MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group (now Universal Music Group), of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003. MCA's country division, MCA Nashville Records, is a still active imprint of Universal Music Group Nashville.

Pre-history[link]

MCA,Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 with the purchase of the New York-based US Decca Records (established in 1934^[1]), including Coral Records and Brunswick Records. MCA was forced to exit the talent agency business in order to complete the merger. As American Decca owned Universal Pictures, MCA assumed full ownership of Universal and made it into the top film studio in town, producing hit after hit.^[2] In 1966, MCA formed Uni Records^[3] and in 1967 purchased Kapp Records^[4] which was placed under Uni Records management.^[5]

History[link]

MCA Records formation outside North America[link]

The U.S. and U.K. Decca companies were forced to sever their ties because of World War II.^[6] MCA's U.S. based Decca Records had the rights to the Decca name in North and South America and parts of Asia including Japan. U.K. Decca owned the rights to the Decca name in the rest of the world. After the war, British Decca formed a new U.S. subsidiary, London Records.

During this time U.S. Decca issued records outside North America on the Brunswick and Coral labels. In 1967, Brunswick and Coral were replaced by the MCA Records label to release U.S. Decca and Kapp label material outside North America.^[7][8] Initial activity under the MCA Records name was based in London. MCA Records in the UK was formally launched on February 16, 1968.^[9] The label signed only a few artists until the 1970-1971 period. Among the first artists were groups Wishbone Ash; Osibisa; Stackridge; and Budgie; and solo artists Tony Christie; Mick Greenwood; and Roy Young.^[10] Early MCA releases were distributed by U.K. Decca but moved to EMI from 1974 to 1979. Distribution then moved to CBS, while the last releases in the 1980s were self distributed. As the U.S. division of MCA Records was not established until 1972, the earliest U.K. MCA Records material was released in the U.S. on either Kapp or Decca.

MCA U.K. also issued American Brunswick material on the MCA label until MCA lost control of Brunswick in 1970 at which point American Brunswick material was issued in the UK on the Brunswick label. Uni label material was issued on the Uni label worldwide.

MCA Records formation in North America[link]

In 1970, MCA reorganized its Canadian record company Compo Company Ltd. into MCA Records (Canada).^[11] In April 1970, former Warner Bros. Records president Mike Maitland joined MCA and initially served as Decca's general manager. Maitland was unsuccessful in his attempt to consolidate Warner Bros. Records with co-owned Atlantic Records which led to his departure from Warner.

In April 1971, Maitland supervised the consolidation of the New York based Decca and Kapp labels plus the California based Uni label into MCA Records based in Universal City, California with Maitland serving as president.^[12] The three labels maintained their identities for a short time but were retired in favor of the MCA label in 1973.^[3][13] Drift Away by Dobie Gray became the final Decca pop label release in the U.S in 1973. Beginning the same year the catalogs of Decca, Uni and Kapp were reissued in the U.S. on the MCA Records label under the supervision of veteran Decca producer Milt Gabler.^[14]

Early success[link]

The first MCA Records release in the U.S. was former Uni artist Elton John's Crocodile Rock single in 1972.^[15] In December 1972, Neil Diamond, another Uni artist, reached superstar status with his first MCA release, the live multi-platinum Hot August Night. Elton John's double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was released in October 1973 and was number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart for eight straight weeks. The management of former Decca artists The Who had formed their own label Track Records in the U.K. but were still under contract with MCA for U.S. distribution. The Who's double album Quadrophenia was released by Track/MCA also in October 1973. Quadrophenia peaked at number 2 as it was held back from the number 1 slot by Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Other successful artists on MCA after the consolidation included former Kapp artist Cher, and Uni artist Olivia Newton-John. MCA released the highly successful soundtrack album to the 1973 film The Sting. The soundtrack music was arranged and conducted by Marvin Hamlisch and won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (MCA issued many other soundtracks to films from Universal, along with some non-Universal films).

One of the most successful new MCA artists in this era was the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their song Free Bird peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in edited form, but the full length version became one of the most popular songs of all time on Album-oriented rock radio stations. On their second album, Second Helping, the group recorded a song about their signing to the label, "Workin' for MCA." Three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums released by MCA reached the double platinum sales level and at least two others reached platinum or gold levels. Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit streak ended following a tragic 1977 plane crash in which three members of the group and one crew member were killed and others were severely injured.

During the 1970s and 1980s MCA profited from reissuing classic early rock and roll recordings made by artists who recorded for the numerous labels absorbed by MCA over the years. One notable example was the 1954 Decca recording Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, which was featured as the lead track of MCA's No. 1-charting American Graffiti soundtrack album, and as a single returned to the American top 40 that year, 20 years after it was recorded.

Expansion and struggles[link]

In 1977 MCA president Sidney Sheinberg set up the Infinity Records division, based in New York City with Ron Alexenberg as CEO. Alexenberg had previously been with the Epic division of CBS Records, now Sony Music Entertainment. The intention was to give MCA a stronger presence on the east coast. The only big hit the Infinity label had was Escape by Rupert Holmes which was #1 at the end of 1979. Infinity also had some success with Hot Chocolate, Spyro Gyra, New England and TKO. But MCA pulled the plug on Infinity after it failed to sell most of the 1 million advance copies of an album featuring Pope John Paul II in October 1979. Infinity was fully absorbed by the parent company in 1980.

In 1979, Bob Siner replaced Maitland as MCA Records president.^[16] Shortly afterwards, MCA acquired ABC Records along with its subsidiaries Paramount Records, Dunhill Records, Impulse! Records, Westminster Records, and Dot Records. ABC had acquired the Paramount and Dot labels when they purchased Gulf+Western's record labels, the Famous Music Group. Thus MCA now controlled the following material once owned by Paramount Pictures: the music released by Paramount's record labels, and the pre-1950 films by Paramount as well. Also included in the deal were recordings controlled by ABC, including albums by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which were originally released by Shelter Records. Petty was furious about the re-assignment of his contract and refused to record for MCA. This led to a series of lawsuits, which resulted in his bankruptcy in 1980. Petty and other ABC/Shelter artists eventually had their contracts transferred to the Backstreet Records label, which was distributed by MCA. ABC Records' independent distributors sued ABC and MCA for $1.3 million in damages for being stuck with unsold ABC recordings they could not return to MCA.^[17][18] The better selling ABC Records catalog albums were reissued on the MCA label.^[19]

The combined effects of the Infinity Records failure, the purchase of ABC Records, rising vinyl costs and a huge slump in record sales produced tremendous losses for the company between 1979 and 1982. It was not until the mid 1980s that the record labels returned to significant profitability. In late 1980 MCA received negative publicity when it attempted to raise the list price of new releases by top selling artists from $8.98 to $9.98. This policy, known as "superstar pricing", ultimately failed. The Xanadu soundtrack album and former ABC artist Steely Dan's Gaucho were the first $9.98 list albums. Backstreet artist Tom Petty succeeded in his campaign to force MCA to drop prices back to $8.98 for his album Hard Promises released in May 1981.^[20]

Recovery, further expansion and MCA Music Entertainment Group formation[link]

From 1983 to 1989, MCA Records was headed by Irving Azoff and is credited with saving the company from bankruptcy. Azoff resigned from MCA in 1989 to form his own record label, Giant Records, now defunct. Richard Palmese was named president of MCA Records after Azoff in 1990.^[21]

In the late 1980s, MCA formed Mechanic Records as a sub-label for releasing heavy metal music. Bands signed to Mechanic included Voivod, Dream Theater, Bang Tango, and Trixter.

The Chess Records catalog was acquired from the remnants of Sugar Hill Records in 1985. Motown Records was bought in 1988 (and sold to PolyGram in 1993). GRP Records and Geffen Records were acquired in 1990. Unlike most of MCA's previous acquisitions, the GRP (which began managing MCA's jazz holdings) and Geffen (which became a second mainstream subsidiary) labels kept their identities and MCA created a new holding company in 1989 called MCA Music Entertainment Group, headed by Al Teller, former President of United Artists Records, and Co-Chairman of Turf Classics, a concert production company, run by Producer Richard Flanzer; among several other music industry positions Teller held.^[22] with Palmese continuing to run the MCA label. In the same year, the MCA Inc. parent company was purchased by the Matsushita group.

MCA Music Entertainment Group becomes Universal Music Group[link]

In 1995, Seagram Company Ltd. acquired 80% of MCA. On November of that year, Teller was fired and replaced by former Warner Music head Doug Morris.^[23] Palmese left MCA a week later.^[24] The following year, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became Universal Studios, Inc. and its music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed Universal Music Group (UMG), headed by Morris.

In 1997, MCA Records adopted a new logo that featured the parent company's former full name. Many younger people had been unaware of what MCA had stood for in the past, hence the new logo.

In 1998 Seagram acquired PolyGram (owner of British Decca) from Philips and merged it with its music holdings. When Seagram's drinks business was bought by France-based Pernod Ricard, its media holdings (including Universal) were sold to Vivendi which became Vivendi Universal which was later renamed back to Vivendi SA after selling most of the entertainment division (which included Universal Pictures) to General Electric. Morris continued to head the combined company, still called Universal Music Group.

MCA label phaseout[link]

In spring 2003, the MCA Records label was absorbed by sister UMG label Geffen Records.^[25] Today Universal Music Enterprises manages MCA's rock, pop, and urban back catalogues (including those from ABC Records and Famous Music Group) in conjunction with Geffen - UME and Geffen have re-released various albums from MCA in the years since, as well as several compilations. Its country music label, MCA Nashville Records is still in operation. MCA's jazz catalogue is managed by Verve Records (through either the GRP or Impulse! imprints, depending on if the release was acquired from ABC or not), while its classical music catalogue is managed by Deutsche Grammophon. MCA's musical theatre catalogue is managed by Decca Records on its Decca Broadway imprint.

Today, the only operation by MCA that lives is the MCA Nashville imprint.

MCA Music (Philippines)[link]

The MCA name is still in use in the Philippines because of a trademark dispute with an unrelated label known as Universal Records, which holds the rights to the word "Universal" for recorded music in the Philippines. As a result, Universal Music Group is instead traded as MCA Music, Inc. Philippines in that country. However, the company has adopted the moniker "MCA-Universal" to simplify identification, even though no formal "Universal" branding is exercised.

Artists[link]

• 1:43
• Akafellas
• Alegre, Johnny
• Chicosci
• The Dawn
• De Guzman, Lica
• Escueta, Miguel
• Fernandez, Pops
• Franco
• Garcia, Tricia
• Greyhoundz
• HUMANFOLK
• Kjwan
• Lawrence, Kris
• Krissy and Ericka
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• The Lamars
• Sabrina (Orial, Roli Alexandra)
• Paredes, Jim
• Pedicab
• Poon, Richard
• Side A
• Tanya Markova
• Urbandub
• Volante, Nyoy
• Zaragoza, Jessa

Logos[link]

• 1960sMCAlogo.jpg

  First MCA Records logo, used outside the United States and patterned after the 1960s American Decca logo.

• 

  MCA Records logo used from 1972 through 1991.

• 

  Logo used from 1991 through 1997. Still used by MCA Nashville.

• Final MCA Records logo.png

  Final MCA Records logo, used from 1997 until its dismantling in 2003. It adds the founding company's original full name, Music Corporation of America.

Labels[link]

• MCARecordsCover1970s.jpg

  White promotional label used for second logo (1972 until 1991). [Vinyl version]

• MCARecordsCover1990s.jpg

  Label used for third logo (1991 until 1997). [CD version, possibly opposed on Vinyl edition]

MCA Records recording artists[link]

See also[link]

• ABC Records
• Chess Records
• Decca Records
• Dunhill Records
• Geffen Records
• Infinity Records
• Kapp Records
• MCA Nashville Records
• Uni Records
• Universal Music Group
• Uptown Records

References[link]

External links[link]

• The official website of MCA Music PHILIPPINES  Philippines
• MCA Music Philippines on Facebook
• MCA Music Philippines on Twitter
• A collection of MCA record labels
• MCA UK 45 RPM labels and sleeves 1967-1985
• MCA US 45 RPM labels and sleeves 1972-1985

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2008)

For the TV series character, see Stephanie Mills (All in the Family).

Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.

Career[link]

Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times. The victory led to her being cast in her first Broadway role, the orphaned child of a runaway slave in the musical Maggie Flynn.

In 1973, Mills' musical recording career was launched when she was signed to Paramount records by Michael Barbiero, and her first single "I Knew It Was Love" was released. She was later signed to Motown. Her first two albums there failed to generate a buzz as the label could not find Mills' sound and she left the label in 1976.

Mills' career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in an African American adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz entitled The Wiz, where she began dating Michael Jackson. Filled with a more urban style of music and scenery, The Wiz made Mills a star particularly because of her stellar performance of the song "Home". It would become her signature tune for years, and would be covered later by Diana Ross for the big-screen adaptation three years later and by Whitney Houston for her dramatic musical performance debut on TV in the early 1980s. ‎"Mills was the teen-age star of the Broadway stage production of The Wiz. When she sang "Home", the musical's answer to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", her theatrical delivery thrilled audiences and marked her as a talent to watch. One of her most appreciative fans was Michael. By his own count he saw The Wiz eight times, in part because of the up-coming film version but also because he and Stephanie had become friends. Like Michael, and Tatum O'Neal, she was a teen star burdened with adult pressures and popularity. Those close to the young star she was quite infatuated with Michael. At cabaret appearances around New York, Stephanie sang "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and used Jacksonesque stage mannerisms. But for Michael she was a good friend, nothing more. Later in her career she often sang a quite passionate version of "He's Out Of My Life", a female version of "She's Out Of My Life"." - The Michael Jackson Story, Nelson George

Musical success was elusive until 1979, when signed under the 20th Century Fox Records record label, Mills found her breakthrough in disco music, recording songs such as "Put Your Body In It", "You Can Get Over", and "What Cha' Gonna Do With My Lovin'". The resulting album, What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin', was Mills' first gold record.

She quickly followed the success with 1980's Sweet Sensation, which featured Mills' biggest hit to date, the Reggie Lucas-produced "Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980, as well as reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] 1981's Stephanie featured a top hit for her and Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Two Hearts", while her 1983 album, Merciless, featured her hit cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the #3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her third UK hit with "The Medicine Song" (#29),^[1] which also reached #1 on the U.S. dance chart.

Success for Mills had peaked until 1985, when her version of the Angela Winbush-penned "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. Mills truly returned, however, with her next release, If I Were Your Woman in 1987 under MCA Records, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1971; a three-week #1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over" (a song her label mate Patti LaBelle did not wish to cover); and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me", to name a few of the songs released. The album reached platinum status. That same year, she appeared in the NBC TV special, Motown: Merry Christmas along with other musical artists and actors, performing the song, "Christmas Everyday", which was written by actor/comedian Redd Foxx.

Mills' success continued with 1989's Home album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man", the title track, a cover of her old standard from The Wiz and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel". It became another platinum record for Mills.

Mills would record one more album (1992's Something Real) and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1995 on GospoCentric Records entitled Personal Inspirations. The set was produced by Donald Lawrence and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love". Thereafter, Stephanie took a break from recording to care for her son.

Mills returned to musical theater in 1997, playing the lead in a major production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. Mills was heavily featured in the soundtrack CD that resulted from this production.

In 2000, Mills began a comeback with singles recorded with BeBe Winans and rapper DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing Born For This (released on Expansion Records in the UK) on 3 August 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go", garnered buzz at urban contemporary radio. Mills is currently touring. A 2-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled Gold was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year. Mills just finished production of a live DVD recorded at BB Kings in New York which will be sold online and at her shows.

Mills made an appearance in the 2007 gospel TV series Sunday Best and was recently featured in a live interview on The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, where she mentioned that she now has her own record label (JM Records).

Mills performed prior to Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York on April 20, 2008.

In a recent interview Mills stated that she would be releasing her Live CD during the end of this year and that Live CD will include two new tracks.

Her new album entitled Breathless is set to be released soon. Her New Single "Yesterday" is available for download on iTunes.

Personal life[link]

Stephanie is the fifth of six children. She was born and raised predominantly in Brooklyn, New York. Mills claims that she was romantically involved with Michael Jackson for a short period of time while she was doing The Wiz.^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Ebony magazine reported that Mills had been married in the 1970s for a brief period, to Jeffrey Daniel from the soul group Shalamar and again in the mid 1980s to Dino Meminger^[2] but that both marriages had ended in less than two years.^[3] "I also wanted to know why my relationships never made it to two years. I knew it was me," says Mills. "You can't blame it on another person. That's where a lot of women go wrong... carrying over from a bad relationship to a new relationship."

Mills married a third time to Charlotte, North Carolina radio program manager Michael Saunders in 1993 in a wedding ceremony performed by Minister Louis Farrakhan.^[4] The couple divorced sometime later.^[when?]

In an interview with Soul Music in 2002, Mills said that she had a son, Farad. Mills would not comment on the identity of Farad’s father, other than to say that she is not married, and that her ex-husband Michael Saunders is not Farad's father.^[5] Mills added that giving birth “was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was amazingly wonderful and I wish I had started earlier. I might have had two or three before but I had some problems before in being able to have children. But things work out when they’re supposed to... now I’m a single working parent and loving it!"

In an interview with Windy City Times in 2010, Mills said that she presently makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina and that her son, Farad has Down's Syndrome.^[6] "The Shriners are celebrating their 88th anniversary, and they have 22 hospitals nationwide," says Mills. "And what I love is even my son — I have a child with Down's syndrome — can get access to the best spinal-cord doctors in the country."

Discography[link]

• Movin' in the Right Direction – 1974
• For the First Time – 1975
• What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' – 1979
• Sweet Sensation – 1980
• Stephanie – 1981
• Tantalizingly Hot – 1982
• Merciless – 1983
• I've Got the Cure – 1984
• Stephanie Mills – 1985
• If I Were Your Woman – 1987
• Home – 1989
• Christmas – 1991
• Something Special – 1992
• Personal Inspirations – 1995
• Born for This – 2004
• Breathless – 2010

Awards[link]

• 1974 – nominated for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress – Musical ("The Wiz").
• 1979 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues.
• 1980 – won Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female ("Never Knew Love Like This Before").
• 1980 – nominated for an American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1980 – nominated for Young Artist Awards: Best Young Musical Recording Artist – Female ("Two Hearts").
• 1981 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female (Stephanie).
• 1981 – won American Music Award for Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1983 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female ("Merciless").
• 1989 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stephanie Mills official website
• Stephanie Mills at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
• Stephanie Mills at Allmusic
• Stephanie Mills at the Internet Movie Database
• Stephanie Mills at the Internet Broadway Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

Colonel Abrams is a house and urban musician who was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in New York City, New York. He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School currently known as Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics which is in East Harlem section of Manhattan, there he met a fellow student and a guitar player named Joe Webb.

Career[link]

Colonel Abrams (his real name)^[1][2] moved with his family to New York City when he was ten years old due to his father (a construction worker) getting a job there.^[3] The family moved to the East Village in Manhattan on East 13 Street. From an early age, he began playing the guitar and piano. He was in several early bands, among them was Heavy Impact which he played both guitar and keyboards, Joe Webb (guitar), Lemar Washington (guitar), Marston Freeman (bass guitar), Ronald Simmons (drums), and Barbara Mills (saxophone). Later he formed Conservative Manor (mid-1970s), 94 East (the band featuring Prince on lead guitar), and the New Jersey band Surprise Package.^[1]

Hits in the mid-1980s including "Leave the Message Behind the Door" and "Music Is the Answer" established him as a solo artist, initially in Europe and later in the US.^[2] In 1985 he signed to Steven Machat"s Label/Production company, AMI. Machat, who was working with the New Zealand producer Richard Burgess and hired him against conventional wisdom to produce Colonel Abrams for his company the album Colonel Abrams. Machat then talked MCA into signing the Colonel recordings to have them released throughout the world. AMI also at this time had Ready for the World and the New Edition/Bobby Brown with MCA. This collaboration with the British producer Richard James Burgess produced the hits "Trapped", "I'm Not Gonna Let You" and urban contemporary ballad "Table for Two".

"Trapped" reached the top five and went gold in the UK Singles Chart and topped the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1985,^[3] followed by the Colonel Abrams album, which spent two weeks at number one the following year. It was estimated by the Phonographic Association that "Trapped" sold over 5 million copies worldwide by spring 1987. An electronic remix of "Trapped" was later released in 1995 by Boards of Canada under the pseudonym Hell Interface. A new version of "Trapped" ("Trapped 2006") was released in the UK.

"I'm Not Gonna Let You" also spent a week at number one in the dance chart in 1986. The album peaked at number 75 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and number 13 on the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Abrams had a number of entries on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in the 1980s and 1990s, including four entries that hit number one. In 1987 he had his fourth number-one U.S. dance hit with "How Soon We Forget", the same year that he released his second album, You and Me Equals Us.

On January 9, 2007, Colonel Abrams released the single "Just When You Thought." It became the third single released on his own record label, Colonel Records, the others being "Heartbreaker" and "Let Us All Be Friends". On April 2, 2007, Colonel also released a dance smash called "Never Be". In 2007, Abrams released "Just Like Mathematics" and "True Stories". . June 2008 saw the release of his single, "Only a Few". The Colonel will be performing at the 80s Reunion in August 2011.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Colonel Abrams, 1985 MCA Records (#75 U.S., #1 U.S. Dance)
• You and Me Equals Us, 1987 MCA Records
• About Romance, 1992 RCA Records
• Victim of Loving You, 1995 Strictly Rhythm
• Make a Difference, 1996 Dancefloor
• Best of Colonel Abrams, 2000 Universal Special Products
• Should Be Dancin' (The Album), 2008 Colonel Records,Traxsource.com exclusive
• Tribute To My Brother, 2009 Colonel Records
• Strapped,The Remixes, 2010 Famous Records

Singles[link]

• 1984: "Music Is The Answer" (#84 UK,^[4] #11 U.S. Dance)
• 1985: "The Truth" (#53 UK,^[4] #78 R&B)
• 1985: "Trapped" (#3 UK,^[4] #6 NL #1 U.S. Dance, #20 U.S. R&B)
• 1985: "Over and Over" (#45 U.S. Dance, #68 U.S. R&B)
• 1986: "LP Cuts" (Mix of several different songs) (#1 U.S. Dance)^[5]
• 1986: "I'm Not Gonna Let You" (#24 UK,^[4] #1 U.S. Dance, #7 U.S. R&B)
• 1986: "Speculation" (#15 U.S. Dance)
• 1987: "How Soon We Forget" (#75 UK,^[4] #1 U.S. Dance, #6 U.S. R&B)
• 1987: "Nameless" (#54 U.S. R&B)
• 1987: "Soon You'll Be Gone"
• 1990: "Bad Timing"
• 1991: "I'm Not Gonna Let You (1991)"
• 1991: "You Don't Know (Somebody Tell Me)" (#58 U.S. R&B)
• 1992: "When Somebody Loves Somebody" (#70 U.S. R&B)
• 1992: "Never Be Another One" (#22 U.S. Dance)
• 1993: "I'm Caught Up"
• 1993: "As Quiet as It's Kept"
• 1994: "So Confused" (#15 U.S. Dance)
• 1994: "So Proud"
• 1995: "Victim of Loving You"
• 1996: "Heartbreaker"
• 1996: "99½"
• 1996: "As I Take You Back"
• 1996/7: "Get With You"
• 1997: "Make a Difference"
• 1997: "Trapped '97"
• 2000: "Music Is My Life"
• 2001: "Don't Give Me a Love That I Can't Use"
• 2002: "Hurt My Feelings"
• 2002: "Could It Be"

See also[link]

• List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References[link]

External links[link]

• Colonel Abrams – fansite
• Colonel Abrams discography at Discogs

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2008)

Roger McBride, mostly known as King Tee (formerly known as King T), is an American West coast rapper from Compton, California.

Career[link]

Tee had been around the Los Angeles hip hop scene for many years alongside Ice T and Kid Frost and acted as a pioneer for the genre. In 1988 he made his debut with Act a Fool, considered a classic amongst west coast fans.

During his time with Capitol, Tee began mentoring a young trio of rappers called Tha Alkaholiks, or "Tha Liks," as well as their loosely affiliated collective called the Likwit Crew. The Likwits included Xzibit, who would later rise to fame and bring king Tee close to Compton producer Dr. Dre. Tha Liks put out their debut album under King Tee's guidance on Loud Records in 1993. Tee greatly influenced The Notorious B.I.G. with his deep voice, flow and rhyme style, which Big would at times imitate on his 1994 album Ready to Die. Tee later paid homage to Biggie on the track "6 In'a Moe'nin" on his album Thy Kingdom Come, using a similar setup to and vocal samples of Biggie's track "Somebody's Got to Die." Recently, Ice T confirmed in an interview that King Tee was B.I.G's favorite MC.^[1]

After 1994's Tha Triflin' Album, on which Tee worked with Marley Marl, he left Capitol for MCA and put out IV Life in 1995. After leaving MCA as well, he built with Dr. Dre and ended up signing to the producer's label, Aftermath Entertainment. However, Tee only released three songs while on the label, "Str8 Gone" and "Fame" which appeared on Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath and "Some L.A. Niggaz" which appeared on 2001; the two began recording for King Tee's Aftermath album, but the project was subject to repeated push-backs. Eventually, King Tee requested a release from the label.

King Tee has also worked extensively with Oakland rapper/producer Ant Banks. He first appeared on Banks' 1997 compilation Big Thangs, in the song 'West Riden' and in 2000 he was featured in the "Lead the Way" album of Banks' supergroup T.W.D.Y., in the song "No Win Situation".

In 2002, King Tee independently released his Aftermath album, Thy Kingdom Come, produced by Dr Dre and Battlecat. He also released The Ruthless Chronicles in 2004, which had songwriting by Tee's protégé Young Maylay and featured some of the songs seen on Thy Kingdom Come and others produced by DJ Quik. In the interim, Tee has guested on DJ Muggs' Soul Assassins II album. He was mentioned on Nas' song "Where Are They Now?" and appeared on the West Coast remix, along with Kam and Ice-T and other California artists Breeze, Candyman, Threat, Sir Mix-A-Lot and The Conscious Daughters. After this appearance, he put out a mixtape called Boss Up Vol. 1 with music by Snoop Dogg, The Game, J-Ro and several other West Coast artists. In 2006 he made a guest appearance on the song "Poppin' Off" from Xzibit's album Full Circle. He has also reportedly started his own label, though no artists are yet signed to it.^[2] A remix of the song Money has appeared on Dr. Dre's son Hood Surgeon's The Autopsy Mixtape. The song was renamed "Fast Money" and features King Tee and Dr. Dre. The original song was on Thy Kingdom Come.

King Tee's daughter Heaven McBride was killed in a car accident on May 19, 2009. She was 16 years old.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

• 1986 "Payback's a Mutha"
• 1987 "The Coolest"
• 1988 "Bass"
• 1989 "Act A Fool"
• 1990 "Ruff Rhyme (Back Again)"
• 1990 "At Your Own Risk"
• 1990 "Diss You"
• 1990 "Played Like a Piano" w/ Ice Cube and Breeze
• 1992 "Got It Bad Y'all"
• 1992 "Bust Dat Ass"
• 1993 "Black Togetha Again"
• 1994 "Dippin'"
• 1995 "Way Out There"
• 1995 "Free Style Ghetto" w/ Xzibit, Tha Alkaholiks, MC Breeze
• 1998 "Got It Lock'd" (from original 1998 Aftermath-planned release of Thy Kingdom Come
• 2003 "Get Ready 2 Ride" w/ Battle Cat
• 2003 "Stop On By" w/ Tray Deee
• 2004 "Back Up" w/ Phil Da Agony

Appearances[link]

• 1997: Str-8 Gone (From the Compilation Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath by Dr. Dre), Fame / R.C feat. King T (from the Compilation Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath by Dr. Dre)
• 1999: Some L.A. Niggaz / Dr. Dre feat. DeFari, Xzibit, Knoc-Turnn'Al, Time Bomb, King T, MC Ren & Kokane (From the Album 2001 by Dr. Dre)
• 2000: You Better Believe It / Xzibit & King Tee (From SOUL ASSASSINS CHAPTER II by DJ Muggs)
• 2001: Southland Killers / Cypress Hill, MC Ren & King Tee (From STONED RAIDERS by Cypress Hill)
• 2004: Wake Up / Proof (from D12) & King Tee (From THE LAST ASSASSIN by DJ Muggs & Chace Infinite)
• 2006: P.T.A. (Feat. J Ro, King Tee & Masta Ace) (From Sloppy Seconds by CunninLynguists)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official MySpace

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2009)

Ralph Tresvant
Background information
Birth name	Ralph Edward Tresvant Jr.
Born	(1968-05-16) May 16, 1968 (age 44)
Origin	Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	R&B, New Jack Swing
Occupations	Singer, actor, producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Xzault Media Group MCA Records Geffen Records Interscope Records
Associated acts	New Edition, Heads of State
Website	http://www.ralphtresvant.com

Ralph Tresvant ( /trəˈvɑːnt/; born Ralph Edward Tresvant, Jr. on May 16, 1968) is an American tenor singer, best known as one of the lead singers in New Edition.

Biography[link]

New Edition[link]

Tresvant sang lead on many of the New Edition lead singles including "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now" and "If It Isn't Love". When New Edition was formed as the group, Tresvant was chosen as the leading frontman, which caused conflict with group member Bobby Brown (who was since voted out of the group in the early years).

Solo career[link]

Tresvant left New Edition in 1989, shortly before the rest of the group disbanded by the time it was a quartet. Despite the success of groupmates Bobby Brown, Bell Biv DeVoe, and Johnny Gill, Tresvant was cautious about his own solo career. Signing to MCA Records, Tresvant let his apprehension be known in several interviews.

Nevertheless, well-known producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were confident in his abilities after having worked with him on the album Heartbreak. They wrote the song "Sensitivity" for him which hit #1 on the R&B charts, #4 on the Hot 100 and it went gold. His self-titled album released shortly after in 1990 and went platinum as well, topping the R&B charts. The album scored two more hits with "Stone Cold Gentleman" reaching #3 on the R&B charts and "Do What I Gotta Do" which reached #2.

Tresvant appeared in the movie House Party 2 in 1991, performing the song 'Yo Baby Yo' from the House Party 2 Movie Soundtrack. The following year, he scored his fourth and final solo top 3 R&B hit to date, "Money Can't Buy You Love", from the Mo' Money soundtrack. In 1993, he released his second album, It's Goin' Down. The album featured greater involvement from Tresvant as he produced many of the tracks himself. However, the album failed to perform as well as the debut.

In 1996, he reunited with the other members of New Edition for the release of Home Again which became a success. The album was released on September 10, 1996 and debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Pop and R&B Charts.

In October 2004 "Sensitivity" appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on R&B/Soul radio station CSR 103.9.

Ralph's third solo album, Rizz-Wa-Faire, was released March 7, 2006. The first single and video from the album was "My Homegirl".

Heads of State[link]

As of September 27, 2008, he began touring with Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill in a new group named Heads of State.

Personal life[link]

On September 18, 2004 he married Amber Serrano. They live in Acworth, Georgia.^{[citation needed]} He is currently signed to Geffen Records and Interscope Records.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]