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.
"Funkytown" is a song by American disco-funk group Lipps Inc., released by Casablanca Records in March 1980. It was written and produced by Steven Greenberg and released as the second single from the group's debut studio album, Mouth to Mouth (1979).
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most intensively with Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
Steven Greenberg is an American musician, record producer and the owner of the independent label October Records. He is best known for his band Lipps Inc.'s 1980 hit song "Funkytown".
The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American musical group 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".
The Family was a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to Prince's record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2011. This band should not be confused with a 1970s Minneapolis R&B band of the same name.
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.
Garry George "Jellybean" Johnson is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. As the drummer for The Time, Johnson worked alongside famed producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and recorded with and/or produced many notable artists including Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, New Edition and Janet Jackson, with whom he had the 1990 #1 single, "Black Cat".
Richard Marx is the debut studio album by singer/songwriter and record producer/arranger, Richard Marx, released in June 1987.
Flyte Tyme was a funk band from Minneapolis that launched the careers of vocalists Cynthia Johnson, Alexander O'Neal and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Many of the group's musicians would later work with Prince. The band's name is a sensational spelling of the phrase "flight time."
Mouth to Mouth is the debut studio album by the American disco/funk group Lipps Inc., released in November 1979 by Casablanca Records. It spawned the worldwide platinum hit "Funkytown", which reached #1 in 28 different countries. The album was mostly arranged, produced and written by Steven Greenberg, who also played multiple instruments on the album.
Stephen T. McClellan is an American concert promoter and educator. For 30 years he worked at a series of nightclubs housed in a former bus depot at the corner of First Avenue and 7th Street in downtown Minneapolis, promoting the careers of local musicians and expanding the reach of talent from around the world. These clubs—beginning with The Depot, Uncle Sam's, and Sam's —eventually became the First Avenue & 7th St. Entry nightclub that buoyed the Minneapolis sound and contributed to the development of alternative rock and independent music.
Change of Heart is the fifth studio album by the Italian/U.S. ensemble Change. It was released in 1984 and reached number one hundred and two on the US Billboard Album Chart, fifteen on the US Billboard Black Albums chart, and number thirty-four on the UK Albums Chart. Change of Heart includes the singles "Change of Heart", "It Burns Me Up", "You Are My Melody" and "Say You Love Me Again".
Billy Peterson is an American bass player, songwriter, composer, session musician and producer. Growing up in a family of professional musicians, Peterson started with music at a very young age. Billy is brother of Paul Peterson and Ricky Peterson.
Irvin Williams was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Throughout his nine-decade career, Williams focused on the Great American Songbook and the tenor sax as a solo vehicle.
Love an Adventure is the second studio album by Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo, released in 1985 by EMI Australia. The album peaked at No. 14 in Australia and produced three Australian top twenty singles, including "Don’t Go", which peaked at No. 4.
My Gift to You is the first and only Christmas album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal, released on November 11, 1988 by Tabu Records.
"Rock It" is the debut single by Minneapolis band Lipps Inc. and the lead single from their debut album Mouth to Mouth. The song peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1980.
James Quentin "Big Jim" Wright was an American musician, composer, songwriter, film score and record producer. A member of the vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, Wright became a frequent collaborator of production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and an in-house producer for their company, Flyte Tyme Productions, in the 1990s.
