Standard lengths on the wall of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London - 1 yard (3 feet), 2 feet, 1 foot, 6 inches (¹⁄₂ foot), and 3 inches. The separation of the inside faces of the markers is exact at an ambient temperature of 62°F (16²⁄₃°C) and a rod of the correct measure, resting on the pins, will fit snugly between them.^[1][2]

A yard (abbreviation: yd) is a unit of length in several different systems including United States customary units, Imperial units and the former English units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches. Under an agreement in 1959 between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, the yard (known as the "international yard" in the United States) was legally defined to be exactly 0.9144 metres.^[3] Prior to that date, the legal definition of the yard when expressed in terms of metric units varied slightly from country to country.

Equivalence to other units of length[link]

For purposes of measuring cloth, the early yard was divided by the binary method into two, four, eight and sixteen parts.^[4] The two most common divisions were the fourth and sixteenth parts. The quarter of a yard was known as the "quarter" without further qualification, while the sixteenth of a yard was called a nail.^[5] The eighth of a yard was sometimes called a finger,^[6] but was more commonly referred to simply as an eighth of a yard, while the half-yard was called "half a yard."^[7]

Other units related to the yard, but not specific to cloth measurement: two yards are a fathom, a quarter of a yard (when not referring to cloth) is a span.^[8]

Etymology[link]

The yard derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon word for a straight branch or rod. In the Middle Ages, the same word (or its variants) had meanings that included measuring rod and rod (16 1/2 feet).^[9][10] The earliest known occurrence of the word (in the sense of "rod") is in Matthew xi. 7 of the Lindisfarne Gospels.^[11]

The word "yard" is a homonym of "yard" in the sense of an enclosed area of land, a word related to the verb "to gird", This second meaning of yard has a completely different etymology from the first and is not related.^[12][13]

Origin theories[link]

The precise origin of the measure is not definitely known. Some believe it derived from the double cubit, or that it originated from cubic measure, others from its near equivalents, such as the length of a stride or pace. One postulate was that the yard was derived from the girth of a person's waist, while another claim held that the measure was invented by Henry I of England as being the distance between the tip of his nose and the end of his thumb.^[14]

Tenth-century king Edgar the Peaceable is sometimes credited with having instituted the yard by a statute known as III Edgar 8.1, dated 959-63, from the Witenagemot at Andover. The statute, which survives in several variant manuscripts, says in effect that the measure of Winchester shall be observed throughout the realm. (A variant reading has it as Winchester and London.)^[15][16][17] The chief proponents of the Edgar theory were Henry William Chisholm (Warden of the Standards, 1867–77) and Captain George Tyrrell McCaw, CMG, OBE (editor of the Empire Survey Review).^[18][19]

The theory that Henry I invented the yard is based on a single line of text in William of Malmesbury's History of the Kings of England (Gesta Regum Anglorum). Translated from the original Latin, it reads: The measure of his own arm was applied to correct the false ell of the traders and enjoined on all throughout England.^[20] The part about Henry's nose was added some centuries later. Even though Watson dismisses as "childish" the suggestion that the original yard was the length of the king's arm, R. D. Connor, in The Weights and Measures of England, says that William of Malmesbury is generally a reliable informant for events taking place in his own lifetime, and that the French pied du roi supposedly derived from the foot of Charlemagne.^[21][22]

History[link]

It was first defined in law by a document thought to date from 1266-1303 known variously as the Composition of Yards and Perches, Compositio Ulnarum et Perticarum, or The statute of ells and perches. The text from the manuscript known as BL Cotton MS Claudius D 2 (as published in Ruffhead's Statutes at Large) reads:^[23]

It is ordained that 3 grains of barley dry and round do make an inch, 12 inches make 1 foot, 3 feet make 1 yard, 5 yards and a half make a perch, and 40 perches in length and 4 in breadth make an acre.

An alternative reading from Liber Horn (as published in Statutes of the Realm) states:^[24]

And be it remembered that the iron yard of our Lord the King containeth 3 feet and no more, and a foot ought to contain 12 inches by the right measure of this yard measured, to wit, the 36th part of this yard rightly measured maketh 1 inch neither more nor less and 5 yards and a half make a perch that is 16 feet and a half measured by the aforesaid yard of our Lord the King.

The Composition of Yards and Perches belongs to a class of documents known as Statutes of uncertain date generally thought to be from c. 1250 to 1305. Although not originally statutes, they gradually acquired the force of law. In some early statute books Composition of Yards and Perches was appended to another statute of uncertain date, the Statute for the Measuring of Land also known as Statutum de Admensuratione Terrase, An Ordinance for Measuring of Land, sometimes (erroneously) listed as 33° Edward I. st. 6. (1305). The Composition of Yards and Perches was repealed by the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 (5 George IV c. 74, par. 23).^[25]

Yard and inch[link]

In a law of 1439 (18 Henry VI. Cap. 16.) the sale of cloth by the "yard and handful" was abolished, and the "yard and inch" instituted.^[26]

There shall be but one Measure of Cloth through the Realm by the Yard and the Inch, and not by the Yard and Handful, according to the London Measure.

According to Connor, cloth merchants had previously sold cloth by the yard and handful to evade high taxes on cloth (the extra handful being essentially a black-market transaction). Enforcement efforts resulted in cloth merchants switching over to the yard and inch, at which point the government gave up and made the yard and inch official. In 1552, the yard and inch for cloth measurement was again sanctioned in law (5 & 6 Edward VI Cap. 6. An Act for the true making of Woolen Cloth.)^[27]

"XIV. And that all and every Broad Cloth and Clothes called Taunton Clothes, Bridgwaters, and other Clothes which shall be made after the said Feast in Taunton, Bridgwater or in other Places of like Sort, shall contain at the Water in Length betwixt twelve and thirteen Yards, Yard and Inch of the Rule, and in Breadth seven Quarters of a Yard: (2) And every narrow Cloth made after the said Feast in the said Towns or elsewhere of like Sorts, shall contain in the Water in Length betwixt three and twenty and five and twenty Yards, Yard and Inch as is aforesaid, and in Breadth one Yard of like Measure; (3) and every such Cloth, both Broad and Narrow being well scowred, thicked, milled and fully dried, shall weigh xxxiv. li. the Piece at the least."

"XV. And that all Clothes named Check-Kersie and Straits, which shall be made after the said Feast shall contain being wet between seventeen and eighteen Yards, with the Inches as is aforesaid, and in Breadth one Yard at the least at the Water; and being well scowred, thicked, milled and fully dried, shall weigh xxiv. li. the Piece at the least."

And once in legislation of 1557-8 (4 & 5 Philip and Mary Cap. 5. An act touching the making of woolen clothes. par. IX.)^[28]

"IX. Item, That every ordinary kersie mentioned in the said act shall contain in length in the water betwixt xvi. and xvii. yards, yard and inch; and being well scoured thicked, milled, dressed and fully dried, shall weigh nineteen pounds the piece at the least:..."

As recently as 1593 we find the same principle mentioned once again (35 Elizabeth. Cap. 10. An act for the reformation of sundry abuses in clothes, called Devonshire kerjies or dozens, according to a proclamation of the thirty-fourth year of the reign of our sovereign lady the Queen that now is. par. III.)^[29]

"(2) and each and every of the same Devonshire kersies or dozens, so being raw, and as it cometh forth off the weaver's loom (without racking, stretching, straining or other device to encrease the length thereof) shall contain in length between fifteen and sixteen yards by the measure of yard and inch by the rule,..."

Physical standards[link]

One of the oldest yard-rods in existence is the clothyard of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors. It consists of a hexagonal iron rod ⁵⁄₈ inch in diameter and ¹⁄₁₀₀ inch short of a yard, encased within a silver rod bearing the hallmark 1445.^[22][30] In the early 15th century, the Merchant Taylors Company was authorized to "make search" at the opening of the annual St. Bartholemew's Day Cloth Fair.^[31][32] In the mid-18th century Graham compared the standard yard of the Royal Society to other existing standards. These were a "long-disused" standard made in 1490 during the reign of Henry VII,^[33] and a brass yard and a brass ell from 1588 in the time of Queen Elizabeth and still in use at the time, held at the Exchequer;^[34] a brass yard and a brass ell at the Guildhall; and a brass yard presented to the Clock-Makers' Company by the Exchequer in 1671. The Exchequer yard was taken as "true"; the variation was found to be +¹⁄₂₀ to -¹⁄₁₅ of an inch, and an additional graduation for the Exchequer yard was made on the Royal Society's standard. In 1758 the legislature required the construction of a standard yard, which was made from the Royal Society's standard and was deposited with the clerk of the House of Commons; it was divided into feet, one of the feet into inches, and one of the inches into tenths. A copy of it, but with upright cheeks between which other measuring rods could be placed, was made for the Exchequer for commercial use.^[35][36]

19th century[link]

Following Royal Society investigations by John Playfair, Hyde Wollaston and John Warner in 1814 a committee of parliament proposed defining the standard yard based upon the length of a seconds pendulum. This idea was examined but not approved.^[37] The Weights and Measures Act of 1824 (5° George IV. Cap. 74.) An Act for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures stipulates that:^[38]

From and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and twenty five the Straight Line or Distance between the Centres of the Two Points in the Gold Studs of the Straight Brass Rod now in the Custody of the Clerk of the House of Commons whereon the Words and Figures "Standard Yard 1760" are engraved shall be and the same is hereby declared to be the original and genuine Standard of that Measure of Length or lineal Extension called a Yard; and that the same Straight Line or Distance between the Centres of the said Two Points in the said Gold Studs in the said Brass Rod the Brass being at the Temperature of Sixty two Degrees by Fahrenheit's Thermometer shall be and is hereby denominated the Imperial Standard Yard and shall be and is hereby declared to be the Unit or only Standard Measure of Extension, wherefrom or whereby all other Measures of Extension whatsoever, whether the same be lineal, superficial or solid, shall be derived, computed and ascertained; and that all Measures of Length shall be taken in Parts or Multiples, or certain Proportions of the said Standard Yard; and that One third Part of the said Standard Yard shall be a Foot, and the Twelfth Part of such Foot shall be an Inch; and that the Pole or Perch in Length shall contain Five such Yards and a Half, the Furlong Two hundred and twenty such Yards, and the Mile One thousand seven hundred and sixty such Yards.

In 1834, the primary Imperial yard standard was partially destroyed in a fire known as the Burning of Parliament. In 1838, a commission was formed to reconstruct the lost standards, including the troy pound, which had also been destroyed.^[39] In 1845, a new yard standard was constructed based on two previously existing standards known as A1 and A2, both of which had been made for the Ordnance Survey, and R.S. 46, the yard of the Royal Astronomical Society. All three had been compared to the Imperial standard before the fire. The new standard was made of Baily's metal No. 4 consisting of 16 parts copper, 2 ¹⁄₂ parts tin, and 1 part zinc. It was 38 inches long and 1 inch square. The Weights and Measures Act of 1855 granted official recognition to the new standards. Between 1845 and 1855 forty yard standards were constructed, one of which was selected as the new Imperial standard. Four others, known as Parliamentary Copies, were distributed to The Royal Mint, The Royal Society of London, The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, and the New Palace at Westminster, commonly called the Houses of Parliament.^[40] The other 35 yard standards were distributed to the cities of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, as well the United States and other countries (although only the first 5 had official status).^[41] The imperial standard received by the United States is known as "Bronze Yard No. 11"^[42]

The Weights and Measures Act 1878 confirmed the status of the existing yard standard, mandated regular intercomparisons between the several yard standards, and authorised the construction of one additional Parliamentary Copy (made in 1879 and known as Parliamentary Copy VI).^[43]

Definition of the yard in terms of the metre[link]

Subsequent measurements revealed that the yard standard and its copies were shrinking at the rate of one parts per million every twenty years due to the gradual release of strain incurred during the fabrication process.^[44] The international prototype metre, on the other hand, was comparatively stable. A measurement made in 1895 determined the length of the metre at 39.370113 inches relative to the imperial standard yard. The Weights and Measures Act of 1895 in conjunction with Order in Council 411 (1898) made this relationship official. After 1898, the de facto legal definition of the yard came to be accepted as 36/39.370113 metres.

In 1959, the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa agreed to adopt the international inch of exactly 2.54 centimetres, and consequently a yard of exactly 0.9144 metre. The USA ratified the treaty in 1960, although the National Bureau of Standards had already begun implementing it in 1959. In the UK, the provisions of the treaty were ratified by the Weights and Measures Act of 1963. The Imperial Standard Yard of 1845 was renamed the United Kingdom Primary Standard Yard and retained its official status as the national prototype yard.^[45]

Schedule 2, Part I of The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 defines the yard as 0.9144 metre, and the metre as the distance light travels in 1/299792458 second. It then goes on to state:

Description of United Kingdom primary standard of the yard A solid bronze bar, about 38 inches long and about 1 inch square in transverse section, marked “Copper 16 oz. Tin 2½ Zinc 1 Mr. Baily’s Metal No. 1 STANDARD YARD at 62°·00 Faht. Cast in 1845 Troughton & Simms, LONDON

Part V Authorised copies of United Kingdom primary standards of the yard and pound ... (e) a bronze bar marked “Copper 16 oz. Tin 2½ inc 1. BAILY’S METAL. PARLIAMENTARY COPY (VI) OF THE IMPERIAL STANDARD YARD. 41 & 42 VICTORIA, CHAPTER 49. STANDARD YARD AT 62° FAHT. CAST IN 1878^[46]

Current use[link]

The yard is used as the standard unit of field-length measurement in American,^[47] Canadian^[48] and Association football,^[49] cricket pitch dimensions^[50] and in some countries, golf fairway measurements.

There are corresponding units of area and volume: the square yard and cubic yard respectively. These are sometimes referred to simply as "yards" when no ambiguity is possible, for example an American or Canadian concrete mixer may be marked with a capacity of "11 yards" or "1.5 yards", where cubic yards are obviously referred to.

Yards are also used in road signs on roads in the United Kingdom^[51] and the United States to specify short distances.

Conversions[link]

• international yard (defined 1959):^[52][53]

1 yard = 0.9144 metre.^[54]

• pre-1959 US yard - defined 1869, implemented 1893^[55]

For survey purposes, certain pre-1959 units were retained, usually prefaced by the word "survey," among them the survey inch, survey foot, and survey mile, also known as the statute mile. The rod and furlong exist only in their pre-1959 form and are thus not prefaced by the word "survey." However, it is not clear if a "survey yard" actually exists.^[56] If it did, its hypothetical values would be as follows:

3937 survey yard = 3600 metre^[55]

1 survey yard ≈ 0.91440183 metre^[55]

0.999998 survey yard = 1 yard (exact)^[55]

1 statute mile = 8 furlongs = 80 chains = 1760 yards

See also[link]

• English units
• Guz, the yard of the Middle East
• Imperial units
• Nail (unit)
• United States customary units
• Vara

References[link]

Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen after winning the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews.
Personal information
Full name	Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen
Born	(1982-10-19) 19 October 1982 (age 29) Mossel Bay, South Africa
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	159 lb (72 kg; 11.4 st)
Nationality	South Africa
Residence	Mossel Bay, South Africa Manchester, England[1]
Spouse	Nel-Mare (m. 2007)
Partner	Jana, Sophia
Career
Turned professional	2002
Current tour(s)	European Tour Sunshine Tour PGA Tour
Professional wins	10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	1
European Tour	5
Sunshine Tour	7
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 2012
U.S. Open	T9: 2011
The Open Championship	Won: 2010
PGA Championship	73rd: 2008

Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈlu.i ˈoəst.ɦœjzən]^[2] born 19 October 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship and was runner-up in the 2012 Masters Tournament.

Early life and career[link]

Oosthuizen was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa. His early career was supported financially for three years by the foundation of fellow South African golfer Ernie Els.^[3] He won numerous amateur titles before turning professional in 2002 at the age of 19.

Oosthuizen at the 2008 Telkom PGA Championship

He has won five professional tournaments on the Sunshine Tour: the 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Arabella, the 2007 Dimension Data Pro-Am and Platinum Classic, and the Telkom PGA Championship twice, in 2007 and 2008. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2003 and has been a member of the European Tour since 2004. In 2009, he finished 31st on the Race to Dubai. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

In March 2010, he won his first European Tour event at the Open de Andalucia de Golf.^[4] He also won the 2010 Masters Par 3 Contest.^[5]

2010 Open Championship[link]

Oosthuizen entered the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews ranked 54th in the Official World Golf Rankings,^[6] and only having made one cut in eight major championship appearances.^[7] He shot a 65 on the first day, placing him in second place, behind a 63 shot by Rory McIlroy.^[8]

Oosthuizen's 67 on Friday was the low round of the day^[8] and gave him a lead that he would not relinquish throughout the final two rounds.^[9] His two-day total of 132 tied the record for the lowest 36-hole score in an Open Championship at St Andrews.^[10] A 69 on Saturday placed Oosthuizen at 15-under-par, and four shots clear of second-place Paul Casey with one round to play.^[11]

On Sunday, Casey closed the gap to three shots on the 8th hole, before Oosthuizen drove the 9th green and made a long putt for eagle.^[12] On the 12th hole, Oosthuizen made birdie, while Casey hit his drive into a gorse bush, and wound up making triple bogey to give Oosthuizen an eight-shot lead.^[12][13] In the end, Oosthuizen shot 71 on Sunday, and 16-under-par 272 for the championship, to win by seven strokes. His 272 was the second lowest in St Andrews history. Casey eventually finished third with Lee Westwood taking second.

Oosthuizen became the fourth man from South Africa to win the Claret Jug – following Bobby Locke, Gary Player, and Ernie Els – and moved to 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings,^[14][15] leapfrogging fellow South African Retief Goosen in 16th position.

Oosthuizen claims his exemplary focus during the tournament, which enabled him to win by a wide margin, was due to a red spot marked on his glove. He would look at that spot as the beginning of his pre-shot routine and use it to help him remain focused before and during his swing. Oosthuizen had consulted Karl Morris, a Manchester-based sports psychologist, prior to the event for ways in which he could improve his concentration.^[16]

After 2010[link]

Oosthuizen finished the 2010 season in 10th place on the Race to Dubai, posting three further top-10s after his major win. In January 2011, he claimed his third European Tour title, and his sixth in his home country, winning the Africa Open in a playoff.^[17] In 2012, Oosthuizen successfully defended his title at the Africa Open with a two stroke victory over Tjaart van der Walt. His success was helped by a second round 62, which took Oosthuizen to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage and from there he held on for victory.^[18]

Oosthuizen was runner-up at the 2012 Masters Tournament. In the final round, he hit an albatross on the second hole of Augusta National Golf Club. This was only the fourth ever albatross in Masters history, and the first to be televised, as well as the first ever on that hole. Oosthuizen took the outright lead of the tournament with this exceptional shot, and maintained the lead until caught on the 16th hole, by Bubba Watson. He was eventually defeated by Watson on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.^[19] The following week he won his fifth European Tour title at the Maybank Malaysian Open.

Amateur wins (6)[link]

• 2000 World Junior Championship
• 2001 All African Games (Kenya), Transvaal Amateur Stroke Play Championship (South Africa)
• 2002 Indian Amateur Open Championship (tied), Irish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship, Natal Open Stroke Play Championship (South Africa)

Professional wins (10)[link]

Oosthuizen at the 2007 Valle Romano Open at the Aloha Golf Club, Marbella, Spain

European Tour wins (5)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	28 Mar 2010	Open de Andalucia de Golf	–17 (67-63-66-67=263)	3 strokes	Richard Finch, Peter Whiteford
2	18 Jul 2010	The Open Championship	–16 (65-67-69-71=272)	7 strokes	Lee Westwood
3	9 Jan 2011	Africa Open (co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour)	–16 (70-67-69-70=276)	Playoff	Manuel Quirós, Chris Wood
4	8 Jan 2012	Africa Open (co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour)	–27 (69-62-67-67=265)	2 strokes	Tjaart van der Walt
5	15 Apr 2012	Maybank Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour)	–17 (66-68-69-68=271)	3 strokes	Stephen Gallacher

Sunshine Tour wins (7)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	19 Sep 2004	Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour at Arabella	–1 (74-70-71=215)	1 stroke	Keith Horne
2	28 Jan 2007	Dimension Data Pro-Am	–11 (66-71-71-69=277)	1 stroke	Omar Sandys
3	25 Feb 2007	Telkom PGA Championship	–22 (67-65-69-65=266)	1 stroke	Richard Sterne
4	27 Oct 2007	Platinum Classic	–11 (64-71-70=205)	Playoff	Marc Cayeux, Adilson da Silva
5	24 Feb 2008	Telkom PGA Championship	–28 (66-63-66-65=260)	14 strokes	Hennie Otto
6	9 Jan 2011	Africa Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	–16 (70-67-69-70=276)	Playoff	Manuel Quirós, Chris Wood
7	8 Jan 2012	Africa Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	–27 (69-62-67-67=265)	2 strokes	Tjaart van der Walt

Major championships[link]

Wins (1)[link]

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2010	The Open Championship	4 shot lead	−16 (65-67-69-71=272)	7 strokes	Lee Westwood

Results timeline[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary[link]

• Tournaments played: 15
• Wins: 1
• 2nd: 1
• 3rd: 0
• Top 10s: 3
• Top 25s: 3
• Missed cuts: 10
• Most consecutive cuts made: 2

Results in World Golf Championship events[link]

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances[link]

Amateur

• Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Africa): 2002

Professional

• World Cup (representing South Africa): 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Louis Oosthuizen at the European Tour official site
• Louis Oosthuizen at the Sunshine Tour official site
• Louis Oosthuizen at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
• Listen to Louis Oosthuizen say his name

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 2010)

Raphael Saadiq
Saadiq at the 2012 Time 100
Background information
Birth name	Charles Ray Wiggins
Born	(1966-05-14) May 14, 1966 (age 46)
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, neo soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Pookie Entertainment, Columbia, Sony
Associated acts	Tony! Toni! Toné!, Lucy Pearl, Eve 6, Joi, Joss Stone, Q-Tip

Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Ray Wiggins, May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend.

He and D'Angelo were occasional members of The Ummah, a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and J Dilla of the Detroit-based group Slum Village.

Saadiq's critically acclaimed album, The Way I See It, released on September 16, 2008, featuring artists Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone, and Jay-Z, received three Grammy Award Nominations and was voted Best Album on iTunes of 2008. His fourth studio album, Stone Rollin', was released on March 25, 2011.^[1] For the album, Saadiq worked with steel guitarist Robert Randolph; former Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist Larry Dunn; Swedish/Japanese indie rock songstress Yukimi Nagano (of Little Dragon fame); Funk legend Larry Graham (on the bonus cut Perfect Storm)^[2] plus soul newcomer Taura 'Aura Jackson' Stinson. ^[3][4]

Music critic Robert Christgau has called Saadiq the "preeminent R&B artist of the '90s".^[5]

Early life[link]

Saadiq was born in Oakland, California, the second-youngest of 14 siblings and half-siblings.^[3] His early life was marked by tragedy; he experienced the deaths of several of his siblings as a young child. When Saadiq was seven years old, his brother was murdered. One of his brothers overdosed on heroin and another committed suicide because he was unable to deal with his addiction to the drug. His sister died as a result of a car crash during a police chase in a residential neighborhood. Saadiq states that he does not want his music to be reflective of the tragedies he experienced, saying that "And through all of that I was makin' records, but it wasn't comin' out in the music. I did it to kinda show people you can have some real tough things happen in your life, but you don't have to wear it on your sleeve."^[3]

He has been playing the bass guitar since the age of six,^[2] and first began singing at age nine in a local gospel group.^[6][7] At the age of 12, he joined a group called "The Gospel Humminbirds". In 1984, shortly before his 18th birthday, Saadiq heard about tryouts in San Francisco for Sheila E.'s backing band on Prince's Parade Tour. At the audition, he chose the name "Raphael", and had difficulty remembering to respond to the name when he heard that he got the part to play bass in the band.^[3] He says of the experience, "Next thing I was in Tokyo, in a stadium, singin' Erotic City. We were in huge venues with the biggest sound systems in the world; all these roadies throwin' me basses, and a bunch of models hangin' round Prince to party. For almost two years. That was my university."^[3]

Career[link]

1987–99: Tony! Toni! Toné! and The Ummah[link]

After returning to Oakland from touring with Prince, Saadiq began his professional career as the lead vocalist and bassist in the rhythm and blues and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné! He used the name Raphael Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Toné!, where he was joined by his brother Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian. In the mid-1990s, he adopted the last name Saadiq, which means "man of his word" in Arabic.^[3] His change of surname led many to speculate that he had converted to Islam at that point; in reality, Saadiq is not a Muslim, but rather just liked the way "Saadiq" sounded and changed his last name simply to distinguish himself from and avoid potential confusion with his brother, Dwayne Wiggins.^[9] As he confirmed by telling noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' in May 2009, "I just wanted to have my own identity!"^[10]

In 1995, Saadiq had his biggest solo hit to date, when "Ask of You", featured on the Higher Learning Soundtrack peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. In 1995, Saadiq produced and performed on Otis & Shug's debut album, We Can Do Whatever.

Tony! Toni! Toné! would become major R&B superstars throughout the late-1980s and 1990s. However, after the 1996 album entitled House of Musicfailed to duplicate the group's previous success, Tony! Toni! Toné! went their separate ways in 1997.

In 1997, Saadiq hooked up with EPMD for the tune "Da Joint".

1999–2004: Lucy Pearl and first string of solo albums[link]

In 1999, Saadiq's next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. He recorded the self-titled album with Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). The group only lasted for one album.

In 1999, he also collaborated with rapper Q-Tip on the single "Get Involved", from the animated television series The PJs. It samples The Intruders' 1973 song "I'll Always Love My Mama" and charted at number 21 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.^[11]

His 2000 song collaboration "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" won D'Angelo a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; it was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.^[12] The song was ranked #4 on Rolling Stone's "End of Year Critics & Readers Poll" of the top singles of 2000.^[13] D'Angelo's album Voodoo won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

In 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label, Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are Joi and Truth Hurts. In 2002, he released his first solo album Instant Vintage, which earned him five Grammy Award nominations. He released a two-disc live album All the Hits at the House of Blues in 2003, and his second studio album Ray Ray in 2004, both on Pookie Entertainment.

2004–present: Expanded output and second string of albums[link]

Saadiq in 2009

In 2004, Saadiq produced a remix of the song "Crooked Nigga Too" by Tupac Shakur which is featured on the album Loyal To The Game. Other artists he has collaborated with include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Teedra Moses, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, DJ Quik, Kelis, Q-Tip, Lil' Skeeter, Ludacris, The Bee Gees, Musiq Soulchild, Jaguar Wright, Chanté Moore, Lionel Richie, Marcus Miller, Noel Gourdin, Nappy Roots, Calvin Richardson, T-Boz from TLC, Floetry, Leela James, Amp Fiddler, John Legend, Joss Stone, Young Bellz, Anthony Hamilton, Babyface, Ledisi, Goapele, Ghostface Killah, Ginuwine, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bilal, Chali 2na, Larry Graham,^[2] Luniz as well as many others. In 2007, Saadiq produced Introducing Joss Stone, the third album of British soul singer Joss Stone.

Saadiq's third solo album, The Way I See It, released on Columbia Records on September 16, 2008, available in a collector's edition box set of 7" 45 rpm singles as well as on traditional CD, was critically well-received, made several critics' 2008 best albums lists, and garnered three Grammy nominations including Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (for "Never Give You Up", featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton); Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for "Love That Girl") and Best R&B Album for The Way I See It. Music from The Way I See It was featured in the following motion pictures: Madea Goes To Jail, Bride Wars, Cadillac Records, Secret Life of Bees, In Fighting (Rogue), and It's Complicated.

Saadiq performing at the 2009 Stockholm Jazz Festival, promoting The Way I See It.

Touring with a nine piece band, Saadiq hit the 2009 summer music festival circuit with performances at Bonnaroo, Hollywood Bowl, Outside Lands, Pori Jazz Festival, Stockholm Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz, Essence Music Festival, Summer Spirit Festival, and Nice Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot Music Festival and Austin City Limits. Saadiq has been touring Europe extensively, and held a five-night residency at the House of Blues in Tokyo, Japan in June 2009. In 2008, Saadiq formed a new label called Velma Records, a place where Raphael promises "people can express themselves like I did with The Way I See It... where they can dream something up and just go with it".^[14]

He produced songs for LeToya Luckett's forthcoming second album Lady Love, released August 2009. In 2009, Saadiq produced "Please Stay" and "Love Never Changes" for Ledisi's August 2009 release "Turn Me Loose". Saadiq also was the executive producer for an emerging group called Tha Boogie. Tha Boogie's first EP was released on iTunes and is titled Love Tha Boogie, Vol. 1 (Steal This Sh*t).

In 2009, Saadiq announced his video game development company called IllFonic. The first video game in development by IllFonic is titled Ghetto Golf, with an expected release late in 2010. In 2009, Saadiq teamed up Bentley Kyle Evans, Jeff Franklin, Martin Lawrence, and Trenten Gumbs to create a new sitcom called Love That Girl! starring Tatyana Ali. Raphael is an executive producer and composer for Love That Girl!. The show is currently in development. In 2010, Saadiq sang as part of the chorus in the 2010 remake of "We Are the World" for Haiti.

Saadiq performing at South by Southwest in 2011, promoting Stone Rollin'.

In 2011, Saadiq was the guitarist/bandleader for the group backing Mick Jagger for Jagger's tribute performance of the Solomon Burke R&B classic, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" at the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and on CBS. The band that accompanied the performance was Saadiq's touring band called Stone Rollin.^[15] In 2011 he and his band performed as the ESPY's house band for the night, where he performed his latest compositions.

Saadiq's 2011 album Stone Rollin' was released to great critical acclaim.^[16][17] "He’s always had a boyish enthusiasm for performing, and a flexible, naturally joyous voice that suggests a young Stevie Wonder," wrote Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, "but with his latest album, Saadiq finds a new gear. The album and his current tour demonstrate that there’s a big difference between retro and classic, and the artist consistently finds himself on the right side of that divide."^[18] Kot ranked the album number seven in his year-end list, in which he dubbed it Saadiq's "finest achievement" and stated, "He’s always written songs steeped in soul and R&B, but now he gives them a progressive edge with roaming bass lines and haunted keyboard textures. He’s no longer a retro stylist – he’s writing new classics."^[19] Critic Jim Derogatis called it "a stone cold gas of a party disc."^[20]

In fall 2011, he performed on the fourth results show of Dancing with the Stars season 13. In December, 2011, he performed a cover compilation of several Neil Diamond songs at the Kennedy Center Honors award ceremony.

Discography[link]

• Instant Vintage (2002)
• All Hits at the House of Blues (2003)
• Ray Ray (2004)
• The Way I See It (2008)
• Stone Rollin' (2011)^[21] (UK chart peak: #84)

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

• BET Awards
  • 2009, BET Centric Award (nominated)

• Grammy Awards
  • 2011, Best Traditional R&B Performance "Good Man" (nominated)
  • 2009, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group "Never Give You Up" (nominated)
  • 2009, Best R&B Album The Way I See It (nominated)
  • 2009, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance "Love That Girl" (nominated)
  • 2007, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance "I Found My Everything" (nominated)
  • 2005, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group "Show Me the Way" (nominated)
  • 2003, Best Urban/Alternative Performance "Be Here" (nominated)
  • 2003, Best R&B Song "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" (winner)
  • 2003, Best R&B Song "Be Here" (nominated)
  • 2003, Best R&B Album Instant Vintage (nominated)
  • 2003, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture of Television Special "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" (nominated)
  • 1995, Best R&B Song "Anniversary" (nominated)

• Soul Train Awards
  • 2011, Centric Award (winner)
  • 2009, Best Male R&B/Soul Artist (nominated)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Raphael Saadiq

• Official website
• Raphael Saadiq on Myspace
• Raphael Saadiq at the Internet Movie Database
• The Stone Rollin' Sessions Interview With Raphael Saadiq, co-producer Chuck Brungardt, Taura Stinson & Ron Fonksa Bacon on Soul Jones (July 2011)
• Raphael Saadiq on SoulRnB.com (FR)
• Interview of Raphael Saadiq on SoulRnB.com (June 2011)

(FR)