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.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes was an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International. The remaining members of the Blue Notes have reunited for Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
Bell Biv DeVoe, also known as BBD, is an American music group from Boston, Massachusetts, formed from members of New Edition, consisting of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe.
New Edition is an American R&B/pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown with Ralph Tresvant serving as the group's lead singer for over 40 years. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and is considered the blueprint for what would become the modern boy band. The lineup originally consisted of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, and Ralph Tresvant, the lead singer. Brown left the group in late 1985 to begin a successful solo career, and they continued as a quartet for one album, before adding Johnny Gill to the lineup in 1987. Early hits included "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now", and "Mr. Telephone Man". Tresvant was the lead singer on most of the songs. In 1990, both Gill and Tresvant released their own solo albums, while the remaining three members formed the trio Bell Biv DeVoe; the group ceased to work together for the first half of the 1990s.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Johnny Gill Jr. is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released eight solo albums, three albums with New Edition, two albums with LSG, and one collaborative album with Stacy Lattisaw. Gill has sold over 15 million copies worldwide as a solo artist.
The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group. Their songs "Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's "Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the Billboard R&B Chart, including twelve top-10 R&B hits in the United States, starting in 1965. Sixteen of their songs have reached the Billboard Hot 100, including two top 10s and a number-one hit with their song "Kiss and Say Goodbye". They also charted eight U.S. R&B top 20 Albums, three of which were RIAA certified gold.
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.
Next are an American R&B musical trio, popular during the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are best known for their Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit single "Too Close". They are also known for "Wifey", "Butta Love" and "I Still Love You", all of which still receive frequent airplay on Urban Adult Contemporary radio stations in the U.S. and internationally.
Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originating from Miami, Florida. The group originally consisted of brothers Diamond Smith and Spectacular Smith, plus Corey Mathis and Marcus Cooper. Pleasure P was the group's main singer, while the other three members performed as rappers. After he departed in 2007 to embark on a solo career, the group shuffled through several replacement vocalists.
Blue Magic is an American R&B and soul group, and one of the more popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. Founded in 1972, the group's original members included lead singer Ted Mills with Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt. Their most notable songs included smooth soul ballads such as "Sideshow", "Spell", "What’s Come Over Me", "Three Ring Circus", and "Stop to Start".
"You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall. The song, Cooke's debut single, was a massive commercial success, becoming a No. 1 hit on both Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
Home Again is the sixth studio album by American R&B/pop group New Edition. Released on September 10, 1996, it is the only album to date to feature all six members of New Edition—Bobby Brown, who had left the group in 1985, rejoined the lineup—and was their final recording for MCA Records. Highly anticipated, and being their first album since, Heart Break (1988), the album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one, becoming the group's first album to open at number one, selling 227,000 in its first week sales. It also topped the Irish Albums Chart, and the US Billboard R&B Albums Chart as the group's first album in twelve years to do so since their self titled album in 1984. The album's success spawned four singles that collectively received moderate Billboard chart success. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA, for sales and shipments of over two million copies on February 4, 1997.
Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama", and "Look at Me ". In 1978, they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown and had further hits, including "Special Lady".
"Kiss and Say Goodbye" is a 1976 song by American R&B vocal group The Manhattans. It was written by group member Winfred Lovett, the bass singer and songwriter of the group, who did the song's spoken introduction. The song was recorded for the album The Manhattans, released in 1976 by Columbia Records, and was released as a single in March of the same year. "Kiss and Say Goodbye" became a worldwide success, appearing in the musical charts of countless countries, a Top 10 hit in many countries, including No. 1 in the US, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and in Europe (European Hot 100 Singles). With the exception of Adult Contemporary Chart, "Kiss and Say Goodbye" was ranked number 1 in US on all Pop Singles Charts and on all R&B Singles Charts. The song was one of the biggest hits of 1976 and of the 1970s.
Identify Yourself is a 1979 album by American R&B group the O'Jays, released on the Philadelphia International Records label. It was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, with four tracks produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, three by group members Eddie Levert and Walter Williams and one by the esteemed Philadelphia producer and composer Thom Bell.
"Shining Star" is a popular song written by the American songwriters and music producers Leo Graham and Paul Richmond. The song was recorded in 1980 by popular American R&B vocal group The Manhattans and released the same year on the album After Midnight. "Shining Star" was released as a single in 1980 and peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard R&B chart, and number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was most successful in New Zealand, where it reached position number 2; the same position that it also reached in the Black Oriented Singles of the Record World magazine in the USA. Although it did not reach the number-one on any chart, "Shining Star" was The Manhattans's highest-charting hit since the worldwide hit "Kiss and Say Goodbye" released in 1976.
"Forever by Your Side" is a romantic song written and produced by the American songwriters and music producers Marc Blatte and Larry Gottlieb. The song was recorded in 1983 by popular American R&B vocal group The Manhattans and released the same year on the album Forever by Your Side. The title track "Forever by Your Side" was released as a single in September 1983, and had moderate success in the US, peaking at number 30 on the R&B chart, but did not reach any position on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Crazy" is a song written and produced by the Americans songwriters and music producers John V. Anderson, Steve Williams and Steve Horton. The song was recorded in 1983 by popular American R&B vocal group The Manhattans and released the same year on the album Forever by Your Side by Columbia Records. "Crazy" was released as a single in June 1983, reaching No. 4 on the R&B chart, and No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. Besides the United States, "Crazy" peaked at No. 63 on the UK Singles chart. Two formats were released for the single of "Crazy". The first was 7" single, where "Crazy" was only 3:55 in length and containing the song "Love Is Gonna Find You" on B-side. The second was 12" single, containing the instrumental version of "Crazy" on B-side.
Joe N Little III is an American singer, songwriter and producer who is best known as the lead singer of the 90s R&B group, Rude Boys, who had two No. 1 R&B singles, "Written All Over Your Face" and "Are You Lonely For Me", on Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Chart. They received a Billboard Award for "Written All Over Your Face", as the No. 1 R&B song of 1991.
