Looking For New Blog Entries!!

Hello, music fans!!

I’m going to be taking a little break to look for new blog entries for July, but rest assure, I’ll be back soon. Until then, enjoy my previous blog entries and keep the good positive comments coming!!

Sincerely,
The Music-Know-It All

9.9

9.9 was an R&B music group from the ’80s that consisted of vocalists Margo Thunder, Wanda Perry and Leslie Jones.

All three women were friends and classmates at Madison Park High School in Roxbury, Massachusetts and were in the same music class. They performed together on street corners and at Boston Common. The trio later answered an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix newspaper and began performing in clubs under the name Margo Thunder and Intrigue.
Between 1974 and 1975, Margo released three singles on the Haven Records label: “Expressway to Your Heart”, “The Soul of A Woman” and “Don’t You Have Any Love In Your Heart”.
In 1985, 9.9 released their self-titled debut album on RCA Records which peaked at #79 on the Billboard 200 and #15 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single, “All Of Me For All Of You” peaked at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #53 on the U.K. Singles chart. The song also peaked at #47 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles chart and #5 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks.
The follow-up single from the album, “I Like The Way You Dance” peaked at #30 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.

9.9 performed on television shows such as “Soul Train”, “American Bandstand” and “Solid Gold”; however, they disbanded in 1987 due to material, production and personal matters.

In the ’90s, Margo Thunder formed another girl group called Lady Soul; they released a solo album in 1992 and were featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Sister Act”. These days (according to research), Margo lives in Los Angeles, California and continues to perform as an independent solo artist.

Wanda Perry (now Wanda Perry-Josephs) currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts where she works as a special education paraprofessional at Boston Public Schools and as an administrator & program developer coordinator at the Oscar Micheaux Family Theater Company.

Leslie Jones went on to sing in church; sadly, she died on July 5, 2013 from unknown causes and was survived by her two children & four granchildren.

To follow Margo Thunder on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/margothunderhouse7/?hl=en

To see a video for “All Of Me For All Of You”, go to:

To see a video for “I Like The Way You Dance”, go to:

Chris Bender

Chris Bender (born Christopher Lamont Bender on August 2, 1972 in Brockton, Massachusetts) was a R&B singer from the early ’90s whose up and coming career came to a terrible end.

He was the youngest of six children; his father Andrew was a construction worker and his mother, Betty Ann was a nurse’s aide. He grew up in Brockton and Walton, Massachusetts.

Chris and his family were active in church; when he was 10 years old, he sang an emotional version of the song, “Amazing Grace.” Growing up, his musical influences were Michael Jackson, Prince, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and New Edition. 

When he was 12 years old, he met Bobby Jones, who owned a studio and helped him develop his voice. At the age of 14, Chris formed a music group with his brothers and two cousins called Steady Life where they performed in Brockton.

Chris was expelled from Brockton High School when he was 16 years old due to fighting. He later went to New York City where he met Earl Williams, who became his manager and got him a record deal with Epic Records in 1989.

During that same year, he recorded his self-titled debut album. The lead single, “Baby Girl” was released, but limited copies of the album were released. According to his manager, the music video for “Baby Girl” was never released. 

In 1990, Chris found himself in trouble as he had arrests for cocaine possession and allegedly being involved in a drive-by shooting. He later signed a $500,000 and seven-album contract with EastWest Records.

In 1991, he released his sophomore album, “Draped” which peaked at #92 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

The lead single, “I Knew” peaked at #43 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks, making it his only highest chart appearance on the chart.

The follow-up single, “That’s Not the Way” peaked at #68 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.

On November 3, 1991, Chris and his 17-year-old cousin, Jesse Starks were in Chris’s black Mercedes Benz outside of the housing project in Brockton, Massachusetts where his mother lived. They were smoking marijuana in the car when they were approached by three hooded men who fired 21 gunshots at it.

Jesse was unharmed, but Chris (who used his body to shield his cousin from getting hurt) was shot four times in the back of his torso and one time in his elbow. He later died from his injuries in the hospital. He was 19 years old at the time of his death.

On November 9, 1991, Chris was buried at Melrose Cemetery in Plymouth County in Brockton. The shooter, Eroy Kindell was convicted of second degree murder; he was released on parole in 2008. His accomplice, Stephen “Sticks” Fernandes was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

To see a video for “I Knew,” go to:

To see a video for “That’s Not The Way,” go to:

To see a video for “Baby Girl,” go to:

[updated on 12/08/2021]

Ephraim Lewis

Ephraim Lewis (born on November 27, 1967 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England) was an English R&B/neo-soul singer from the ’90s.

In his early years, his father, Jabez formed a music group called The Lewis Five which featured Ephraim and his brothers. In 1984, his mother died of a brain hemorrhage and by the time he was 16 years old, he was living on his own.

As he looked for a way to pursue his music career, Ephraim worked at fast food restaurants and a gas station. In 1990, when he was 22 years old, he was discovered by music producers Kevin Bacon and Jonathon Quarmby in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

In 1992, he signed a record deal with Elektra Records. During that same year, he released his debut and only album, “Skin” which peaked at #32 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.

The lead single from the album, “It Can’t Be Forever” peaked at #66 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.

The follow-up single, “Drowning in Your Eyes” peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, #12 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #80 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 4 weeks. 

The last two singles released from the album: “World Between Us” and the title song failed to make any impact on the charts at all.

Despite the album selling fewer than 150,000 copies worldwide, Elektra Records remained committed to Ephraim, but they wanted more commercial songs from him. Issues occurred between his record label, Kevin Bacon and Jonathon Quarmby; by the time preparations for his follow-up album began in 1993, he was no longer working with Bacon and Quarmby. 

In 1994, Elektra Records sent Ephraim to Los Angeles, California to work with composer Glenn Ballard to work on his sophomore album. On March 18, 1994, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to reports of a “naked black man acting crazy” at 1710 Fuller Avenue, the apartment where Ephraim was residing at; he was due to fly back home to England on that same day.

The police reported that Ephraim attempted to escape from the officers and began climbing the outside balconies. When he reached the top balcony, the officers used a taser on him three times which caused him to fall from the balcony and landed on the courtyard below.

Ephraim suffered from extensive head injuries from the fall. After being kept alive on a ventilator for several hours, he was removed from life support and died from his injuries that night at the age of 26. The coroner assigned by the LAPD ruled his death a suicide and it took a month for his body to be returned to England. 

Ephraim’s cousin, Naomi Hobbs (who is a barrister) blamed the LAPD for his death, saying: “Ephraim was murdered by the police. Words fail me as to why they used a stun gun on someone standing on a balcony. They didn’t just use it once but three times and as soon as they used that gun Ephraim was bound to fall and bound to die. It was so reckless.”

In April of 1994, hundreds of people gathered at the Darlington Street Methodist Church in his hometown of Wolverhampton for Ephraim’s funeral. His manager, David Harper covered most of the funeral expenses and the cost of returning his body to England. He was laid to rest on April 21, 1994.

To see a video for “Drowning in Your Eyes”, go to:

To see a video for “It Can’t Be Forever,” go to:

To see a video for “World Between Us,” go to:

To see a video for “Skin,” go to:

[updated on 12/08/2021]

Guys Next Door

Guys Next Door were a pop music boy band from the ‘early 90s that had their own Saturday morning television show.

The band’s members consisted of Patrick J. Dancy (born on July 18, 1970 in Long Island, New York), Damian Sharpe (born on July 10, 1973 in Cleveland, Ohio), Eddie Garcia (born on August 11, 1969 in Los Angeles, California), Bobby Leslie (born Robert Leslie on July 9, 1972 in New York) and Chris Wolfe (born Christopher Wolfe on May 8, 1971 in Scio, Oregon).

On August 27, 1990, the band’s television show premiered on NBC as part of the network’s Saturday morning line-up.
During that same year, they released their self-titled debut studio album. The band scored a minor pop hit with their song, “I’ve Been Waiting For You” which peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The follow-up single from the album, “I Was Made For You” was released promotionally, but didn’t appear to make the charts at all. During the early ’90s, Guys Next Door became quite popular; they had their own board game, lunch box and even their own fan club.

By February of 1991, their television show was cancelled after 13 episode and it seemed as the band went their separate ways.

Patrick Dancy continued to be active in acting, appearing in various television shows such as “Family Matters” and “Saved by The Bell.” These days, he co-runs a footwear business called LGND Footwear.

Damon Sharpe resides in Los Angeles, California where he works as a songwriter and producer; he has worked with various artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Anastacia, Kelly Rowland, Monica, Jesse McCartney, Brian McKnight, Natalie Cole, Leona Lewis, Big Time Rush and Ariana Grande.

Eddie Garcia continued to act in various films and television shows.t hese days, he works as a choreographer where he has worked with Michael and Janet Jackson. According to research, he also teaches at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City.

Bobby Sharpe and Chris Wolfe dropped out of the public eye after Guys Next Door came to an end. According to research, Bobby resides in Florida where he works as a computer programmer and plays guitar at local open mic nights in the area as a hobby. It’s unknown what Chris is currently up to these days.

To follow Patrick Dancy on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/patrick_dancy/

To see Damon Sharpe’s official website, go to:
https://damonsharpe.com/

To see a video for “I’ve Been Waiting For You,” go to:

To see a video for “I Was Made for You,” go to:

To see a video for the introduction of Guys Next Door’s short-lived television show, go to:

Damian Dame

Damian Dame were an R&B music duo from the ’90s. They were set to be one of the top music acts for L.A. Reid and Babyface; however, their careers were sadly cut short.

The duo consisted of singers Damian Broadus (born Bruce Edward Broadus on September 13, 1966 in Marshall, Michigan) and Deah Dame (born Debra Jean Hurd on September 20, 1958).
Deah began singing at a young age. At the age of 18, she toured with her older sister and brother-in-law’s band. In 1983, she released her self-titled debut solo album on Geffen Records. She also provided backing vocals for artists such as Babyface, Karyn White, Shalamar and The Deele.

By the time he was 9 years old, Damian taught himself how to play the piano and was playing in clubs in Kalamazoo, Michigan by the time he was 16 years old. He was also a member of a music group called Shy Boy and had his own production company called K-Zoo.

Initially, Deah was supposed to be a solo music act, but after Damian heard her voice on a demo tape from another musician, he wanted to sing with her. A year after they met in Los Angeles, they signed a record deal with LaFace Records and moved to Georgia.
In 1991, Damian Dame released their self-titled and only studio album. The album peaked at #21 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single from the album, “Exclusivity” topped Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart for 2 week, staying on the chart for 17 weeks.

The song crossed over to the pop music charts, peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at #34 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #45 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 2 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Right Down To It” peaked at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 21 weeks.
The last single released from the album, “Gotta Learn My Rhythm” missed the Hot 100, but managed to peak at #34 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #20 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.

On June 27, 1994, Deah was killed in a car accident in Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 35. At the time of her death, Damian Dame were planning to make their follow-up album. She is survived by her parents and siblings, and donations in her memory were given to the United Negro College Fund.
In 1995, Damian released a solo album called “199SEX” on the Chip Records label. On June 27, 1996 (two years after Deah’s death), he died from colon cancer at the age of 29. He is survived by his mother, grandmother, wife Carol Morrow and two children: daughter Sky (who was featured on the MTV reality series, “My Super Sweet Sixteen”) & son Dominic.

To see a video for “Exclusivity,” go to:

To see a video for “Right Down To It,” go to:

To see a video for “Gotta Learn My Rhythm,” go to:

To see a video for “Hug Me, Squeeze Me” (from Deah’s solo album), go to:

To see a video for “Physical” (from Damian’s solo album), go to:

Ta Mara & The Seen

Ta Mara & The Seen were an R&B music band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that consisted of lead singer Margaret “Ta Mara” Cox (born in Kenitra, Morocco), bassist Keith Woodson, guitarist Oliver Leiber (the son of songwriter Jerry Leiber), keyboardist Gina Fellicetta and drummer Jamie Chez.

Margaret moved from Morocco to Minneapolis, Minnesota when she was seven years old where she learned to play several instruments such as the piano, guitar and drums.

In the 9th grade, she formed her first band, Split Rock. In 1976, she was a member of a house band at the Mermaid Supper Club called Sweet Thing.

In 1979, Margaret joined a band from St. Paul, Minnesota called Raggs and a year later, she joined the Doug Maynard Band who toured with singer Bonnie Raitt. After returning from tour, the group formed the T.C. Jammers. She provided vocals on Lipps Inc.’s last album and later joined bands such as Inside Straight & Metropolis.
In 1985, she formed a band called The Seen which attracted the attention of guitarist Jesse Johnson (who changed Margaret’s name to “Ta Mara”) and helped get them a record deal with A&M Records. During that same year, they released their self-titled debut album which peaked at #72 on the Billboard 200 and #50 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single from the album, “Everybody Dance” peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 19 weeks. It also peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Disco Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 11 weeks) and #17 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The follow-up single, “Affecttion” peaked at #19 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.
The last single released from the album, “Thinking About You” peaked at #85 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 5 weeks.
In 1988, Ta Mara & The Seen released their sophomore and last studio album, “Blueberry Gossip” which flopped on the charts.
The lead single, “Blueberry Gossip” peaked at #54 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
The follow-up singles: “True Ecstasy” and a cover version of Sly and the Family Stone’s 1968 song, “Everyday People” failed to chart.

Afterwards, the band was dropped from their record label and they disbanded in 1989. Margaret Cox and Jesse Johnson wrote the song, “I Need You” which was featured on Paula Abdul’s debut album, “Forever Your Girl”.

In the early ’90s, Margaret began working with Prince under the name Margie Cox. Together, they recorded more than 25 songs for a band to be called M.C. Flash, but an album was never released.
In 1994, she recorded Prince’s song, “Standing at the Altar” for Prince’s 1994 compliation album, “1-800 NEW-Funk” and it was released as a single, but didn’t make the charts at all.
In 2003, Margaret independently released a solo album called “Margie’s Little Demo”. These days (according to research), she performs in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a band called Dr. Mambo’s Combo.

Keith Woodson (now Keith Woodson Cox) is the executive producer, songwriter, engineer and musician for BigFace Films Studios West.

Oliver Leiber is still active in the music business as a songwriter and producer. Gina Fellicetta (now Gina Fellicetta Myrick) works as a music and theory coach at Music Harmony Guru. Jamie Chez passed away in 2005 from unknown causes.

To see a video for “Everybody Dance”, go to:

To see a video for “Affecttion”, go to:

To see a video for “Thinking About You”, go to:

To see a video for “Blueberry Gossip”, go to:

To see a video for “True Ecstasy”, go to:

To see a video for “Everyday People”, go to:

To see a video for “Standing at the Altar”, go to:

Angela

Angela (born Angela Cappelli) is a dance music singer from the mid-’80s. She has sung commercial jingles and provided backing vocals for artists such as Vaneese Williams, Bette Midler, Judy Collins, Foreigner, the Michael Zager Band and Ronnie Dyson.
In 1985, she released her only single, “All Hung Up” on Sutra Records which peaked at #24 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.
In 1986, she and John Leffler recorded the theme song to the soap opera, “Another World”. The song was featured on the 1992 compliation album, “Soap Opera’s Greatest Love Themes Volume II”.

In later years, Angela has provided singing voices for the segments on the children’s television program, “Sesame Street” and voice work for the Cadbury Creme Egg commercials for over 25 years. These days (according to research), it appears as if she resides in New York, New York.

To see a video for “All Hung Up,” go to:

To see a video for “Another World” (with John Leffler), go to:

Jill

Jill (born Jill Minor) is a dance music singer from the late ’80s. Not much background information is given about this artist.

In 1986, she released her debut single, “Match Made Up in Heaven” on the Paris International Records label. The song peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, making it her only chart appearance to date.
In 1987, Jill released her follow-up single, “Friendly Advice” on the Wide Angle record label which didn’t make the charts.
Her last single to date, “Wait For Me” was released on the Bush Baby Records label in 1989, but it failed to make any impact on the charts.

Afterwards, Jill had seemingly faded into obscurity; however, I received a comment from her back in 2012 which stated:

“I didn’t fade into obscurity, as much as I was totally scammed by the guys at Paris Interntnl! My name is Jill Minor and I recorded Match Made Up In Heaven, Ray Martinez and his producer, Jose Gonzales got into a dispute, probably about paying me, and I never saw a single dime from this record! they hired a girl named Terri to lip sync to MY voice and she is probably the one who recorded the other song, which is obviously Not my voice!

I’m glad so many people loved the song, I even rewrote some of the lyrics in the studio! I still live in south fla and so does the girl who pretended to be ME!

Hope this sheds a little light!“

To see a video for “Match Made Up in Heaven”, go to:

To see a video for “Friendly Advice”, go to:

To see a video for “Wait For Me”, go to:

Shantelle

Shantelle (born Patricia Ann Baker in Miami, Florida) is a female R&B\dance singer from the ’80s. Not much information is given about this artist.

In 1985, she released her first single, “Love Attack” on Pandisc Records, which peaked at #73 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks. The song featured backing vocals from the Rock Rangers.
In 1987, she released her follow-up single, “The Glide” on Kooltrax Records which didn’t appear to make any impact on the Billboard charts at all.
In 1988, Shantelle released her last single to date, “Crazy Over You” on Nuu Sunn Records which flopped on the charts. Afterwards, it seems as if she had faded into obscurity.

To see a video for “Love Attack”, go to:

To see a video for “The Glide”, go to: