under the name “Sabrina Sang” on the “Jock Jams Vol. 3” album.
In 1998, Lorraine Munoz released the single "Ritmo De La Noche" under the name Lorena Martinez from the Latin Mix USA album.
In 2006, The Cover Girls (Escalera, Munoz, and Nieves) contributed vocals on the Cobra Starship song "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" from the Cobra Starship album While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets.
In November 2008, Evelyn Escalera released her first solo single, a cover of the Mariah Carey Christmas classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You", under her new pseudonym Evelyn DeMille.
In 2010, Evelyn Escalera contributed the track "Grown Up Christmas List" to the album A Traditional Freestyle Christmas Vol 1.
Michelle Valentine went on to become an author, writing "Nyagra's Falls", "A Girl's Gotta Eat", and "The Year It Snowed in April".
On November 7, 2015, the Cover Girls (Escalera, Munoz, and Nieves) were featured in a documentary on freestyle music titled Legends of Freestyle, which interviewed freestyle artists and delved into the history and movement of this genre. The Documentary presented by Stanulis Productions premiered at the HBO Urban Action Film Festival at the AMC Theater; one night only on Sat Nov 7th 2015 on 47th Street in New York City. Legends of Freestyle is available to download at Amazon.com with a run time of 1 hour, 36 minutes.
Evelyn Escalera, Sabrina Nieves and Lorraine Munoz still perform and tour as The Cover Girls. And, they are under Sal Abbatiello's Fever Management.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] | US R&B [11] | |||||||||||||
| 1986 | Show Me
| 64 | 74 | |||||||||||
| 1989 | We Can't Go Wrong
| 108 | — | |||||||||||
| 1992 | Here It Is
| — | — | |||||||||||
| 1996 | Satisfy
| — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Greatest Hits
|
| 1998 | Greatest Hits
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] | US R&B [11] | US Dan [11] | AUS [12] | UK [13] | ||||||||||
| 1987 | "Show Me" | 44 | 34 | 4 | — | — | Show Me | |||||||
| "Spring Love" | 98 | 82 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Because of You" | 27 | 47 | 16 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1988 | "Promise Me" | 40 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Inside Outside" | 55 | — | 12 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Better Late Than Never" | — | — | — | — | — | Coming to America OST | ||||||||
| 1989 | "My Heart Skips a Beat" | 38 | — | 4 | — | — | We Can't Go Wrong | |||||||
| "We Can't Go Wrong" | 8 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1990 | "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" | 49 | — | 18 | — | — | ||||||||
| "Don't Stop Now" | 63 | — | 8 | — | — | Music Speaks Louder Than Words | ||||||||
| 1991 | "Funk Boutique" | 55 | — | 8 | 150 | — | Here It Is | |||||||
| 1992 | "Wishing on a Star" | 9 | 19 | 7 | — | 38 | ||||||||
| "Thank You" | 75 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1993 | "If You Want My Love (Here It Is)" | 125 | — | 8 | — | — | ||||||||
| "Estrella Del Amor (Wishing On a Star)" | — | — | — | — | — | Sony Discos Brazil promotional single | ||||||||
| 1996 | "I Am Woman" | — | — | — | — | — | Satisfy | |||||||
| "I Need Your Lovin'" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 2002 | "Hooked On You (Remix)" | — | — | — | — | — | Promotional single | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Bananarama is a British-Irish girl group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 32 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
The Belmonts were an American doo-wop group from the Bronx, New York, that originated in the mid-1950s. The original group consisted of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Fred Milano. They took their name from Belmont, the Bronx street in which Mastrangelo lived, known as the Little Italy of the Bronx. From 1958–60 the group performed with Dion DiMucci as Dion and the Belmonts. At this time Mastrangelo sang the bass parts, Milano the second tenor, D'Aleo the falsetto, and DiMucci did lead vocals. Mastrangelo was replaced in 1962 by Frank Lyndon and Warren Gradus, but the original group reunited in 1966, and thereafter performed together in numerous reunions over the years. They occasionally recorded new singles into the 1980s and performed live until the death of Milano in 2011. Gradus continued, performing live under the moniker until his death in October 2023.
Exposé is an American freestyle vocal group formed in 1984 in Miami, Florida. The group primarily consisted of lead vocalists Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno, who achieved much of their success between 1984 and 1993. They became the first group to attain four top-10 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 since their debut album, including 1988 number-one single "Seasons Change." As an all-female group, Exposé’s seven consecutive Top 10 hits on the US Hot 100, landed them only behind The Supremes nine consecutive Top 10 hits. In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the group the eighth most-successful girl group of all-time.
Play was a Swedish pop girl group. Faye Hamlin, Anna Sundstrand, Anaïs Lameche, and Rosie Munter formed Play's original lineup from the band's formation from 2000 until late 2003. After founding member Faye left the group, fifth member Janet Leon joined Play to fill Hamlin's position as lead singer. In 2005, the group officially announced an "indefinite break" and split up. At that time, Play had sold almost one million albums. Four years later, in 2009, the group reformed with a new lineup of three members consisting of Anaïs, Faye, and the sixth and oldest member of Play, Sanne Karlsson. In February 2011, an official statement was made that Faye had once again left the group in 2010 and would be replaced by Emelie Norenberg. It was announced in May 2011 that the band had separated for the second time.
Darlene Wright, better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
Dreams Come True is a Japanese pop band formed in 1988 by Miwa Yoshida, Masato Nakamura (bass) and Takahiro Nishikawa (keyboards). Nishikawa left in 2002 to pursue a solo career.
Jacquie O'Sullivan is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Bananarama from 1988 until 1991, replacing Siobhan Fahey, who left in early 1988. The line-up with O'Sullivan had UK top five hits with "I Want You Back" (1988) and a cover of The Beatles' "Help!" (1989), recorded with comedy duo French and Saunders for the charity Comic Relief. In 1989, O'Sullivan joined the group on their first world tour. Prior to Bananarama, O'Sullivan was the lead singer of the band Shillelagh Sisters.
Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas.
Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from the United States in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with the vocal group Bradford Singers.
"The Only Living Boy in New York" is a song written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel. It is the eighth track from the duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water. The song was also issued as the B-side to the duo's "Cecilia" single.
Antonio Jeffries, better known as Tony Rich and The Tony Rich Project, is an American Grammy-award-winning Contemporary singer-songwriter best known for his hit single "Nobody Knows".
The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
John L. Medora, also known as John or Johnny Madara, is an American singer, songwriter, composer and record producer best known to have teamed up with David White and Arthur Singer to write the 1957 hit song "At the Hop".
TCG is the second and final studio album by The Cheetah Girls. The album was released on Hollywood Records on September 25, 2007. The album debuted at number 44 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 19,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 126,000 copies to date.
Pajama Party was an American female vocal trio from Brooklyn, New York active between 1988 and 1992. The original members were Jennifer McQuilkin of New Jersey, Daphne Rubin-Vega of Panama, and Suzi Ranta of Michigan with songwriter Peggy Sendars and songwriter/producer Jim Klein.
The Cheetah Girls was an American girl group formed in 2003, consisting of Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan.
We Can't Go Wrong is the second album from the New York-based R&B–dance trio The Cover Girls. Although the album only made it to #108 on the Billboard album chart, by the end of 1990 it had been certified platinum and become the group's biggest-selling album. We Can't Go Wrong features songwriting and production by Albert Cabrera, Andy "Panda" Tripoli, David Cole, "Little" Louie Vega, Robert Clivilles, and Tony Moran.
Jimmy Sabater was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and timbales player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe Cuba Sextet in the 1960s and '70s, and later became the lead singer of various groups including Charlie Palmieri's Combo Gigante. His son, Jimmy Sabater Jr., is a trumpeter and bandleader.
Here It Is is an album by the American music group the Cover Girls, released in 1992.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
