The Funk, Soul, R&B Thread.

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The hardest place to make it!!! Bar none!!:woot:

Did you know Luther Vandross lost his talent contest there??
 
Memphis Slim said:
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The hardest place to make it!!! Bar none!!:woot:

Did you know Luther Vandross lost his talent contest there??

Lauryn Hill as well...
 
BlackHardKnight said:
Yea but Cris never got over the hump and really make a name for himself.


How does that happen?? Cats with a lot of talent just fizzle.......
 
Yo Knight........you brought up Don Cormelius.........What about this guy and his impact on black music in the video era???

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Donnie Simpson was a class act on BET's Video Soul....
 
Memphis Slim said:
Yo Knight........you brought up Don Cormelius.........What about this guy and his impact on black music in the video era???

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Donnie Simpson was a class act on BET's Video Soul....

Friday nights at 9pm... This Donnie Simpson and welcome to Video Soul.
 
Memphis Slim said:
How does that happen?? Cats with a lot of talent just fizzle.......

Talent is one part...image and concerts. Chris had that pretty boy look that most black women were tired of. Just wasn't in the card for CW.:trans:
 
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After her career went south she managed TLC.......
I think she was married to L.A. Reid, at one time.

I liked her music.....
 
Zapp (also known as the Zapp Band) was a soul and funk band formed in 1978 by brothers Roger Troutman , Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman, and Terry Troutman, and also included Bobby Glover, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce, Jerome Derrickson, Sherman Fleetwood, Gregory Jackson, and [[Michael Warren (musician)|Michael Warren],Robert"BIGG ROBB"Smith,Dale Degroat,Riccardo Bray,Bart"sure2b"Thomas
&Nicole Cottom.
Zapp is perhaps best known for its huge 1980 R&B hit "More Bounce to the Ounce," co-produced by Bootsy Collins. The group recorded five albums under the name Zapp, and Roger Troutman recorded five others under his own name.
Roger and Zapp are known for the distinctive synthesized sound produced by recording vocals through a Talk box fed by an electronic synthesizer. Roger's voice can be heard on the Dr. Dre-produced 1996 2Pac hit "California Love". Roger also appeared on songs by Johnny Gill, Keith Sweat, Eric Benet and H-Town amongst others. Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love", a track that was used by countless hip hop and rap crews, was inspired by "More Bounce to the Ounce". Terry Troutman also worked with various rappers.
Their tracks are still being used today, without remix or any alterations and are commonly danced to by pop performers.
Innovative funkster Roger Troutman was the master of the Talk box -- an effects pedal usually used by guitarists, that Roger connected to keyboard to create robotic-sounding vocals. What James Jamerson did for the bass, Jimi Hendrix for the guitar, and Stevie Wonder for the harmonica, Troutman did for the Talk Box. As a member of Zapp, a band that included his brothers Larry, Lester, and Terry, and recording under the solo moniker of Roger, he helped define and give life to a difficult-to-play instrument that previously was used for gimmicky effects and, as played by others, was basically devoid of personality. With his winning smile and charming playfulness, Troutman was a favorite on stage and record. He'd often bring his Talk Box along on radio interviews, treating the listeners to his amazing skills. Born November 29, 1951, in Hamilton, OH, Troutman developed his musical skills in the thriving Dayton, OH, R&B/soul/funk scene of the '70s along with the Ohio Players and others.


As protégé of Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton and with Troutman's Talkbox-filtered vocals up front, Zapp had several hits for Warner Bros. Records during the '80s: "More Bounce to the Ounce" (number two R&B for two weeks, fall 1980), "Be Alright Pt.1" (number 26 R&B, late 1980), "Dance Floor (Part 1)" (number one R&B, summer 1982), "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" (number ten R&B, fall 1982), "I Can Make You Dance (Pt.1)" (number four R&B, summer 1983), "Heartbreaker (Pt.1)" (number 15 R&B, fall 1983), the funk/pop music legends tribute "It Doesn't Really Matter" (number 41 R&B, fall 1985), the classic "Computer Love (Pt.1)" (number eight R&B, late 1986), "Ooh Baby Baby" (number 18 R&B, fall 1989), and Zapp & Roger's "Mega Medley" (number 30 R&B, summer 1993).


Like his mentor Clinton, who recorded for several labels at the same time under different monikers, Troutman recorded simultaneously as Roger, releasing albums and hit singles on Warner Bros. and its subsidiary label Reprise: a cover of the Gladys Knight and the Pips/Marvin Gaye hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (number one R&B for two weeks, fall 1981), "Do It Roger" (number 24 R&B, late 1981), "In the Mix" (number ten R&B, spring 1984), a cover of Wilson Pickett's "Midnight Hour Pt.1" featuring the Mighty Clouds of Joy (number 34 R&B, spring 1984), "I Want to Be Your Man" (number one R&B, number three pop, fall 1987), "Thrill Seekers" (number 27 R&B, early 1988), "(Everybody) Get Up" (number 19 R&B, fall 1991), "Take Me Back" (number 37 R&B, early 1992), "Slow and Easy" (number 18 R&B, fall 1993), and the remix of "Computer Love" featuring Shirley Murdock and Charlie Wilson (number 65 R&B). Troutman also guested on "Boom! There She Was" by the group Scritti Politti (number 53 pop, summer 1988).
In the mid-'80s, Troutman opened a state-of-the-art recording studio in Dayton called Troutman Sound Labs. Working with singer Shirley Murdock and the Ohio Players' Sugarfoot, Troutman recorded material whose resulting vinyl LP releases had pristine, almost CD-quality clarity before there were CDs. Murdock had hits with "No More" (number 24 R&B), "As We Lay" (number five R&B, fall 1986), "Go on Without You" (number five R&B, early 1987), "Husband" (number five R&B, summer 1988), "In Your Eyes" (number seven R&B, summer 1991), and "Stay With Me Tonight" (number 34 R&B, fall 1991). Sugarfoot's late-'80s Warner Bros. LP Kiss is a favorite of funk connoisseurs.


As the hits waned, the Troutman brothers opened a housing business headed by their brother Larry that in the '90s, according to published reports, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owing over three million dollars in debt and over $400,000 in delinquent taxes.


During the late '90s, Troutman enjoyed a renaissance. Zapp & Roger's hits were sampled by a slew of rap and hip-hop artists including Hammer, 2Pac, Dru Hill, Dr. Dre, Kris Kross, Blackstreet, Janet Jackson, the Notorious B.I.G., H-Town, Ice Cube, Redman, EPMD, Ralph Tresvant, and Snoop Dogg. Troutman was spotlighted on Johnny Gill's 1997 single "It's Your Body." On the morning of April 25, 1999, Roger Troutman was found shot behind the alley of his Roger Tee Enterprises. Witnesses reported seeing a man in a black car leave the scene of the crime. His brother Larry, a former Zapp member, was found fatally shot in a Lincoln sedan crashed against a tree seven blocks from the studio. The county coroner ruled the shootings a murder/suicide. Roger Troutman died at age 47 on April 25, 1999, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, OH. Roger Troutman's last two tracks, "Party Time" and "Nuthin' but a Party," are on the compilation United We Funk from Major Label/Pyramid/Rhino. The set includes tracks by Rick James, the SOS Band, the Gap Band, ConFunkShun, and the System. The following year, Thump Records released Tribute to Roger Troutman, which featured a tribute produced by fellow bandmate and proteg'e BIGG ROBB as well as a compilation of hip-hop and R&B songs that sampled and showcased Troutman's work. ~ Ed Hogan, All Music Guide
In October 2004 I Can Make You Dance appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on Funk radio station Bounce FM.



 
Freddie Jackson (born Frederick Anthony Jackson on October 2, 1956, Harlem, New York City, NY) is an American soul singer. He was an important figure in R&B during the 1980s and early 1990s. Among his well-known hits are "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Time's Sake)," "Jam Tonight," "Do Me Again," and "You are My Lady."
Jackson was trained as a gospel singer from an early age, singing at the White Rock Baptist Church. There he met Paul Laurence, who would later become his producer and songwriting partner. After completing school, Jackson joined Laurence's group LJE (Laurence-Jones Ensemble) and played the New York club scene. During the early '80s, Jackson moved to the West Coast and sang lead with the R&B band Mystic Merlin, but soon returned to New York to work with Laurence at the Hush Productions company. He sang on demo recordings of Laurence's compositions, and also served as a backup singer for Melba Moore after she caught his nightclub act.
In 1985, Jackson landed a deal with Capitol Records and issued his debut album, Rock Me Tonight. The Laurence-penned title track stormed the R&B charts, spending six weeks at number one, and made Jackson an instant sensation on urban contemporary radio. "You Are My Lady" gave him a second straight R&B chart-topper, and also proved to be his highest-charting single on the pop side, peaking at number 13. With "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" and "Love Is Just a Touch Away" also hitting the R&B Top Ten, Rock Me Tonight topped the R&B album charts and went platinum. Jackson wasted no time issuing a follow-up set; Just Like the First Time appeared in 1986 on the heels of a number one R&B duet with Melba Moore, "A Little Bit More" (from her album A Lot of Love). Another platinum seller, Just Like the First Time continued Jackson's incredible dominance of the R&B singles charts; "Tasty Love," "Have You Ever Loved Somebody," and "Jam Tonight" all hit number one, while "I Don't Want to Lose Your Love" went to number two.
The pace of Jackson's success slowed with the 1988 release of Don't Let Love Slip Away, which nonetheless featured another R&B chart-topper in "Hey Lover", plus further hits in "Nice and Slow" and "Crazy (For Me)". The title track of 1990's Do Me Again duplicated that feat, and "Main Course" just missed, topping out at number two. Even so, Jackson's early placings in the lower reaches of the pop Top 40 had long since disappeared, and some critics charged that his albums were growing too similar to one another. Perhaps it was a lack of distinctiveness in his material that hurt Jackson's chances for a pop breakthrough; whatever the case, 1992's Time for Love failed to duplicate the crossover success Luther Vandross was belatedly enjoying, despite a hit cover of the soul classic "Me and Mrs. Jones."
Seeking a new beginning, Jackson parted ways with Capitol in late 1993, and signed with RCA. His label debut, Here It Is, appeared the following year, with diminished commercial returns -- in part because his straightforwardly romantic ballad style was increasingly out of step with the sexually explicit new breed of R&B crooner. Following a Christmas album, Jackson split with RCA and recorded Private Party for the much smaller Street Life imprint in 1995. Several years of silence ensued, until Orpheus issued Life After 30 in late 1999; the equally low-key release Live in Concert followed in 2000. After returning to the charts with It's Your Move in February 2004, Jackson is ready to release his tenth studio album, Transitions, on September 26, 2006 under the record label Orpheus Music.



 
Stephanie Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of 9. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the world-famous Apollo Theater where she won over a record six times.
In 1975, Mills' career took a rise when she first played Dorothy in an African-American adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz called The Wiz on Broadway. Filled with a more urban style of music and scenery, The Wiz made Mills a star particularly because of her stellar performance of the song, Home. It would become her signature tune for years, and would be covered later by Diana Ross for the big-screen adaptation three years later and by Whitney Houston for her dramatic musical performance debut on TV in the early-1980s.
In 1973, Mills' musical career began as she opened for the Isley Brothers. A year later, after being discovered by Jackson 5 singer Jermaine Jackson, she signed with Motown Records in 1974. Her first two albums fail to generate a buzz as the label couldn't find Mills' sound. In 1976, she left the label and continued on with her tenure on The Wiz.
Musical success was eluded until 1979, when signed under the 20th Century Fox record label, Mills found her breakthrough in disco music, recording now-classic danceable songs such as "Put Your Body In It", "You Can Get Over", and "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'". The resulting album, What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin, was Mills' first gold record.
She quickly followed the success with 1980's Sweet Sensation, which featured Mills' biggest hit to date, the Reggie Lucas-produced "I Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980. 1981's Stephanie featured a top hit for her and soul legend Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Two Hearts", while her 1983 album, Merciless, featured her hit cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?".
Success for Mills had peaked until 1985, when her version of the Angela Winbush-penned "I've Learned to Respect the Power of Love", hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. Mills truly returned, however, with her next release, If I Were Your Woman in 1987 under MCA Records, which she was now signed. The hits coming off the album include the title track, originally a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1971, "I Feel Good All Over" (a song her label mate Patti LaBelle didn't want to cover), and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me", to name a few of the songs released. The album reached platinum status.
Mills' success continued with 1989's Home album. The hits off that album include "The Comfort of a Man", the title track, a cover of her old standard from The Wiz and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel". It became another platinum record for Mills.
Mills would record one more album (1992's Something Real) and a Christmas album before being let go from her contract with MCA in 1992. Mills released "Personal Inspirations" her first gospel record in 1995, and then took a break from recording to care for her son.
Mills returned to musical theatre in 1997, playing the lead in a major production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. Mills was heavily featured in the soundtrack CD that resulted from this production.
In 2000, Mills began a comeback with singles recorded with Be Be Winans and rapper DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing Born For This on August 3, 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go", garnered buzz at urban contemporary radio. From 2004-2006 Mills voiced the character of Serenity Zilla in Gene Simmons' animated television show My Dad the Rock Star on NickToons. Mills is currently touring and a 2-disc career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled Gold was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier this year.



 
Karyn Layvonne White was born in Los Angeles, as the youngest of five children. She sang in a church choir and worked as a backing singer, then sang on Jeff Lorber's single "Facts of Love" before signing to Warner Bros. Records and, after graduating from Howard University, released her self-titled debut album in 1988. Produced by Babyface, Karyn White sold almost 2 million copies, and contained the hit singles "The Way You Love Me," "Secret Rendezvous," "Superwoman" and "Love Saw It", a duet with Babyface.
Her follow-up album was Ritual of Love in 1991. It had songs produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featured the hit single "Romantic", which hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from the album include "The Way I Feel About You," "Walkin' the Dog," and "Do Unto Me." White married Terry Lewis in 1992 and together they had a daughter, Ashley Nicole. After divorcing Lewis, White has since remarried to producer/musician Bobby G, a virtuoso guitarist who has played in her band and with such artists as Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Her next album was Make Him Do Right in 1994. The album did not sell particularly well, although she did chart with the singles "Hungah" and the Babyface-penned "Can I Stay with You", which became her final U.S. R&B top-ten hit early the following year.
White left Warner Bros. Records in 1995 and dropped out of the music public eye for many years. She currently resides in Sacramento, California and is working on her first album in over twelve years. The album, titled Action Fighter, is slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2006.

 
BlackHardKnight said:
Karyn Layvonne White was born in Los Angeles, as the youngest of five children. She sang in a church choir and worked as a backing singer, then sang on Jeff Lorber's single "Facts of Love" before signing to Warner Bros. Records and, after graduating from Howard University, released her self-titled debut album in 1988. Produced by Babyface, Karyn White sold almost 2 million copies, and contained the hit singles "The Way You Love Me," "Secret Rendezvous," "Superwoman" and "Love Saw It", a duet with Babyface.
Her follow-up album was Ritual of Love in 1991. It had songs produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featured the hit single "Romantic", which hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from the album include "The Way I Feel About You," "Walkin' the Dog," and "Do Unto Me." White married Terry Lewis in 1992 and together they had a daughter, Ashley Nicole. After divorcing Lewis, White has since remarried to producer/musician Bobby G, a virtuoso guitarist who has played in her band and with such artists as Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Her next album was Make Him Do Right in 1994. The album did not sell particularly well, although she did chart with the singles "Hungah" and the Babyface-penned "Can I Stay with You", which became her final U.S. R&B top-ten hit early the following year.
White left Warner Bros. Records in 1995 and dropped out of the music public eye for many years. She currently resides in Sacramento, California and is working on her first album in over twelve years. The album, titled Action Fighter, is slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2006.



She had a great formula working with LaFace records. But when she married Terry Lewis, I guess she felt she had to let Flytetyme produce her stuff. That was the end......... :csad: Jam & Lewis didn't know how to use her voice.
 
Anybody pick up the new Tyrese album? I'm not so much interested in his rapping CD, but the R&B one should be good.
 
Colossal Spoons said:
Anybody pick up the new Tyrese album? I'm not so much interested in his rapping CD, but the R&B one should be good.

Naah ..haven't heard it.
 

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