This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Rising Tide Records was a record label started by Doug Morris, former head of Atlantic Records, and Daniel Glass, who became President.

The label had success in breaking new artists, including the multi-platinum debut of Erykah Badu, Billie Myers and Lost Boyz. Recognizing the changing landscape of the industry, Glass strategically aligned Universal with such independent record labels as Kedar Entertainment, home to Erykah Badu, and Mojo Records, home to platinum artist Reel Big Fish and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.

In 1995 it was founded and acquired by MCA Records, which renamed the pop division as Universal Records, but kept the Nashville branch open until March 1998.^[1] Acts on the Nashville branch included Matraca Berg, Scotty Emerick, The Buffalo Club, Rebecca Lynn Howard, J.C. Jones, Delbert McClinton, Tony Toliver, Jack Ingram, Dolly Parton, Kris Tyler and Keith Sewell.^[1]

References[link]

See also[link]

• List of record labels

This article about a United States record label is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Rising Tide(s) or The Rising Tide may refer to:

Literature[link]

• The Rising Tide (Deland novel), a 1916 novel by Margaret Deland
• Rising Tide (Thesman novel), a 2003 young-adult novel by Jean Thesman
• The Rising Tide (Shaara novel), a 2006 novel by Jeff Shaara
• Rising Tides, a 2011 novel in the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson
• Rising Tide, a 1999 Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms novel in the trilogy The Threat from the Sea by Mel Odom

Music[link]

• Rising Tide (Chesapeake album), 1994
• The Rising Tide (Sunny Day Real Estate album), 2000
• Rising Tide Records, an American record label

Other[link]

• The Rising Tide (film), a 1949 Canadian film directed by Jean Palardy
• Rising Tide Studios, an American company involved in online business-to-business ventures
• Several national grassroots organizations affiliated with the International Rising Tide Network, working against the causes of climate change, including:
  • Rising Tide North America
  • Rising Tide UK

See also[link]

• The Rising Tied, a 2005 album by Fort Minor

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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. (April 2012)

Stephanie McKay is an American soul singer and songwriter from the Bronx in New York, whose music encompasses styles include elements of classic rock, funk, pop and hip hop. McKay's career has spanned over 20 years, during which time she has collaborated with artists including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Tricky, Carl Hancock Rux and Amp Fiddler. She has also released two solo albums and an EP, played lead guitar in Kelis' band and toured the world with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials.^[1]

Early life[link]

Stephanie McKay was born in the Bronx, an ethnically diverse district in New York City. During her early years she was a member of school choirs and music groups at Truman High School, before joining the Alvin Ailey School. McKay then moved onto the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she graduated with a BFE in modern dance in 1993. The depth of her music influences when growing up in New York are rooted in the classic soul singers of the sixties and inventiveness of popular soul bands from the seventies. She spoke of this in a recent interview she gave;

"I have a brother who is eight years older than me, who was always playing 70's soul and funk music like Earth, Wind And Fire and the Ohio Players, while my mom was in the other room listening to Al Green and Barry White. On my own though, I was a fan of the classic pop station WABC, where I first discovered artists like Michael Jackson and Jim Croce".

In many ways, McKay's music is the continuation of the great legacy of these artists for a new generation.

Early music career[link]

After a knee injury detoured her dance aspirations, McKay started to audition for singing jobs. One of those auditions was for producer Kashif who hired her on the spot for a new girl group called "The Promise". The group went on to be signed by Clive Davis at Arista Records. Although never released, it was during this period that McKay began writing songs. She began to study voice privately with Don Lawrence and drums with Kenwood Dennard. A former band mate, Joi Cardwell from the "The Promise", called her to sub for a gig. The band was the critically acclaimed Brooklyn Funk Essentials (BMG). This was the beginning of the foundation for her live performing career. She recorded two albums and completed 3 international tours with the band.

After working six years with The Brooklyn Funk Essentials, McKay went on to form her own band with Vincent Henry called Bako Babies. The album entitled 'Love Is The Reason' was released on Minor Music (Germany) in 1999.

Solo career[link]

While pursuing her professional music aspirations in New York, McKay continued to dance with several modern dance companies, Jane Comfort, Amy Pivar, Urban Bush woman, and sing her original music in New York City clubs. From her subsequent experience she began to gain more work as a session vocalist. She was hired to sing in the studio and onstage by various artists to complement their sound and live show. One of these artists was Carl Hancock Rux an Obie Award winning playwright, poet and novelist. It was while working for Carl Hancock Rux, she sang a demo of one of his songs. The demo was passed by Carl's manager to Geoff Barrow of Portishead who was starting work on a new project. While on tour with Kelis in England, Stephanie met Geoff at the recommendation of Carl's manager and they decided to complete an album.

The album was entitled "McKay" and included original compositions by Stephanie, along with producers Tim Saul and Geoff Barrow - the latter of the two is credited in the album's sleeve notes as "Fuzzface". The album also features additional instrumentation by other notable, Bristol-based musicians in Adrian Utley and John Baggott. The LP also contains the closing track "Echo", a Sweet Honey In The Rock cover version, penned by the acclaimed social activist, Bernice Johnson Reagon.

The album received critical acclaim. UK national newspaper The Guardian commented that McKay's debut was "resurrecting the passion and pride of politically conscious and eternally lovelorn ladies of late-1960s, early 1970s soul, McKay shines bright," while dance bible MOJO described McKay as "extraordinarily eclectic" and her album was "a coherent artistic statement and worth investigating."

McKay went on to play the WOMAD, Bristol and the Jazz Cafe in England and her music received international acclaim and rotation on MTV. The album "McKay" was released in Europe on (Go Beat/Polydor/Universal). Word crossed the pond to America and Stephanie was soon signed by American company Astralwerks/EMI . In an attempt to reintroduce McKay to the American market, US label Astralwerks released a five song EP in September 2006 with two new songs from forthcoming album and two older songs from "McKay" album and a remix by DJ Spinna of "Tell It Like It Is", as well as featuring on US funk musician Amp Fiddler's album release Afro Strut.

Music style[link]

McKay's musical style has been described as "Motown meets midnight Marauder". Her songs fuse powerful urban poetics with sonic sound waves that includes elements of hip-hop, rock, pop, soul.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• McKay (2003)
• Tell It Like It Is (2008)

Singles/EPs[link]

• Stephanie McKay EP (2006)
• Jackson Avenue (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• MySpace page

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)

Matraca Maria Berg ( /məˈtreɪsə/;^[3] born February 3, 1964 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both at #36. Besides most of her own material, Berg has written hits for T.G. Sheppard, Karen Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter and others. In 2008 she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Early history[link]

Matraca Berg's mother, Icie Berg, moved from Harlan County, Kentucky, to Nashville in the 1960s to seek her fortune as a singer and songwriter shortly before Matraca was born. Her Aunt Sudie Callaway was a successful Music Row backup singer. Aunts Coleida Callaway and Clara Howard were backup vocalists on Kentucky’s Renfro Valley Barn Dance. Uncle Jim Baker was a steel guitar player who also spent some time running Mel Tillis's song publishing companies.

Berg's mother found only limited success in the music industry and eventually became a nurse. Berg herself then took up songwriting with her mother's encouragement. When Berg played her songs for songwriter Bobby Braddock, he volunteered to co-write with her. She found her earliest success in their collaboration, "Faking Love", which was sung by Karen Brooks and T. G. Sheppard, topping the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts on February 19, 1983.^[2]

Career history[link]

After her mother's death in 1985, Berg continued to have great success writing songs for other performers. After Reba McEntire had a #1 song with her "The Last One to Know", and Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker, Ray Price, Marie Osmond, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Michelle Wright and others recorded her songs.

Berg signed to a recording contract with RCA Records Nashville in 1990, releasing her debut album Lying to the Moon that year.^[2] Its first two singles, "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both charted in the country top 40 at #36, followed by the #43 "I Got It Bad" and #55 "I Must Have Been Crazy."

What was to be her follow-up album, Bittersweet Surrender, was recorded in 1991. It featured the single "It's Easy to Tell," which charted in November 1991. The album was rejected by the label, which wanted a more mainstream-sounding recording instead.^[2] One of the songs from this canceled album, "Wrong Side of Memphis," later became a Top Ten hit for Trisha Yearwood. She continued to write for others, and in 1993, RCA issued a second album entitled The Speed of Grace.

In 1997, Berg co-wrote "Strawberry Wine" along with Gary Harrison, which Deana Carter released as a single. Berg won the "Song of the Year" award that year at the CMA (Country Music Association) Awards. The same year, she released the album Sunday Morning to Saturday Night via Rising Tide Records;^[2] it produced the singles "That Train Don't Run" and "Back in the Saddle," the former of which was released by Pinmonkey in 2006. In 1999, RCA released a compilation album entitled Lying to the Moon & Other Stories which also included tracks from her 1997 Rising Tide release.

In 2004 and 2005, Berg was nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, making her one of the youngest nominees in history. She continues to be a prolific and respected country songwriter. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband, Jeff Hanna, a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. During 2007, She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Singles written by Berg[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Charles Anthony "Tony" Toliver (born July 4, 1968 in Richards, Texas) is an American country music singer.

Toliver began playing bass guitar in his family's gospel group, but later began playing piano. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age 25 and held day jobs, until he was discovered by singer Dottie West. West hired him and had him as her pianist and bandleader, with his first gig occurring at the White House.^[2]

Toliver continued to tour with his bandmates after West died in 1991, and released a self-titled debut album through Curb Records the same year. Six years later, he released a second album, Half Saint, Half Sinner through Rising Tide Records. This album included two singles that made the Hot Country Songs charts: "Bettin' Forever on You" and "He's on the Way Home".

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]