On this page, I will feature a couple of my favorite artists in the genre of R&B. If you have an artist in my mind, feel free to email me from my home page or voice your opinion on my discussion board. I have many favorites of my own, but I'm only putting 2 at a time. Being a college student, I don't have much free time. I feel it's appropriate to start with 2 of my all-time favorite R&B artists.
:
Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston
In
1985, Nate and fellow by the name of Marc Nelson started a group. Initially
there were 5 members in this group. As people graduated from school,
the members of the group changed. Eventually, the group consisted
of Nate, Marc, Wanya, Shawn and Mike (joining the group in that order).
Eventually, Marc decided to become a solo artist (he is now a member
of the group AZ YET).
There was a radio station in Philadelphia that hosted an annual concert. Michael Bivins was the host of the 1989 concert, and the group saw this is an opprptunity. They used one backstage pass to sneak all four of them backstage where they met Michael Bivins. They asked if they could sing for him, and they sang an a capella version of "Can You Stand The Rain." Michael Bivins signed them to his record company and got them a contract with Motown Records. The rest is history.
Their debut album sold over 7 million copies and won many awards - 3 Grammies, 3 American Music Awards, 5 Soul Train Awards, 2 NAACP Image Awards, 2 MTV Music Awards and 1 World Music Award. On three occasions, they have broken the record for consecutive weeks at number 1. Every musical work by this group is great.
Through
her mother, R&B/Gospel star Cissy Houston and her cousin, Dionne Warwick,
Whitney has been exposed to music all of her life. She began singing
in the junior choir of New Hope Baptist Church. Her career blossomed
at an early age. While in her mid-teens, Whitney was singing backup
for artists like Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. Her career received a
boost when she teamed up with Teddy Pendergrass on "Hold Me,"
in 1984. In 1985, Whitney was signed to Arista records. Whitney
released her debut album the same year, and it sold over 13 million copies
in the U.S. and several million more overseas, thus making it the biggest
selling album by a solo artist.
Whitney has won a host of awards, too many to go over here. In 1995, she was inducted into the Soul Train Hall of Fame. She has also had a very successful movie career. Whitney has had great success in all of her endeavors. Her voice has improved, range and power, with every single year.
