THE FIRST TIME: PART SIXTEEN

"OOOOOOOHHH. . .ON THE TLC TIP" - TLC (1992)

Atlanta teenager, Crystal Jones wanted to find two other female singers to start a group called 2nd Nature. She eventually found Tionne Watkins and a rapper, Lisa Lopes and the band was formed in 1990. 2nd Nature managed to get an audition with Peri Reid, who is better known as r&b singer, Pebbles and the then-wife of producer, Antonio "L.A." Reid. She had started a management company and was looking for talent. Reid was impressed by the trio and brought them to LaFace Records that was run by her husband and singer/producer, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. They signed the group but dropped Jones and replaced her with back-up dancer, Rozonda Thomas and renamed the trio, "TLC" . Peri Reid became thier manager and each girl was given a nickname; Thomas became "Chilli", Watkins was named "T-Boz" and Lopes would be known as "Left-Eye".

The debut album was recorded in short order with top producers, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri and "L.A." and Babyface and "Ooooooohh. . .On The TLC Tip" (awful title) was released in 1992. The album became an immediate smash, selling over four million copies and featured three top-ten hits; "Ain't 2 Proud To Beg", "What About Your Friends" and "Baby-Baby-Baby". Their music videos helped form their playful image as they wore over-sized, bright-colored clothes with condoms attached to promote safer sex. After completing their first tour opening for MC Hammer, the group decided to end their business relationship with Reid, although she continued to receive royalties from future projects.

During the recording of TLC's second album, Lopes was in rehab dealing with a drinking problem so due to that, Watkins and Thomas became the focus on the tracks. "Crazy Sexy Cool" was released in 1994 and would become the biggest success of their careers.All four singles reached the top-five on the U.S. pop chart with two, "Creep" and "Waterfalls" making it to number one. The album would sell an incredible eleven million copies in America alone and won the trio two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group.

The next TLC album was delayed due to the group's main producer, Dallas Austin wanting more financial compensation for his work which was made more complicated because he was dating Thomas by this time and they had a son, Tron. Each member decided to work on solo music or film projects during this stand-off. An agreement was finally reached and the third album, "Fan Mail" was released in 1999. Austin took TLC to a more pop sound and it became another smash for the group. The two singles, "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty" both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and TLC won three more Grammys for this project including Best R&B Album. During this time, Lopes increasingly grew unhappy due to her limited participation in TLC and became unpleasantly vocal about this. The differences were settled and it was decided that the group should take some time off. Lopes released a solo album, "Super Nova" in 2001 and although it became a minor hit in the U.K., it was never released in the U.S.

The following year, TLC had begun work on their next album with Dallas Austin but recording had to be postponed because Watkins became very ill due to complications from sickle-cell anemia. After Watkins recovered, Lopes had taken off to Honduras to work on a second solo album and record a documentary, so the other two members of the band considered plans on going forward as a duo. On April 25, 2002, Lisa Lopes was killed in a car crash.  It was decided to complete the album and "3D" was released six months after the death of "Left-Eye" but TLC would disband after this recording. The album was not as successful as  their previous works but achieved some minor radio play.

Over the years, "Chilli" and "T-Boz" have come back together as TLC for occasional television appearances and a small "Greatest Hits" concert tour through Asia. There has even been talk of them even possibly recording another album together in the near future.

"What About Your Friends" - TLC (1992)

Enjoy the beautifully sexy vid for "Creep" where the girls never looked lovelier thanks to the work of photographer/director. Mathew Ralston




"DAMN THE TORPEDOES" - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (1979)

He was born in 1950 and grew-up in Gainesville, FL, Tom Petty decided he wanted to be a rock & roll singer at the age of ten after watching Elvis Presley while he was shooting the film, "Follow That Dream" in nearby Ocalia. After learning to play the bass and guitar, Petty formed several bands as a teenager. He put together, Mudcrutch in 1970 which consisted of Danny Roberts on guitar, Mike Campbell on guitar, keyboardist, Benmont Tench and Randall Marsh as the drummer. The group became a popular local band which lead to them being signed to the L.A. based label, Shelter Records in 1974.  Mudcrutch released a single, "Depot Street" the following year but it failed to garner any national success. The label dropped the band, and some musicians moved on. Petty considered going solo but decided to continue with Campbell and Tench and recruited Ron Blair and Stan Lynch and became Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Their self-titled debut was released on Shelter in 1976. It was barely noticed in the U.S. but received a lot of attention in Britain following a tour of the country. A single,"Anything That's Rock & Roll"  reached the top forty there and this buzz made it back to America.  Another single from the album, "Breakdown" was re-released in the U.S. and made it to number forty on the pop chart with the album eventually selling a half a million copies. Petty and the band quickly released a follow-up album, "You're Gonna Get It" in 1978. While the none of the singles had any major impact but this album also managed to go gold.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' big breakthrough came with their 1979 third release, "Damn The Torpedoes" with two singles, "Don't Do Me Like That' and "Refugee" both making it in to the U.S. top twenty. The album would ultimately sell over two million copies.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers enjoyed several hit albums and successful tours over the following years. Petty would record three "solo" album, although members of The Heartbreakers participated on some of the projects, with the most successful being his first, 1989's "Full Moon River" which sold five million copies in the U.S. alone.

In 1988, Petty, along with rock legends, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra), formed a super group called The Traveling Wilburys and recorded a self-titled album. It became a surprise hit, selling three million copies and won them a Grammy for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group.

Petty has been known for his insistence on artistic control and freedom as he balked when his label was sold and bought by MCA Records in 1979 and he was going to be moved to a new label without his consent. He also loudly objected with MCA when they were going to sell his 1981 album, "Hard Promises" for a dollar more than standard due to their idea of "superstar pricing" and eventually dropped the plan.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have recorded twelve studio albums with their latest being, "Mojo" in 2010, were inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and the band has sold over sixty million album over their career.

"Don't Do Me Like That" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)

This delightfully,quirky music video for the 1985 song, "Don't Come Around Here No More" features an "Alice In Wonderland" theme with Petty as "the Mad Hatter". Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics co-wrote this song and appears at the beginning of the video as" the Caterpillar":




"FOREVER YOUR GIRL" - PAULA ABDUL (1988)

Paula Abdul was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, California in 1962. She attended Van Nuys High school where she was a cheerleader and honor student. As a child, Paula always love Hollywood musicals and dreamed of becoming a professional dancer.

While attending college in Northridge, Paula auditioned and was selected to become part of The Lakers Girls, the cheerleading squad for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. She quickly became the head choreographer for the squad and eventually dropped out of school to pursue a dancing career.

Abdul had met members of the Jacksons during Lakers games and she was approached to choreograph the music video for "Torture", a song from their 1984 album, "Victory". After this, she was asked to work on the Jacksons' "Victory" tour.  This began her career as a much sought after choreographer as she worked on films ("Big", "Coming To America"), television ("The Tracey Ullman Show", "The American Music Awards"), commercials and music videos with her most influential work was with Janet Jackson at the beginning of her fame. Paula even made an appearance in Jackson's video for the song, "Nasty".

Although she had no experience as a singer but because of her skills as a dancer, it was felt that she would be perfect in the visual age of music television. Abdul signed with Virgin Records, worked with a vocal coach, and with producers who could help shape her sound and "Forever Your Girl" was released in 1988. After the first two singles failed to get much traction, the third, "Straight Up" became a surprise hit, becoming her first number one song. The title track, "Cold-Hearted" and "Opposites Attract" would each follow to the top of the U.S. pop chart. Even her first two singles were re-released and had much bigger success. The album would go on to sell twelve million copies worldwide and win her a Grammy Award for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract".

A dark cloud would damper Abdul's success as she and her record label were sued in 1991 by Yvette Marine, a background singer on the album and an original member of The Mary Jane Girls, who claims that she provided "co-lead" vocals on several tracks and wanted compensation but Marine lost the case.

Abdul released her follow-up, "Spellbound" which also became a major success, selling over seven million copies. The album's first two singles, "Rush Rush" (with a music video that featured actor, Keanu Reeves) and "Promise Of A New Day" both reached number one and two other songs made it in to the top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She would also embark on her first world tour.

Although her 1995 album, "Head Over Heels" would go on to sell three million copies, but the singles did not receive much radio play. Abdul decided to put her music career on hold and focused on other projects such as starring in a TV movie and returned to choreographing film and theater.

In 2002, Abdul was asked to be a judge on a reality television music competition program, "American Idol" (which was based on the British show, "Pop Idol") along with musician, Randy Jackson and British A&R executive, Simon Cowell.  The show became a ratings smash and helped introduce several of today's top musical stars such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. During her time on the show, Abdul returned to the music charts for the first time in thirteen years with a song off of Randy Jackson's album, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow". The song made it to number two on the dance chart in 2008. Paula decided to leave "Idol" in 2009 and was replaced with comedian, Ellen DeGeneres.

Abdul executive produced and was the lead judge on the 2011 dance competition show, "Live To Dance" but the program only lasted one season. Later that year, Simon Cowell (who left "Idol" in 2010) asked her to join him as one of the judges on the American version of "The X Factor" along with record producer, "L.A." Reid and singer, Nicole Scherzinger. The show didn't do nearly as well as the network would have liked but the show will return for another season however without Scherzinger or Abdul.

Paula Abdul has been married twice; first to actor, Emillio Estevez in 1992 but it ended in divorce in 1994. She then married fashion designer, Brad Beckerman in 1996 but the couple split by 1998.

"Straight Up" - Paula Abdul (1988)

The video for "Cold-Hearted" featured Bob Fosse-styled dance moves and is one of her best:

THE FIRST TIME: PART FIFTEEN

"BILLY IDOL" - BILLY IDOL (1982)

In 1955, William Broad was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, England. His family moved to New York when William was two to pursue the American dream but the Broads returned to England four years later with his new baby sister, Jane in tow.

After completing a year of college at Sussex University for an English degree, Billy dropped out to join a gang of hardcore Sex Pistols fans who followed the band wherever they played. He shortly joined his first punk band as a guitarist and renamed himself, "Billy Idol" which was inspired from a teacher who described Billy as "idle". This band featured the future members of Siouxsie & The Banshees but Idol left to join another punk band, Chelsea in 1977.

Billy soon formed his own band with Chelsea band mate, Tony James, the bass player and added guitarist, Bob Andrews and Mark Laff on drums. They called themselves Generation X with Idol becoming the lead vocalist. Although they were very much a punk band but they were also influenced by the sounds of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Generation X signed with Chrysalis Records and recorded three albums, became one of the first punk bands to perform on the popular British television program, "Top Of The Pops" and were featured in the 1980 documentary,  "D.O.A." about the beginning of the punk movement before the group disbanded.

In 1981, Idol moved to New York to begin work as a solo artist. He first released a four-track EP called "Don't Stop" later that year with the purpose of generating some interest in the new rock artist. It featured a remake of Tommy James & The Shondells' hit, "Mony, Mony" and "Dancing With Myself" which was first recorded with his former band, Generation X.

The plan proved to be a success as there was high anticipation for his full-length, self-tilted debut released the following year. The first single, "Hot In The City" peaked at number twenty-three on the U.S. pop charts and although the next single, "White Wedding" only made it to number thirty-six but because of the popular music video, the song benefited by the influence of the new music channel, MTV. The video helped establish Idol's punk image and "White Wedding" has become his signature song.

His follow-up album, "Rebel Yell" in 1983 would become the biggest album of his career, selling well over two million copies. There were three hit singles with the ballad, "Eyes Without A Face" reaching number four on the charts.

After continued success over the next few years with the following albums, "Whiplash Smile" and the 1987 remix "Vital Idol", tragedy struck Billy Idol in 1990 as he was in a serious motorcycle accident in which he almost lost his leg and required a steel rod to be placed in it. Idol released "Charmed Life" later that year and despite his injuries, he went out to promote the album against his doctor's advice. The first single from the album, "Cradle of Love" would become Idol's highest charting, reaching number two on the pop charts.

Billy Idol has released seven studio albums to date including 1993's, "Cyberpunk" which was an experimental album and one of the first to be recorded using only a MAC computer and a Christmas album (?), "Happy Holidays" in 2006.

Billy Idol has never been married but has two children;  a son, William, born in 1988 with his long-time girlfriend, Perri Lister who was a dancer and appeared in the "White Wedding" video and a daughter, Bonnie Blue, who was born in 1989 from another relationship.

Check out Billy's first song to hit the U.S. charts:

 "Hot In The City" - Billy Idol (1982)

Here is the music video for "Dancing With Myself":



"BIG FUN" - SHALAMAR (1979)

Shalamar was originally created to capitalize on the popularity of the disco craze by Soul Train producer, Don Cornelius and the show's booker, Dick Griffey. The group was initially made up of session singers with Gary Mumford as the lead vocalist. Shalamar released their first album, "Uptown Festival" in 1975 with the title track, a melody of Motown hits set to a disco beat, that became a top forty pop hit in the U.S and Britain.

It was decided to add popular Soul Train dancers, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel with a new lead vocalist, Gerald Brown to the group and the new line-up released, "Disco Gardens" in 1978 on Dick Griffey's new label, SOLAR Records. The album had a hit song, "Take That To The Bank" that reached number eleven on the r&b charts. Brown, unhappy over a lack of payment, left Shalamar and was replaced by Howard Hewett in 1979.

The group was teamed up for with producer, Leon Sylver III (who was a member of the r&b family singing group, The Sylvers) who co-wrote and produced their next album, "Big Fun" released later in '79. The second single, "The Second Time Around" became a smash hit, reaching number eight on the pop chart and topping the r&b and dance charts. Due to this single, the album went gold.

Shalamar would record four more successful studio albums (with three of them also selling over a half a million copies) that featured several hits songs including, "Make That Move", "A Night To Remember" and "This Is For The Lover In You".

Shortly after the release of the 1983 album, "The Look", Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel both decided to leave the group due to creative differences and their increasing frustrations with Dick Griffey and his label. Two new members were recruited, Delisa Davis and Miki Free, to join Howard Hewett in a new version of Shalamar.  In 1984, Shalamar released "Heartbreak" which featured a song, "Dancing In The Sheets" that was also featured on the soundtrack to the hit film, "Footloose" and it brought the group back to the top twenty of the pop charts.

Hewett left Shalamar the following year to pursue a solo career and was replaced by singer, Sydney Justin but after two disappointing albums, the group faded away by 1990.

Howard Hewett has recorded ten solo albums to date with his debut, "I Commit To Love" being his most successful which featured two top-ten r&b hits. Hewett has been married three times; he married Mari Molina in 1986 but divorced two years later. He then wedded actress/singer Nia Peeples in 1989 and they have a son, Christopher but the couple separated by 1993. Hewett is currently married to wife, Angela and they have a daughter, Anissa.

Even before he joined Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel was a renowned and respected dancer. He is credited for popularizing West Coast street dance movement which included popping, locking and robotics. During a performance of "A Night To Remember" on the British show, "Top Of The Pops", Daniel performed a dance move he called, "The Backslide". Michael Jackson had been a fan of Daniel's since he was on "Soul Train" and sought him out to teach him that move. Jackson premiered the dance on the "Motown 25" television special and it was renamed "The Moonwalk". Daniel became a sought after choreographer and dancer on a variety of film and television projects and worked with Jackson again on the "Bad" and "Smooth  Criminal" music videos. Jeffrey Daniel is currently a judge on the "Nigerian Idol" music competition program. He married r&b singer, Stephanie Mills in 1980 but they separated shortly after.

Jody Watley is clearly the most successful of all of the former members of Shalamar with her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. She released nine studio albums with six top-ten U.S. pop hits, eight top-ten r&b singles (including two at number one), seven number one songs on the dance chart and has sold well over fifty million albums worldwide. Watley married singer/writer/producer, Andre Cymone but the marriage ended in 1994 and she has two children.

This popular line-up of Shalamar has only come together once in 1996 to record background vocals to Babyface's cover of the band's hit, "This Is For The Lover In You" and also appeared in the music video of the song.

Enjoy Shalamar's first big single:

 "The Second Time Around" - Shalamar (1979)

This is a vintage music video for one of my favorite Shalamar songs, "A Night To Remember":

 

"FLOWING RIVERS" - ANDY GIBB (1977)

He was born Andrew Roy Gibb in 1958, the youngest of  five children of Hugh and Barbara Gibb. His siblings were sister, Lesley and brothers, (who would later be known to the world as part of the singing group, The Bee Gees) Barry and twins, Maurice and Robin. The family moved to Australia six months after Andy was born but they returned to England in 1967 when The Bee Gees, already finding some success down under, were looking to further their music career.

As a teenager, Andy formed his own singing group, Melody Fayre, which was managed by his mother, and they performed around clubs in England and Spain. In 1974, Andy returned to Australia to further pursue his career due to the advice of brother, Barry who felt it was a good location to sharpen his skills as a musician.

Andy recorded a single, "Words and Music" for ATA Records and it would reach the top-twenty of the Australian charts in 1976. Robert Stigwood, who was the manager of The Bee Gees, signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records and was soon in Miami working on his first album, writing with Barry and with producers, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.

"I Just Want To be Your Everything" was the first single and kicked things off with a bang, with the song hitting number one in Australia and the U.S in 1977. The follow-up single, "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" also went to number one which together helped Andy Gibb's debut album, "Flowing Rivers" sell well over a million copies. This success was happening around the same time as his brothers' group, The Bee Gees were conquering the charts with their contributions to the soundtrack of the film, "Saturday Night Fever".

Andy Gibb's second album, "Shadow Dancing" was released in 1978 with the title track (written by all four of the Gibb brothers) spending seven weeks at number one on the U.S. pop charts. Two other singles, "An Everlasting Love" and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" both made it to the top-ten on the charts and Gibb had another million selling album.

In 1980, "After Dark" was Andy's third studio album released and while this was not as successful as his previous albums but it did contain a top-twenty hit, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend, Olivia Newton-John and what would be his final top-ten song, "Desire".

Shortly after this album, Gibb began pursing other career opportunities such as acting in theater with the shows, "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Joesph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", co-hosting the musical variety show, "Solid Gold" with Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension and began a high-profile romance with actress, Victoria Principal who was best known for the night-time soap opera, "Dallas". However, Gibb was fired from both "Joseph" and the television program because of excessive absences as well as Principal ending their relationship, all due to his drug binges.

Andy's family convinced him to seek treatment and he went to the Betty Ford Clinic for help. After his stint in rehab, Gibb attempted to resume his career with concerts and television appearances. He also went back in to the recording studio working with his brothers on new material.

On March 5th, 1988, Andy Gibb was celebrating his thirtieth birthday when he complained of chest pains. He was rushed to the hospital but five days later, Gibb died of myocarditis, an inflammation of a heart muscle caused by a viral infection.

Andy Gibb was married to Kim Reeder in 1976 and had a daughter, Peta Jaye in 1978 but the couple divorced later that year.

This is Andy Gibb's first hit single:

 "I Just Want To be Your Everything" - Andy Gibb (1977)

THE FIRST TIME: PART FOURTEEN

"SONGS IN A MINOR" - ALICIA KEYS (2001)

She was born Alicia Cook in New York City in 1981. She was an only child raised by her mother after her father left the family when she was two. At the age of seven, Alicia began playing the piano and first learned to play classical music. She was enrolled in The Professional Performing Arts School at the age of twelve.

After she graduated at sixteen, she met Jeff Robinson who would become her manager. He introduced Alicia to Peter Edge, who worked in A&R and together they worked in developing a showcase for her as well as demo tracks. This lead to her getting signed to Columbia Records in 1997. She managed to get a song she wrote on the soundtrack for the film, "Men In Black", however, Alicia was not happy at the label due to their indecision on what musical direction she should take.

Clive Davis, who was the head of Arista Records, was very impressed by Alicia and signed her to the label but it was disbanded shortly after. He started his own label, J Records and she followed him there. Jeff Robinson came up with the stage name, "Keys" from a dream he had and Alicia felt it was a perfect fit.

In 2001, Alicia Keys released her first album, "Songs In A Minor" and it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart due to the hot lead single, "Fallin'" which spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. pop chart. The next single, "A Woman's Worth" also reached the top ten and the album would go on to sell over twelve million copies around the globe and win Ms Keys five Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Song Of The Year.

She released her next album, "The Diary of Alicia Keys" in 2003 and it also debuted at number one on the album chart. There were four smash singles, "You Don't Know My Name", "If I Ain't Got You", "Diary" and "Karma" and the album would sell over eight million copies worldwide and win her three additional Grammy Awards. She also teamed up with Usher for the song, "My Boo"" off his album, "Confessions". It topped both the pop and r&b charts in 2004.

"As I Am" was her third release to debut at the top of the album charts in 2007 and the first single, "No One" went to number one on the pop and r&b charts. Three other hit singles followed as well as two more Grammy Awards and ultimately selling six million albums.

Although her fourth album, "The Element Of Freedom"  in 2009 only entered the album chart at number two in the U.S. but it did debut at number one in Britain, her first there. The album received mixed reviews but the four singles did relatively well and sold four million albums worldwide. A song from the album, "Empire State Of Mind (Part Two) Broken Down" was an answer song to the Jay-Z number one hit, "Empire State Of Mind" which she contributed her vocals.

To date, Alicia Keys has sold over thirty million albums and twenty-five million singles across the globe. She released a tenth anniversary edition this year of her debut album that featured outtakes as well as alternative and live versions of many tracks. Alicia has made several appearances as an actress in television ("The Cosby Show", "Charmed") and film ("Smokin' Aces", "The Secret Life Of Bees"). She has an new album due sometime in 2012.

Alicia married hip-hop artist, Swizz Beatz in 2010 and she gave birth to their son, Egypt later that year.

This is Alicia Keys's first hit single:

"Fallin'" - Alicia Keys (2001)

This is a music video made from her live performance of "Unbreakable", one of my favorite songs from her 2005 MTV "Unplugged" album:



"BANANARAMA" - BANANARAMA (1984)

Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin were childhood friends in London and met Siobhan Fahey in 1979 while attending college. They dressed alike in a punk-rock look that was popular at the time and performed together doing backing vocals for many punk bands in clubs. The girls were living in a rehearsal hall that was used by former Sex Pistols members, Steve Jones and Paul Look, who helped them record their first demo. It was a cover of The Black Blood song, "Aie a Mwana" and Demon Records heard the track, signed them to the label and they became Bananarama. The song was only a minor hit but the popular British fashion magazine, The Face did an article on the rising band.

Terry Hall, a former member of the SKA group, The Specials saw the magazine and approached Bananarama to provide backing vocals on a song with his new band, Fun Boy Three. "T'aint What You Do (It's The Way You Do It)" hit the top five in the U.K. in 1982 and Fun Boy Three returned the favor by doing background on the Bananarama song, "Really Saying Something", a remake of the 1964 Motown song by The Velvelettes, later that year. The song was the first single off of their debut album, "Deep Sea Skiving" on a new label, London Records and became their first top five hit in Britain. Bananarama had two more top five UK hits off of the album, "Shy Boy" and "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" (another cover of a 1969 hit by the group, Steam) and they were now major act. Bananarama had some buzz in the U.S. but none of the songs made it in to the top forty.

Their next release in 1984 was the self-titled album which featured the song, "Robert DeNiro's Waiting" that made it to number two on the British pop charts however it only made it to number ninety-five in America.  The song, "Cruel Summer" (which had been a top-ten hit in Britain the year before) was used in the film, "The Karate Kid", released as the next single and became Bananarama's first U.S.hit, peaking at number nine on the pop chart.

"True Confessions" was released in 1986 which first teamed Bananarama with hot producers, Stock Aitken Waterman who slightly modified their music. Although the group still continued to sing only in unison but the producers introduced a more dance-oriented sound on two tracks, which is what they were well-known for. This lead to their biggest commercial hit, "Venus", a cover of the Shocking Blue 1970 hit, that went to number one in six countries, including the U.S. Another change for Bananarama was their image as they went from wearing boyish, baggy overalls to a sexy, glamorized style in the music video for "Venus".

The follow-up album, "Wow!" in 1987, which was completely produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, further explored a dancy, Europop sound. There were three hit singles including, "I Heard A Rumour" which went to number four in the U.S. By the release of the third single, Siobhan Fahey had married Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics and decided to leave Bananarama due to her growing unhappiness of the musical direction the group was taking. Bananarama managed to continue on by hiring Jacquie O'Sullivan as a replacement. The group released a fourth single from "Wow!", "I Want You Back" that was re-recorded with vocals by O'Sullivan and made it to the top-five in the U.K.

The new line-up recorded an album, "Pop Life" in 1991 but it was not very successful and O' Sullivan left Bananarama the following year. Woodward and Dallin decided to continue Bananarama as a duo and they have recorded five albums since 1993 with the biggest success being "Drama" in 2005. It was their first release in fourteen years and brought the group back to the top-twenty in the UK with, "Move In My Direction" as well as the U.S with a remix of the song. "Look On The Floor" that reached number two on the dance charts.

Bananarama have sold over forty million records worldwide and are in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the all-female musical group with the most chart entries. They still tour and are currently in the studio working on a new CD.

Keren Woodward has never married but is currently involved in a long-term partnership with Andrew Ridgely, formerly of an another 80's pop group, Wham and has a son, Thomas from a previous relationship. Sara Dallin has also never married but she has a daughter, Alice from her past relationship with Bassey Walker who was a back-up dancer for Bananarama.

After she left Bananarama, Siobhan Fahey formed the group, Shakespeare's Sister with American singer/songwriter, Marcella Detroit in 1988. The duo recorded three albums with the song, "Stay" being their biggest hit in 1992 but they disbanded in 1996. Fahey continues to make music as a solo artist.  Her marriage to Dave Stewart ended in 1996 and they had two sons, Sam and Django who are both musicians.

Here is Bananarama's first hit in America:

"Cruel Summer" - Bananarama (1984)

This is the music video for one of their biggest hits, "Venus":



"LISTEN LIKE THIEVES' - INXS (1985)

Brothers, Andrew (keyboards), Jon (drums) and Tim (lead guitar) Farriss formed a rock band in 1977 while in high school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia called The Farriss Brothers. The band also consisted of Garry Beers on bass, Kirk Pengilly on guitar and sax and Michael Hutchence as the lead vocalist. They played around in various clubs but one night, after a performance, Tim was approached by Gary Morris. He was the manager of a successful Australian band, Midnight Oil and offered The Farriss Brothers the opportunity to open for the band. Morris came up with a new name for the group, INXS (pronounced in-excess) which was inspired by the names of other popular bands of the day like XTC and IXL.

Morris had wanted to market INXS as a Christian band but after passing on that idea, the group hired Chris Murphy as their manager. Murphy quickly got INXS a five record deal with an indie label, Deluxe Records which was run by a former manager of the heavy-metal Australian band, AC/DC.

The self-titled debut album was released in 1980 which featured a new wave/SKA sound with a single, "Just Keep Walking" making it into the Australian top-forty. INXS toured heavily around Australia before the release of their second album, "Underneath The Colours" in 1981.  This album was well-received in their country and made it to number fifteen on the charts. Murphy felt that their record label would not be able to help take the band to the next level and approached RCA Records, which distributed Deluxe, to take INXS worldwide.

The band worked with Mark Opitz on a few tracks with them getting positive response including the song "The One Thing".  However, INXS was not convinced that Opitz was the man to produce their entire next album and searched around for producers in the U.S. and Britain but the people they wanted were unavailable. They went with Opitz, who had produced AC/DC, and the album, "Shabooh Shoobah" was released in 1982. The album not only went top five in Australia but it finally got the band noticed across the world with it peaking at number forty-six in America with the single, "The One Thing" making it into the top forty. INXS toured the U.S. and opened for many of the hot acts of the time including Hall & Oates, The Stray Cats, Adam & The Ants and The Go-Go's.

Nile Rodgers, of the disco group, Chic, approached INXS to work together and he produced the song, "Original Sin". It would go on to be a huge hit in many countries in 1984 with the notable exception of the U.K. and the U.S. Their fourth album, "The Swing", which was also produced with Nick Launay, would go on to sell over two million copies. INXS would go out on a world tour to support the album but now they were the headliner.

INXS went with producer, Chris Thomas (Pink Floyd, Elton John, The Pretenders) for their follow-up album and he heavily pressured the band to push themselves in order for them to have a breakthrough record. In 1985, "Listen Like Thieves"  took the band to the next level as it was a critical and commercial hit as INXS moved from new wave to a classic rock sound. The first single, "What You Need", which was the last track they recorded, went to number five in the U.S. The band toured the world extensively and became well-known as a great live act.

After this taste of success, INXS returned to Thomas to produce the next album and knew that they wanted an album that was full of potential singles. After it was completed, however, their record label hated the album. They believed there was no way they could get it played on rock radio as it was too groove oriented and begged the band to go back in to the studio to try again. "Kick" was released anyway in 1987 and it would actually become their most popular and successful album. There were four top ten singles in the U.S. alone with "Need You Tonight" reaching number one. "Kick" would sell over six million copies and Thomas would produce the next album as well with "X" in 1990, producing two top-ten singles, "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear".

INXS would go on to release three more moderately successful albums before on November 22, 1997, Michael Hutchence was found dead in a Sydney hotel room. It was determined that he had committed suicide due to depression and drug addiction.

INXS did not perform for almost a year after Hutchence's death and then used a variety of guest vocalists. Jon Stevens, of the Australian band, Noiseworks, was offered the lead vocalist position in 2000 which he accepted but then decided to pursue a solo career and they never recorded an album together.

In 2005, INXS announced that they were involved in a reality show contest, "Rock Star: INXS" in which the winner would become the new lead singer of the band. J.D. Fortune, of Nova Scotia, Canada, won the competition. They recorded an album, "Switch", then went on a successful world tour. The band's latest release was "Original Sin" in 2010 that featured classic INXS songs that were re-imagined with assorted artists such as Rob Thomas, John Meyer, Tricky and Nikka Costa. In 2011, INXS officially replaced Fortune with Irish singer/songwriter Ciaran Gribbin who will tour with the band in the future.

INXS has sold more than thirty million records to date.

This is the first big hit for INXS in the U.S.:

"What You Need" - INXS (1985)

This is the video for "Need You Tonight" which won Video Of The Year at the 1988 MTV Music Video Awards:

THE FIRST TIME: PART THIRTEEN

"DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES" - HALL & OATES (1975)

Daryl Hall was born in 1946 in Pottstown, PA. John Oates was born in New York City in 1949 and raised in Philadelphia.

In 1966, while in high school, Oates performed on his first single, "I Need Your Love" with the group, The Masters. After he graduated school the following year, he went to Temple University where he met fellow musician, Daryl Hall who was a senior at the time. Hall was majoring in music and he worked with legendary r&b songwriters and producers, Kenny Gable and Leon Huff as a session musician.

Hall dropped out of school in 1968 and a year later deceided to pursue music full time. Hall & Oates decided to join together and become a duo in 1970. They got a recording contract with Atlantic Records two years later. Hall & Oates released three albums on the label but none of them were commercially successful as they were still developing their sound. There was one song off of their 1973 album, "Abandoned Luncheonette" that wasn't a hit for them initially (it only reached number sixty on the charts), but it became successful for other singers. "She's Gone" was recorded by several artists including r&b singer, Lou Rawls but became a number one hit on the soul chart for Tavares in 1974. After their third album, "War Babies', Hall & Oates decided to leave Atlantic and join RCA Records in 1975.

Their debut on their new label simply titled, "Daryl Hall and John Oates" came out that year and the most controversial issue, certainly in their entire career, was the cover of this album. It featured the men heavily made-up, looking like glam rockers and (most especially Hall) very androgynous which is the complete opposite of their actual image and sound. Despite this distraction, the second single released, "Sara Smile" became their first top-ten hit. The song, written about Hall's then-girlfriend Sara Allen who would later co-write many of the duo's songs with him, peaked at number four on the pop chart.

After the success of "Sara Smile", Atlantic Records decided to re-release the duo's original version of "She's Gone" in 1976 and the song went to number seven on the pop chart.

Hall & Oates released their next album, "Bigger Than Both Of Us" in 1977 and that featured "Rich Girl" which became their first number one song.

After riding high on these hits, Hall & Oates later had difficulty getting radio play with their follow-up albums. They experimented with a more rock sound and when disco ruled the airwaves, Hall & Oates released, "X-Static" in 1979 that blended dance and rock but it also failed to connect with audiences. After this, Hall & Oates decided to take control of their career by producing their music themselves and recording their albums with their touring band instead of using session musicians.

In 1980, Hall & Oates released their ninth album, "Voices" and things started to slowly change for the duo. The first single, "How Does It Feel To Be Back" was their first to crack the top-forty in years, then the next single, which was a remake of The Righteous Brothers' 1964 hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", managed to make it to number twelve on the pop charts. The following song, "Kiss On My List" would place Hall & Oates back on the top of the charts with another single, "You Make My Dreams" hitting number five. In addition, the song "Every time You Go Away", which is on the "Voices" album but not released as a single, would be remade by British singer, Paul Young in 1985 and would become a number one smash.

Hall & Oates became one of the top acts of the eighties and they had a long string of hit songs throughout the decade including "Private Eyes", "Maneater", "One On One", "Say It Isn't So" and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)", a song that went to number one on the pop and r&b charts which was the rare time that a white act managed to achieve that feat on both charts. They also performed at the original Live Aid concert as well as on the "We Are The World" charity single in 1985.

In 1987, Hall & Oates decided to sign a lucrative new record deal with Arista Records and they released two albums; "Ooh Yeah" in 1988 and "Change Of Season" in 1990. While these albums went platinum and gold respectively but the singles didn't do nearly as well as their past works and the sales were considered disappointing. The duo didn't release another album until 1997 with "Marigold Sky" on their own indie label, Push Records.

Each artist has recorded solo albums over the years with Daryl Hall releasing his fifth, "Laughing Down Crying" and John Oates released his third, "Mississippi Mile" both earlier this year but the duo still finds plenty of opportunities today to perform together with concert tours and television appearances.

Hall & Oates is considered one of the most successful duos in musical history with a total of eight number one singles, over twenty top forty songs and has sold a total of over sixty million records during their career.

Daryl Hall was involved with Sara Allen for about thirty years before ending their relationship in 2001. They never married and have no children. Hall has a son, Darren from a previous marriage to Bryna Lubin. He is currently married to Amanda Aspinall.

John Oates is married to his wife, Aimee and they have a son, Tanner.

This is the song that introduced this duo to the world:

"Sara Smile" - Hall & Oates (1976)

Here is the music video of Paul Young's hit covering Hall & Oates:



"DREAMBOAT ANNIE" - HEART (1976)

The Wilson sisters were born in California; Ann in San Diego in 1950 and Nancy in San Francisco in 1954. Their father was in the Marines which had him traveling between California and Taiwan before retiring and settling the family in Bellevue, Washington. Music played an important part of their family as their mother was a concert pianist and their father sang in a choir during his time in the military.

While their parents exposed Ann and Nancy to a wide variety of music, but it was seeing The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" that cemented the idea of them becoming rock musicians. Neither of them ever had any formal music lessons but were committed to learning how to play guitar. Ann and Nancy started writing their own songs as well and they performed rock and folk music in a few bands in high school.

In 1972, Ann joined a local band, Hocus Pocus that featured Roger Fisher on guitar, Steve Fossen on bass, David Belzer on keyboards and Jeff Johnson on drums. Ann met Roger's brother, Mike who had avoided the draft by moving to Canada, while he was visiting his family. They started dating, fell in love and Ann moved to Canada to be with him. Roger Fisher and Steve Fossen followed in 1973 and formed a new band with Ann called Heart. Nancy came to Canada the following year and joined the band along with John Hannah on keyboards and Brian Johnstone on drums.

Heart performed many one-night shows throughout Canada before settling in Vancouver. The group recorded some demos with producer, Mike Flicker and session player, Howard Leese who joined the band after Hannah and Johnstone left the band. Heart signed a two-album deal with Mushroom Records and released their debut album, "Dreamboat Annie" in 1976. "Crazy On You" became Heart's first hit song, although it only reached number thirty-five on the U.S. pop charts but it did much better internationally. With two other singles, "Magic Man" (which became their first U.S top ten song) and the title track both doing well which helped their first album sell over a million copies.

Unhappy with how the label promoted the band and their unwillingness to raise their royalty rate, Heart broke their contract with Mushroom Records and signed with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records. This resulted in a lengthy legal battle with Mushroom with the label releasing a new Heart album called, "Magazine" in 1977 shortly before the release of Heart's Portrait label debut, "Little Queen". "Magazine" consisted of uncompleted songs that Heart had begun recording before deciding to leave the label.

A court ordered a compromise which had Mushroom Records pull "Magazine" to allow Heart the opportunity to remix and re-record several tracks before re-releasing the album but Heart had actually wanted the album pulled completely. "Magazine" was re-released in 1978 with both albums selling over a million copies each and both had top-forty hit songs; "Barracuda" ("Little Queen") and "Heartless" ("Magazine").

Heart enjoyed plenty of successful albums and singles including "Straight On", "Even It Up", and "Dog & Butterfly" throughout the rest of the seventies. By the early eighties, Heart's next few releases failed to have much chart success although Ann had a top-ten hit as a solo artist with a duet with Mike Reno of the band, Loverboy with the song, "Almost Paradise" from the soundtrack for the film, "Footloose" in 1984.

Heart signed with a new label, Capitol Records in 1985 and released their eighth album simply entitled, "Heart" which turned out to become their biggest in their career. There were four top-ten hits, "What About Love?", "Never", "Nothin' At All" and their first number one smash, "These Dreams". The album, which was also their first number one, went on to sell over five million copies. Heart released three more successful albums; "Bad Animals" (1987), "Brigade" (1990) and "Desire Walks On" (1993) before Nancy decided to take a break to focus on starting a family with her husband, Rolling Stone magazine writer turned filmmaker, Cameron Crowe.

In 1995, Ann assembled a new band and went on tour as either The Ann Wilson Band or Ann Wilson and The Ricola Brothers. Nancy went on to score the music for several of her husband's films including "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous" as well as released a solo album, "Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop" in 1999. Ann released her first solo album, "Hope & Glory" in 2007.

The Wilson sisters reunited as Heart,with new band members, and released their first album in seven years with "Red Velvet Car" in 2010 which debuted at number ten on the U.S Billboard 200 chart. Heart has sold over thirty-five million records worldwide and they continue to tour.

Nancy married Cameron Crowe in 1986 and they have two sons, William and Curtis but the couple divorced in 2010. Ann has never been married.

This is Heart's first big single:

"Crazy On You" - Heart (1976)

Here is the music video for "Never" which I love the big hair, the eighties fashions and Nancy shaking her stuff with her guitar:



"WHAT 'CHA GONNA DO WITH MY LOVIN'" - STEPHANIE MILLS (1979)

Stephanie Dorthea Mills was born in 1957 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. The fifth of six children, Stephanie developed her singing skills at a young child while attending her Baptist church. She entered and won the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater six times which lead to her appearing in her first Broadway play, "Maggie Flynn" at the age of nine.

Shortly after that, Stephanie signed her first recording contract with ABC Records and released her debut album, "Movin' In The Right Direction" in 1974. Although the album was not a huge success but it lead to her being asked to open for The Isley Brothers. The following year, she won the lead as Dorothy in the Broadway musical, "The Wiz", an African-American version of "The Wizard of Oz".

Jermaine Jackson, of The Jackson 5, suggested to Berry Gordy of Motown Records to sign Stephanie to the label and she recorded an album, "For The First Time" and it was released in 1976. Unfortunately, the album did not do well and she was dropped from the label.

In 1978, Stephanie signed with 20th Century Records and was teamed with producers, James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. Their collaboration produced, "What 'Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" in 1979. The title track was her break-out single where it reached number eight on the r&b chart and twenty-two on the pop chart and the album went gold. The follow-up album, "Sweet Sensation" was released the next year with the single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before" becoming a huge hit, peaking at number six on the pop chart and won her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Stephanie left this label and after another unsuccessful album was released with Motown, she signed with Casablanca Records in 1982. She recorded three moderately successful albums on this label with her biggest hit song being, "The Medicine Song" in 1984

Stephanie signed with another new label, MCA Records in 1985 and this is where she reached her career peak. The self-titled first album on the label featured the song, "I've Learned To Respect The Power of Love" (written by r&b singer, Angela Winbush) which became her first number one on the r&b chart. In 1987, she released the album, "If I Were Your Woman" which had three top-ten r&b singles with two of them; "I Feel Good All Over" and "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me" both topping the chart. This album also became her best-selling  with sales of over a million copies. She released four more albums on the label with two more number one hit singles; "Something In The Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" which was a song re-recorded from "The Wiz", both in 1989.

Stephanie is not as active as she once was but still makes occasional live appearances and she recently released a new single, "Yesterday" which is a remake of The Beatles classic with a new album to come.

Stephanie Mills has been married three times; She married Jeffrey Daniel, one of the original members of the group, Shalamar in 1980 but they divorced two years later. She married Dino Meminger shortly after that but they divorced about two years later. In 1993, she married Michael Saunders, a North Carolina radio station manager but they have since separated. Stephanie has one child, a son, Farad who has Down's Syndrome and she has not disclosed the name of his father.

This is the song that began her recording career:

"What 'Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" - Stephanie Mills (1979)

This is the music video for her biggest hit, "Never Knew Love Like This Before":

THE FIRST TIME: PART TWELVE

"RAPTURE" - ANITA BAKER  (1986)

Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1958 and her family later relocated to Detroit, Michigan. As a child, she sang in a gospel choir and as a teenager, Anita performed in several singing groups. Shortly after completing high school, she was asked to join Chapter 8, a popular local r&b group that just signed with Ariola Records. They recorded one self-titled album which was released in 1979 with a couple of singles received some local radio play. Ariola Records later became a part of Arista Records but the executives at the label dropped Chapter 8 because they were not at all impressed with Ms Baker as a vocalist.

Discouraged and humiliated, Anita Baker decided to leave the music business and she got a job as an administrative assistant in a lawyer's office. Otis Smith, a record executive who had worked with Chapter 8, approached Ms Baker about recording a solo album on his new label, Beverly Glen Records in California. Reluctantly, she flew to Los Angeles, made the record and "The Songstress" was released in 1983. The album lacked polish but showed great potential, however, there were two highlights; "No More Tears" and "Angel" (which she co-wrote). Both songs received heavy airplay on Black radio and created some well-deserved buzz for the young singer. Electra Records became very interested in her and signed Ms Baker to the label in 1985.

"Rapture" was released the following year on her new label. She wrote or co-wrote half of the album and teamed-up with former Chapter 8 member, Michael J. Powell to produce the project. The first single, "Watch Your Step" didn't get much play on r&b radio but it was the next single that would completely alter her career.

"Sweet Love" became a huge hit, peaking at number two on the r&b chart and reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three more singles, "(Caught Up In The) Rapture", "No One in the World"(which filmmaker, Spike Lee directed the music video) and "Same Ole Love " became major hits and "Rapture" would go on to sell over eight million copies worldwide. Anita Baker would win the first two of her eight Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female and Best R&B Song for "Sweet Love".

Her follow-up album, "Giving You The Best That I Got" was released in 1988 and went straight to number one on the album charts with the title track making it to number three on the pop chart as well as topping the r&b and adult contemporary and would eventually sell over five million copies. With "Compositions" in 1990, Ms Baler became even more involved in the song writing and production while she began to experiment even further with jazz in her music although the album didn't end up being nearly as popular as her previous works.

After releasing the more commercially successful, "Rhythm of Life" in 1994 and touring to support the album, Anita decided to take some time off to raise her two young sons and spend more time with her husband. It was not until 2004, that Anita Baker signed with the Jazz label, Blue Note Records and released her first album in ten years. Fans were very happy for her return as "My Everything" debuted at number four on the album chart and number one on the r&b. It has sold over half a million copies and she released her first holiday album, "Christmas Fantasy" the following year. Rumor has it that Ms Baker is working on a new album that hopefully will be completed very soon.

Anita married Walter Bridgforth Jr. in 1988 and they have two sons, Walter and Edward but the couple separated in 2007

This is the song that began her career:

"Sweet Love" - Anita Baker (1986)


"PARALLEL LINES" - BLONDIE (1978)

In New York City in 1973, Chris Stein joined the punk rock band, The Stilettos as the guitar player. He started dating the group's vocalist, Deborah Harry and in 1974, they left The Stilettos and started their own band with drummer, Billy O'Connor and bassist, Fred Smith. They were first called Angel and the Snakes but by 1975 after a personnel change with a new drummer, Clem Burke, bassist, Gary Valentine and added on keyboards, Jimmy Destri, the band was renamed, Blondie which came from what guys on the street would yell at Ms Harry to try and get her attention.

Blondie performed regularly at the clubs, Max's Kansas City and CBGB before they landed their first recording contract with Private Stock Records in 1976. Blondie released a single, "X-Offender" and their self-titled debut album later that year.Chrysalis Records wanted to sign the band, so they bought out their recording contract and re-released their debut in 1977. The band's first taste of success came when an Australian music television show, "Countdown" played, in error,  the B-side of "X-Offender", "In The Flesh" and the song ended up becoming a top five single there in addition to the album.

Gary Valentine left Blondie before the recording of their follow-up album, so they continued on as a foursome. "Plastic Letters" was released in 1978 with the first single, "Denis", a cover of the 1963 Randy and the Rainbows song, becoming a hit in Britain, reaching number two on the singles chart and the following single, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear" also reached the top ten. Blondie enjoyed a successful tour in the U.K. with Frank Infante and Nigel Harrison joining as the new bass guitarists.

"Parallel Lines" was Blondie's third release and three is always a charm. The first couple of singles, "Picture This" and "Hanging On The Telephone" made it to Britain's top ten on the pop chart but it was the third,  "Heart of Glass" that made the band a global sensation. This song's timing as a new wave-disco hybrid couldn't have been better as it reached number one in eight countries including the U.S. Some critics complained that the band had sold-out, abandoning their punk roots for pop success but Blondie never completely left their original sound, they just experimented and pushed it forward.

"Eat To The Beat", Blondie's next album in 1979, combined pop, punk, funk, rock and reggae with it becoming another major seller but it was their next song, which was never actually on a Blondie album, that would become the band's biggest seller. Blondie teamed-up with producer, Giorgio Moroder, best known for his work with the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, to do "Call Me", a song for the film, "American Gigolo". It was another world-wide smash and sold over a million copies.

1980 brought Blondie's fifth album, "Autoamerican" which featured two big number one hits; "The Tide Is High", a remake of a 1965 reggae hit by The Paragons and "Rapture" which is considered to be the first number one song to include the new musical genre, rap. After this album, Blondie decided to take a break and various members released solo projects, including Deborah Harry's solo album, "Koo Koo".

Blondie came back in 1982 with "The Hunter" but the album was a critical and commercial failure. Due to personal issues, financial stress, drug use and Chris Stein being diagnosed with a rare skin disease, pemphigus, Blondie disbanded by the end of that year. Deborah Harry had a moderately successful solo career but she did take several years off to care for Stein. The couple ended their relationship some time after Stein recovered from his illness.

In 1996, Chris Stein and Deborah Harry worked towards reuniting Blondie. Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri and original bassist, Gary Valentine agreed and did several live performances before recording a new album, "No Exit" which came out in 1999 although Valentine had dropped out of the band again by this point. Former members, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante did not participate and unsuccessfully tried to sue to stop the band from using the name, "Blondie". The foursome released another album in 2003, "The Curse of Blondie" before Destri left the band to deal with his drug addiction. The other three original members still tour as Blondie and have just released a new album this year, "Panic of Girls"

Blondie has sold over forty million albums and were inducted in to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

This is Blondie's breakthrough song:

"Heart Of Glass" - Blondie (1978)

This is the video for the first single, "Backfired" from Deborah Harry's debut album which happens to be written and produced by Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers:



And here is the latest music video for the single, "Mother" off the band's latest album:




"CHIC" - CHIC (1977)

Guitarist, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, a bass player first met in 1970 during a recording session in New York City. They decided to form a rock band together, first called, The Boys and later, The Big Apple and the duo played around the city. Tony Thompson was added to the group as a drummer and he recommended Raymond Jones to play on keyboards.  The group wanted to add a female vocalist, so they hired Norma Jean Wright although she insisted that she be allowed to continue to pursue her solo career.

The new group, renamed Chic, worked on some demos and based on those recordings, were signed to Atlantic Records in 1977. The self-titled debut album (with a young Luther Vandross providing background vocals) was released later that year with the first single, "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" becoming a hit, going to number six on the pop and r&b charts and their first number one on the dance (but then named, disco) chart. The next single, "Everybody Dance" also did well, reaching the top forty.

Luci Martin, a friend of Norma Jean Wright, was added as a vocalist to the group as Edwards and Rodgers felt it was necessary in order to properly recreate their sound while touring. After the success of that first album, Norma Jean released her own self-titled debut solo album in 1978 which was written and produced by the men behind Chic. The record was only a very modest success but it did create a problem because of the terms of her solo recording contract, Ms Wright was forced to end her participation with Chic. Alfa Anderson, who had done background vocals on Chic's first album, replaced Ms Wright.

Chic's next album, "C'est Chic" was released in 1978 during the height of the disco music craze. The first single, "Le Freak", which Edwards and Rodgers came up with after they were refused entry in to the exclusive disco, Studio 54 on New Year's Eve in 1977, became a world-wide, chart-topping smash and one of their most popular songs, selling six million copies alone. "I Want Your Love" would also become a top ten hit and the album became a million seller.

"Risque" was Chic's third album ,which featured another huge number one hit, "Good Times" in 1979. This song has become one of the most sampled in music history with the most notable being "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang which is considered to be the first commercially successful rap songs.

With all of their success, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers became in-demand producers and would write and produce other disco classics for such artists as Sister Sledge ("We Are Family") and Diana Ross ("Upside Down").

Because of the anti-disco backlash, Chic's music fell out of favor and had difficulty getting radio play. After their 1983 album, "Believer", Chic disbanded but Edwards and Rodgers continued to write and produce for a wide variety of artists, together and individually, such as David Bowie, Madonna, Robert Palmer, Duran Duran and Deborah Harry's first solo album.

In 1989, Edwards and Rodgers decided to reunite Chic, although this version featured mostly new members, and they recorded an album, "Chic-ism" which was released in 1992. While touring with the band in Japan, Bernard Edwards died of pneumonia at the age of forty-three in 1996.

Nile Rodgers was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 but received treatment and has recovered. He still tours with Chic and has just released, this month, his autobiography entitled, "Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny" and currently going around the country to promote it.

Chic has not been properly recognized for it's influential sound and their contribution to music as they have never won a Grammy Award and they have been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame seven times but still has not been inducted.

This is a sample of the great music that Edwards and Rodgers created:

"Dance, Dance, Dance" - Chic (1977)

THE FIRST TIME: PART ELEVEN

"BELLADONNA"- STEVIE NICKS (1981)

She was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks in Phoenix, Arizona in 1948. Her father, Jess was an executive for a food company, so the family moved frequently while her mother, Barbara was a homemaker who was over protective of their only child. She kept her young daughter in with her and entertained her by reading her fairy tales.

Stephanie's grandfather, Aaron, an aspiring country singer, taught her how to play the guitar and they were soon performing duets when she was four. She was called "Stevie" because as a child, she had difficulty pronouncing her birth name.

At sixteen, Stevie received her first guitar and began writing songs. She joined her first band called The Changing Times during high school while the family lived in Los Angeles. She met Lindsey Buckingham while a senior in high school and he soon became her romantic and musical partner. After graduation, they both attended San Jose State University in 1968 and asked her to join his band, Fritz that he had formed. Fritz became a popular live act in San Francisco, even opening for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. They both soon dropped out of college to move to Los Angeles so they could pursue their music career full time.

However, Fritz disbanded in 1972, so the two became a musical duo known as "Buckingham/Nicks". The duo received a recording contract with Polydor Records and released their self-titled debut, "Buckingham Nicks" in 1973.  The album did manage to generate some buzz for the group but it was not much of a success and they were dropped from the label.

Mick Fleetwood heard a track of the duo and made an initial offer only for Lindsey Buckingham to join his band, Fleetwood Mac, however he extended it to Stevie Nicks only after Mr. Buckingham stated he would not join without her. Their first album with the group was in 1975 with the self-titled, "Fleetwood Mac", although it was the band's tenth album. This album was a major hit, eventually selling over five million copies with three top-twenty singles including Ms Nicks' contribution, "Rhiannon". Tension grew between Buckingham and Nicks following the success of this album and the couple soon broke-up but both decided to continue with the band. Fleetwood Mac's next album would take the group in to a whole new level.

"Rumours", released in 1977, would become a monster smash album with four top-ten singles that includes the Stevie Nicks' composition, "Dreams" which is the band's only number one single. The album would sell an astounding forty million copies worldwide which made it the ninth highest selling album of all time.

Stevie Nicks had amassed a large collection of songs, some dating back to her days with Buckingham/Nicks, and since she was limited to a small number to be included on a Fleetwood Mac album, she decided to record a solo album. She signed with Modern Records in 1978 and began work on it, while recording Fleetwood Mac's follow-up album, "Tusk" and by 1981, her album was completed. It was titled, "Bella Donna (US Release)" and it would go to number one on the Billboard Album charts and would sell four million copies. There were three top-ten hits including two duets, the first single,"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" with Tom Petty and the next, "Leather And Lace" that features Don Henley of The Eagles.

Stevie Nicks has remained with Fleetwood Mac over the years while recording solo albums in between.  She has released a total of seven solo projects including the recently released, "In Your Dreams" which was her first in ten years and is enjoying rave reviews and brisk sales.

Ms Nicks has been romantically linked to rock stars, Don Henley, Mick Fleetwood and Joe Walsh but she was only married once to Kim Anderson in 1982. He was the widow of her good friend, Robin who recently had died of leukemia but the couple divorced eight months later as they realized they had come together more because they were grieving than because they were actually in love.

This is Stevie Nicks' first solo single:

"Stop Dragging My Heart Around" - Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers


"DESTINY'S CHILD" - DESTINY'S CHILD (1998)

In Houston, Texas, auditions were held in 1990 looking for young girls to join a singing group. Six girls were selected including eleven year old LaTavia Roberson, and Kelly Rowland and ten year old, Beyonce Knowles. The group was called Girl's Tyme and they sang r&b, hip-hop and gospel with dance routines. They performed all over the Houston area, creating some buzz for the group.

This lead to an opportunity to perform on the television talent show, "Star Search" but Girl's Tyme failed to advance on the program. This disappointment lead to a line-up change with three girls leaving the group and a new singer was added, LeToya Luckett.

Beyonce's father, Matthew Knowles, who was already managing his daughter as well as Kelly and LaTavia, took over for the group. Girl's Tyme went through several name changes but were not happy with any of them. Tina Knowles, Beyonce's mother and the group's stylist came upon a page in the Bible with the word, "destiny" catching her eye. Matthew added the word, "child" and Destiny's Child was born.

The next step was getting a record deal and Matthew managed to get the girls signed to Columbia Records in 1997. Their first album, the self-titled, "Destiny's Child" was released the following year and featured production by Jermaine Dupri, Wyclef Jean and Dwayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Tone!. The album had a hit single, "No, No, No Part 2 (featuring Wyclef Jean)" that went straight to number one on the r&b charts and number three on the Pop. That single and the album sold over a million copies each.

After this success, Destiny's Child quickly went back in to the studio to complete their second album. "The Writing's On The Wall" came out in 1999 with a new group of hot producers including Rodney Jerkins and Kevin "She'Kspere" Briggs. The album was a massive hit, yielding four top-ten singles; "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug A Boo (H-town Screwed Mix)", "Jumpin', Jumpin'" and  "Say My Name". This album would receive six Grammy Award nominations and sell well over sixteen million copies worldwide.

Despite all of this success and acclaim, Destiny's Child was experiencing some internal turmoil. In December 1999,  LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett only wanted to end Matthew Knowles as their manager and had no desire to leave the group but then they saw Beyonce and Kelly on MTV's TRL to introduce the new music video for the song, "Say My Name", announcing that LaTavia and LeToya had left Destiny's Child and saw two other girls,  Farah Franklin and Michelle Williams performing in the video. The ladies took legal action against Matthew Knowles and the other members of the group and the case was eventually settled out of court  After five months, Farah Franklin was asked to leave the group, due to excessive absences and Destiny's Child permanently became a trio.

Destiny's Child released four more successful albums, "Survivor" (2001) and "Destiny Fulfilled" (2004) as well as a remix ("This Is The Remix") and a holiday album ("8 Days Of Christmas"), recorded the hit song for the 2000 film, "Charlie's Angels" ("Independent Woman") and selling over sixty million records before deciding to end the group and go their separate ways in 2006.

Kelly Rowland has released two moderately successful r&b albums but has found major success with dance music, teaming up with French DJ, David Guetta with the 2009 song, "When Love Takes Over" where it became an international smash and earned her a Grammy Award. She is due to release her third album sometime later this year.

Michelle Williams has recorded three solo albums including "Heart to Yours" (2002) which was a top seller on the gospel charts but her claim to fame right now is as an actress, performing in theater on Broadway in the musicals, "Aida", "Chicago", and "The Color Purple"

Beyonce Knowles has been in a few movies and sold some records.

This is the first hit for Destiny's Child:

"No, No, No pt. 2" - Destiny's Child featuring Wyclef Jean

Here is the video for the song, "Bootylicious" which features a sample of the Stevie Nicks' song, "Edge Of Seventeen" (and Stevie even makes a brief appearance):




"THE B-52'S" - THE B-52'S (1979)

In 1977, these five friends, guitarist, Ricky Wilson, his younger sister, Cindy on vocals, Kate Pierson on vocals and organ, Keith Strickland on drums and percussion and Fred Schneider on vocals and the cowbell, first performed together as a musical group at a Valentine's Day party in Athens, GA. They called themselves The B-52's which was a slang term for a beehive hairdo and their quirky sound combined dance, new-wave and surf music and they wore thrift store clothing on stage when they performed.

Their first recording was the song, "Rock Lobster" which was released by the Atlanta based, DB Records in 1978. The song became a local hit and garnered the attention of a major label, Warner Bros. which signed the group in 1979. The group's debut album, "The B-52's" was released later that year and was produced by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records. The album featured a new version of "Rock Lobster" with the song reaching only as high as number fifty-six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but the album would sell well over a million copies in the US alone.

The follow-up album, "Wild Planet" was released in 1980 and included the song, "Private Idaho (Album Version)" which made it to only number seventy-four on the pop charts but reached number five on US Hot Dance Play charts. The B-52's also made their US television debut with a memorable appearance on "Saturday Night Live" later that year.

In July of 1985, during the recording of The B-52's fifth studio album, "Bouncing Off The Satellites", no one was aware that Ricky Wilson was suffering from AIDS related health issues. He did not tell his band mates because he did not want them to worry or fuss over him. On October 12, Ricky died from complications of the disease at the age of thirty-two. Everyone was devastated and did not think they could continue on as a band. The album was released the following year but they did not tour to promote the project although the album did have two single reach the top ten on the dance charts, "Summer Of Love [Summer Party Mix]" and "Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland".

During the hiatus, Keith Strickland switched from drums to guitar and began writing music. The other three members decided to come together with him and see what they might be able to do musically. "Cosmic Thing", produced by Don Was and Nile Rodgers, was completed and released in 1989 and would become their biggest commerical success. The first single, "Channel Z" would go to number one on the US Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts but the next song would become a world wide hit. "Love Shack" peaked at number three on the US pop charts while the group's next single, "Roam" would also reach that same position. The album made it to top five and sold over four million copies in the US.

The B-52's have completed eight albums with  "Funplex [+Digital Booklet]" being released in 2008, sixteen years after their last album, "Good Stuff" (1992) which was done without Cindy Wilson who had decided to take a break.

This is the single that started it all for the band:

"Rock Lobster" - The B-52's