Arista Records, Inc. is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by Bertelsmann Music Group. The label was founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis. Along with Epic Records, RCA Records, and Columbia Records, Arista is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Mercury Records was an American record label that had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Later Mercury was owned by Philips, PolyGram, and Universal Music Group. In the United States, it operated through Island Records; in the United Kingdom, it was distributed by EMI Records.
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Alexander O'Neal, Regina Belle, and Swing Out Sister. Their music has been sampled in hit songs by the Luniz, Puff Daddy, Ashanti, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Jessica Simpson, and others. Foster & McElroy are best known as the founders of the group En Vogue, listed by Billboard as one of the Top 10 Girl Groups of All Time. In addition to producing music for various television shows, they are also credited for songs in numerous movie soundtracks including The Great White Hype, Lean on Me, and Who's That Girl.
Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/R&B group from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums and keyboards. Additional original founders are Choreographer and Bassist, Elijah "EB" Baker; Songwriter, Producer and Keyboardist Antron "Ice Cream" Haile; and Producer and Jazz Guitarist John "Jubu" Smith. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Toni, Toné" as a joke, until they realized it "had a nice ring to it".
For Real is an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1993. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Billboard Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. The ladies have now reunited and are touring.
Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or gospel singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which had incorporated hip-hop influences into R&B music. By contrast, hip hop soul is, as described in The Encyclopedia of African American Music, "quite literally soul singing over hip hop grooves".
"You Belong to Me" is a romantic popular music ballad from the 1950s. It is well known for its opening line, "See the pyramids along the Nile". The song was published in Hollywood on April 21, 1952, and the most popular version was by Jo Stafford, reaching No. 1 on both the UK and US singles charts.
The Comfort Zone is the second studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams, released on August 20, 1991, by Mercury's Wing Records Label.
Who? is the debut album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné! It was released on April 18, 1988, by Wing Records and produced by Foster & McElroy, friends of the band from their hometown of Oakland, California. The album was recorded at Moon Studios in Sacramento.
The Revival is the second studio album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on May 8, 1990, by Wing Records. It was produced and arranged primarily by the band, although they were assisted on a few songs by the production duo Foster & McElroy, who had produced their first album, Who? (1988). The band recorded at several studios in California with the assistance of the Synclavier, an early music workstation.
Sons of Soul is the third album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on June 22, 1993, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. It follows the success of their 1990 album The Revival, which had extended their popularity beyond R&B audiences and into the mainstream.
House of Music is the fourth and final album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on November 19, 1996, by Mercury Records. It follows the success of the band's 1993 album Sons of Soul and a hiatus during which each member pursued individual musical projects.
Hits is a compilation album by Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 28, 1997, by Mercury Records and was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné!, Foster & McElroy and Quik. Hits peaked at No. 54 on the Top R&B Albums chart.
The 1994 Soul Train Music Awards were held on Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Johnny Gill.
"If I Had No Loot" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! It was released on June 1, 1993, as the lead single from their 1993 album, Sons of Soul. The song was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné! and co-written by group member Raphael Wiggins, who said that it is about fair-weather friends. It has a new jack swing beat, pronounced guitar licks, and vocal samples from Boogie Down Productions' 1987 song "Remix for P Is Free" and Ice Cube's 1991 song "The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit".
"Anniversary" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on September 14, 1993, as the second single from their studio album Sons of Soul (1993). The song was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné! and written by group member Raphael Wiggins and keyboardist Carl Wheeler. The bolero-like slow jam features lush strings and moody violin, and is about a mature, lasting love, with lyrics that bestow warmth and respect upon a female subject.
"(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released by Mercury and Polygram Records on January 11, 1994, as the third single from their 1993 album Sons of Soul. The midtempo love ballad was written and produced by the group and recorded at Paradise Recording Studio in Sacramento, California.
"Slow Wine" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on July 19, 1994, by Mercury Records and Polygram Records as the fifth and final single from their 1993 album Sons of Soul. It was recorded in 1993 at Caribbean Sound Basin in Trinidad, and the group drew on the local music scene and their recreational activities there. "Slow Wine" is a sensual R&B song that describes a Trinidadian slow grind dance.
