ENTERTAINMENT
IN BRIEF
or
ho
You've got your Prince of
Soul, Queen of Soul, King of
Rock 'n' Soul and Godfather of
Soul.
Well, hold on, Ladies and
Gentlemen, because right now,
we take great pleasure in present­
ing ... The Funky Divas of Soul!
Fact is, unless you listen to talk
.radto only and watch nothing but
public-access cable TV, you al­
ready know the Funky Divas.
They're En Vogue, the
California-based female four­
some whose four-octave vocal
range, ultra-tight, creatively ar­
ranged harmonies and classy,
sassy look has brought a refresh­
ing new sound and style.to 490s
R&B/Pop dance music.
Born To Sing, their April 1990
debut album for Atlantic
Records, spawned three consecu­
tive #1 �&B singles. The first
was "HoLd On, "which also hit #2
on the Pop charts, scored
platinum (one million copies),
and was the year's #1 R&B
single, according to Billboard.
The follow-up R&B hits "Lies "
and "You Don't have to Worry"
pushed the album past the
platinum plateau.
IN EARLY 1991, En Vogue
were honored with five nomina­
tions in the Fifth Annual Soul
Train Music Awards, with "Hold
On" coringawinas1 's"Best
Single By A Band Or Group." En
Vogue wa al nominated for a
Grammy Award in the "Be t
R&B performance By A Duo Or
Group" ategory.
And now, t m t popular
female v cal group ince The
Suprem jumps back with their
much-anticipated econd album.
Relea ed by Ea (West America
in lat March 1992, Funky Diva
Troop i riou
m ic nd th b in
ing it. In th
, the group h en
m control of th ir career.
The group dumped the
produee who ve them
th ir hi "M macita" "My
He rt", nd "Th t' My
P rogativ" nd opted to
produce th m elve .
. Th y'v chuc ed their old
manag m nt team nd each
are looking for ch nee to
ibly go 010.
Curr ntly on th ch rts
with their latest ingle,
"Whatever It Ta ", Troop
i doing things a littl dif­
ferent and a whole lot
"deepa", Although Troop
sold over 400,000 copies of
their debut release, and over
860,00 with their followup
album, group member Steve
Russell told Urban Network
Magazine that the quintet
wasn't happy with the
figures, and are looking to
bust 5 million copies from
their latest releas , "Deepa".
The group says this
album has a chance to hit that
mark since it's more Troop
than any other. Not only did
they have a hand in the
, producing and writing of the
. album, but they took time to
make sure everything went
just right.
"We too a longer time to
choose our songs. We all
took our time and that's what
mad t dl erence," R •
sell a . We v groomed
ourselv musically, nd it
was time".
While Gerald Levert,
Marc Gordon, Chuckii
Booker, Zane Giles, and
Zack Harmon were being
axed from Troop's produc­
tion slate, so was Troop's
management team, Platinum
Goid- Productions. After
touring with Hammer in
1990, the group decided to
hook up with Hammer's
Bust It Management.
But Platinum Gold put up
a big fight. Reports Russell,
"the past few years has
meant a whole lot of litiga­
tion trying to get out of the
old management. They
were trying to bury us. It
was like something right out
of "Spinal Tap".
"With a new attitude and
deeper perspective on
things, Troop is making their
way up the charts. Even
though the guys are looking
forward to big things hap­
pening for the group, they
still have thei r own in­
dividual interests to pursue.
Along with Queen Latifah
and Levert, Troop laid down
the tracks on "For The Love
o/Money", which is featured
on the' platinum soundtrack
of "New Jack City".
The guys also made a
cameo a ppearance in the
film. And while acting isn't
in their immediate plans, the
group is featured in some up­
coming commercial spots
for the "Rock The Vote"
campaign. Group members
John Harreld, Steve Russell
and Allen McNeil are each
planning to drop solo
projects. But the group is
not breaking up, they just
want to spread their wings.
Troop's follow up single
to "Whatever It Takes" is a
tune called "Sweet Novem­
ber". . Early this fall, the
group hopes to headline in
their own concert tour.
_ compiled by K. Barks
- special contributor:
RadioScope ... Th Column
features our favorite four femmes
letting their voices soar on 12 new
tracks, all produced by Thomas
McElroy and Denzil Foster (who
helmed the Born To Sing sessions
as well).
McElroy/Foster penned 9 of
the Funky Divas songs, which
span the stylistic spectrum of
funk-infused R&B, soul, hip­
hop, rap and rock. There's assy
funk ("My Lovin' (You're Never
Gonna Get It)" - the leadoff
single and video - and ("Love
Don't Love You"); kickin' hip­
hop ("Hip Hop Lover," "It Ain't
Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings, ");
house music ("What Is Love");
funk 'n' roll with a message
("This Is Your Life, "): rock ("Free
Your Mind",; sensuous reggae
("Desire"); and even a benedic­
tion (the brief clo ing
, "Thanks.Prayer" - something
the four women do together
before and after each show they
perform).
Of the three Funky Divas
covers, two were written black in
1975 by legendary R&B/pop
wri ter/producer/singer Curtis
Mayfield - the soul ballad
"Giving Him Something He Can
FeeL" and the mid-tempo funker"
"Hooked On Your Love." With
the voices and music arranged
and performed in fine Chicago­
soul style, the young women pay
soulful tribute to Mayfield, and
their own mu ical ro ts.
The third non-original i
"Yesterday," the Pa ul Me­
Cartney-penned cia ic that in
1965 was a #1 mash by The
Beatles for four week. Th
song's been recorded 2,500 times
and counting, yet the Divas'
funky, soulful take on the tune­
is fre h, �"�ound . like it wa
ju t cooked up ... wcll y t rday!
.,
r "
MCELROY and Fo ter al 0
played keyboard , programmed
the beats and contributed some of
the dialog heard on Funky Divas.
The duo brought in a versatile and
very funky bunch of player for
the sessions, among them
guitarist/ba i t Jinx Jone , sax
. ace Jeffrey McCormick, percus­
sionist Juan Escovedo and drum­
mer Michael Fellows. Wayne
Jackson rapped on "Hip-Hop
Lover," and wrote the rap for "It
Ain't Over Till The Fat Lady
Sings," while Chuckii Booker
added dialog to various tracks.
Looking back on the pers nat
hi tories of the Funky Divas
and how they m t .it's cle: r they
really were born to ing. ow in
their early-to-mid-2 s, each
started singing and performing as
youngsters, growing up in
separate part f the c untry
(Dawn Robinson in Connecticut,
Terry in Texas, Maxine in New
Jersey then Northern California,
and Cindy in San Francisco).
During the rnid-l O " a each
pursued prof ional careers 10
, music and acting, their path
crossed or the fir t time. Cindy
and Terry met at an audition in
Houston. Cindy met Maxine in
1986 while performing in a San
Francisco stage pr duction. Ma.x­
ine and Dawn met while at their
hairdres er' shortly after that. At
the time, they appeared t be just
chance encounters.
Then, in a rather rcmarkble
coincidence, all four converged
on the Bay Area in 1 . to audi­
ti n for Fo ter and MElroy. wh
were looking to put to ether a
female vocal group f r FM2
aconccpt album the two were cut­
ting for Atlanti. indy, Terry.
Maxine and Dawn be ted all
competiti n, and En V u wa
created a treat just to thank their
many new fan : Remix To Sing, a .
special ix- ng album sporting
slamrnin' new mixes of five key �
tracks from Born To Sing, plu
"Silent Nite," a new Christmas
song produced by Chuckii
Booker, and available only on
Remix.
While off the road and in the
tudio, the quartet was hardly out
of the public eye. Their Diet oke
spot, directed by Spike ("Do The
Right Thing," "Jungle Fever") •
Lee, began airing nationally on
broadcast and cable TV. And in
December ' 1, our favorite 0
Funky Divas graced the cover of
E ence magazine, and were fea­
tured inside in a six-page, full­
color pread, modeling their
favorite fa hion for performing
and partying, romancing and
relaxing.
En Vogu ,in act, i French for
born.
With Fo ter and McElroy's
creative input, En Vogue co­
wrote six of the ongs for Born To
Sing, which wa rec rded in
autumn 1989 and released the
next spring to immediate critical
a claim and chart succes ..
To upport the album and it
, singles, En Vogue p rformed live
'on many m aj r television
programs, among them "The Ar­
senio HaLL Show," "Oprah
Winfrey," "BET Video LP" and
"Showtime at the Apollo "as well
as both the Soul Train and Gram­
my Award show'. The ladie
also performed on stages
throughout the nation, n major­
venue tours with superstar M.e.
Hammer and R&B favorite Fred­
die Jackson.
I AUTUM '91 as En
Vogue wound up their Born To
Sing. roadwork and got busy
recording Funky Diva, the y
See DIVAS. 82
EnVogue
and
Arrested
Development
Sept. 26, 1992
7:30pm
Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward
(313) 596-3287