1 of the Girls

1 of the Girls was a female R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio from the early 90’s who has discovered by the late Gerald Levert.

The group consisted of members Nina Creque (daughter of jazz pianist, Neal Creque), LaShawn Sykes, Marvelous Miles, and Rae-Deon Kirkland.

In 1993, the group released their self-titled debut album on EastWest Records America which didn’t chart at all on the Billboard 200.

Their first single and biggest hit to date, “Do Da What” peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100, #31 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #38 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.

The follow-up single “Handle With Care” was released, but didn’t chart. After that, it seemed as if the group faded into obscurity.

These days, Nina Creque has moved to Atlanta where she is the assistant studio manager at Dirty South Studios.

Rae-Deon Kirkland is a gospel singer. Marvelous Miles has released an independent album, “Heavily Influenced” in 2006. LaShawn Sykes’ whereabouts are currently unknown.

To see Nina Creque’s MySpace page, go to:
http://www.myspace.com/ninacreque

To see Nina Creque’s Twitter, go to:
http://twitter.com/ninacreque

To see Rae-Deon Kirkland’s MySpace page, go to:
www.myspace.com/radeonkirkland

To see Marvelous Miles’ MySpace page, go to:
www.myspace.com/marvelousmiles

To see the music video for “Do Da What,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_HvoNlppkE

To see the music video for “Handle With Care,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnLHewPEoro

S.O.A.P.

S.O.A.P. were a female pop duo from Denmark consisting of sisters Heidi (born on October 18, 1979 in Kamplar, Malaysia) and Saseline “Line” Sorensen (born on July 26, 1982 in Perak, Malaysia).

Heidi met music producer Remee when she interviewed him for the youth magazine that she worked for. Her father (who accompanied her to the interview) mentioned to Remee that his daughter was a singer. Remee asked Heidi to sing on a solo album with him; however, Heidi stated that she wouldn’t do anything without her sister, Saseline and Remee ended up withdrawing his offer. 

A year later, he approached the girls, wanting to produce an album with both of them. The duo came up with the name “S.O.A.P.” because they thought it was fun, even though it didn’t stand for anything.
In March of 1998, S.O.A.P. released their debut album “Not Like Other Girls” on Sony Music. It was released in the United States in May as a self-titled album on Mariah Carey’s short-lived record label, Crave Records. The album also made the charts in Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden and Finland, but not in the United States.

The first single from the album, “This is How We Party” became a hit, topping the music charts chart in Sweden. In the United States, it managed to peak at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart. It was a moderate hit internationally.

The follow-up single from the album, “Ladidi Ladida” peaked at #15 in Australia, #28 in France, #8 in New Zealand and #58 in Sweden.
The title song failed to chart at all in the United States or internationally. In 2000, S.O.A.P. were chosen by Australian music duo Savage Garden to be the opening act for their European Tour; they also toured with the Backstreet Boys.
During that same year, the duo released their sophomore album, “Miracle” which only peaked at #20 on the album charts in Denmark.
The first single from the album, “Mr. DJ” failed to chart; the follow-up single, “S.O.A.P. is In the Air” only managed to peak at #25 on the music charts in Sweden. In 2002, the duo disbanded.

After S.O.A.P. disbanded, Saseline worked as a television presenter from 2002 to 2003, hosting the Danish music program, “Boogie.” 

In 2005, she was featured on the charity single, “Hvor små vi er” and was a contestant on the Danish version of the reality television series, “Survivor” called “Expedition Robinson 2005 (VIP).” In 2008, she gave birth to her first son, Sean with tennis player, Frederik Fetterlein although they separated during her pregnancy.

In 2010, Saseline released her solo album, “Restart.” Two years later in 2012, she was a contestant on the Danish version of “Dancing with the Stars” called “Vild med dans.” 

In 2014, she gave birth to her second son, Dexter with boyfriend Michael Dreyer. In 2020, she stirred up some controversy when she shared some conspiracy theories on her Instagram account about a possible upcoming COVID-19 vaccine containing a microchip which caused her to have her account shut down.

Heidi took a break from the music business and trained to become a tattoo artist while learning to write her own music. She later recorded music under the name Suriya and released the single, “My Desire” in 2008. In 2012, her song, “Forever I B Young” was chosen as a wildcard entry for the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

To see a video for “This Is How We Party,” go to:

To see a video for “Ladidi Ladida,” go to:

To see a video for “Not Like Other Girls,” go to:

To see a video for “Mr. DJ,” go to:

To see a video for “S.O.A.P. Is In the Air,” go to:

[updated on 10/04/2020]

The Weather Girls

The Weather Girls are an R&B\dance music group from the early ’80s that originally consisted of Martha Wash (born on December 28, 1953 in San Francisco, California) and Izora Rhodes (born on July 6, 1942 in San Leandro, California).

Martha and Izora met each other at a young age. Martha attended the Church of God in Christ which was located an alley away from the Baptist church that Izora attended. Izora was the lead vocalist and pianist of the San Francisco Inspirational Choir.

The two women eventually became members of a gospel music group called N.O.W. (short for News of the World). While performing part-time in the group, Martha worked as a secretary for UC Hospital while Izora worked as a bartender, nurse assistant, and a piano & vocal teacher.

In February of 1976, Martha auditioned as a backup singer for late singer-songwriter Sylvester and his manager Brent Thomson. Sylvester was impressed with Martha’s vocal performance and asked her if she had “another large black friend” who could sing as well and she introduced him to Izora.

Martha and Izora formed a music duo called Two Tons O’ Fun. They made their musical debut as backup singers for Sylvester’s self-titled 1977 album, singing on the singles, “Down, Down, Down” and “Over And Over” which was moderately successful on the dance music charts.

They were also featured on Sylvester’s 1978 album, “Step II” on the tracks, “Dance (Disco Heat)” and “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” which became hits on the dance music charts. In 1979, the duo signed a record deal with Fantasy Records. They were also featured on Sylvester’s live album, “Living Proof”.
In January of 1980, Two Tons O’ Fun released their self-titled debut studio album which peaked at #91 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
They scored two top-five dance hits ot Billboard’s Disco Top 100 chart with the singles, “Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven” (which peaked at #2, staying on the chart for 30 weeks) and “I Got the Feeling” (which also peaked at #2 and stayed on the chart for 30 weeks).
The tracks, “Just Us” and “I Got the Feeling” both peaked at #25 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 and 7 weeks respectively.
Another single from the album, “Taking Away Your Space” peaked at #53 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. After the album’s release, the duo changed their name to the Two Tons after they were informed that a gospel music act from Oklahoma had registered the name “Two Tons o’ Fun” since 1956.
During that same year, they released their sophomore album, “Backatcha” which didn’t make the album charts at all.
The lead single, “I Depend On You” peaked at #72 on Billboard’s Disco Top 100 chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
The follow-up single from the album, “Never Like This” peaked at #55 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
Afterwards, Martha and Izora changed their name to the Weather Girls. In September of 1982, they released the single, “It’s Raining Men” (written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer) which became a dance hit, topping Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart for 2 weeks, staying on the chart for 22 weeks.

The song also peaked at #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the U.K. Singles chart and #34 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. Internationally, “It’s Raining Men” was successful on the music charts, and was certified Gold in the United Kingdom and Denmark.

In January of 1983, The Weather Girls released their debut studio album, “Success”. The title song peaked at #89 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 3 weeks.
The last two singles released from the album, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas)” didn’t make the charts at all. In 1984, they were featured on Rebbie Jackson’s song, “Centipede”.
In 1985, the duo released their sophomore album, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. The lead single, “Well-a-Wiggy” peaked at #7 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart (staying on the chart for 2 weeks) and #76 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 4 weeks.
The follow-up single, “No One Can Love You More Than Me” peaked at #26 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Disco Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. The song also peaked at #15 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
In 1988, The Weather Girls released their self-titled fifth studio album which was seen a commercial failure by their record label.
The album failed to chart nor did the singles, “Love You Like a Train” and “Land of the Believer”. Afterwards, The Weather Girls disbanded.

Martha Wash went on to become a solo artist and began working as a session vocalist. She provided vocals for dance and house music tracks by artists such as Black Box, Seduction and most notably, C+C Music Factory’s hit song, “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”.
Disappointed that her plus-sized image wasn’t included in the music videos for the songs that she sang, Martha successfully sued for credit and royalties. In 1993, she released her self-titled debut album on RCA Records and scored two number-one dance hits with the singles, “Carry On” and “Give It To You”.

In 1991, Izora reformed The Weather Girls with her daughter, Dynell. Together, they released three albums: “Double Tons Of Fun” (in 1993), “Think Big!” (in 1995) and “Puttin’ On The Hits: The Ultimate Hitparty” (in 1998).

In 2002, the duo entered the German final to the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, “Get Up” which finished in 13th place. In August of 2004, Izora underwent treatment for heart-related issues and was later hospitalized after her condition deteriorated. On September 16 2004, she died from heart failure at the age of 64.
After Izora’s death, she was replaced in The Weather Girls with singer Ingrid Arthur. Together, Dynell and Ingrid released the albums: “Totally Wild!” in 2005 and “The Woman I Am” in 2009.
Ingrid later left the group and she was replaced by singer Dorrey Lin Lyles in 2012. These days (according to research), the duo continues to perform and tour internationally. In 2020, they released the single, “Stand Up” on the Sedsoul record label.
Martha Wash continues to perform and release music. In 2020, she released her third studio album, “Love & Conflict” on her record label, Purple Rose Records.

To see Martha Wash’s official website, go to:
http://www.marthawash.com

To see Martha Wash’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/themarthawash/

To follow Martha Wash on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/martha_wash

To follow Dynelle Rhodes on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/theweathergirlsofficial/

To see Dorrey Lin Lyles’ official website, go to:
https://www.dorreylyles.com/

To follow Dorrey Lin Lyles on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/reyzworld/

To see Dorrey Lin Lyles’ Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/ReyzWorld/

(The Weather Girls)
To see a video for “It’s Raining Men”, go to:

To see a video for “Success”, go to:

To see a video for “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair”, go to:

To see a video for “Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)”, go to:

To see a video for “Well-A-Wiggy”, go to:

To see a video for “No One Can Love You More Than Me”, go to:

To see a video for “Love You Like A Train”, go to:

To see a video for “Land of The Believer”, go to:

To see a video for “Get Up”, go to:

To see a video for “Stand Up”, go to:

(Two Tons O’ Fun\Two Tons)
To see a video for “Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven”, go to:

To see a video for “Just Us”, go to:

To see a video for “I Got The Feeling”, go to:

 

To see a video for “Taking Away Your Space”, go to:

To see a video for “I Depend On You”, go to:

(Martha Wash)
To see a video for “Carry On”, go to:

To see a video for “Give It To You”, go to:

To see a video for “Like Fire” (from her album, “Love & Conflict”), go to:

Marietta

Marietta (born Marietta Waters in Philadephia, Pennsylvania) is a pop music singer from the ’80s.

Both of Marietta’s parents were professional entertainers; her mother, Mary was a dancer and her father, Arthur was a pianist. As a child, she loved to sing and perform with her parents on stage.

In 1986, Marietta was featured on the film soundtrack to “Top Gun” with the track, “Destination Unknown.” Although the song didn’t make the charts, the soundtrack was a huge success, topping the Billboard 200 for several weeks.

During that same year, she released the single, “Born to Dance” and sang the title song for the film, “Fire and Ice”, which peaked at #5 on the music charts in Switzerland, and #10 on the music charts in Germany; she would later contribute to the soundtrack for the film’s sequel, “Fire, Ice and Dynamite” with the track, “Never Give Up” (with Chris Thompson).

Throughout her career, Marietta has worked with various producers and artists including Sergio Mendes, Berlin, Harold Faltermeyer, Animotion, Michael Jay, Donna Summer, Elton John, Olivia Newton-John,  Jeffrey Osborne, Stevie Wonder, Marc Antoine and Lee Ritenour.

These days, Marietta resides in the Greater Los Angeles, California area where she currently works as a vocal teacher. In 2006, she released an album, “A Call from the Heart.”

To see a video for “Destination Unknown,” go to:

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

To see a video for “Fire And Ice,” go to:

To see a video for “Never Give Up” (with Chris Thompson), go to:

[updated on 10\04\2020]

The Communards

The Communards were a British dance-pop music duo from London, England during the mid to late ’80s.

The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville (born James William Somerville on June 22, 1961 in Glasgow, Scotland) and Richard Coles (born Richard Keith Robert Coles on March 26, 1962 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England).
The duo formed in 1985 after Jimmy left his former band, Bronski Beat to team up with Richard. In 1985, they released their self-titled debut album on London Records which peaked at #7 on the U.K. Albums chart and #90 on the Billboard 200.
The lead single from the album, “You Are My World” originally peaked at #30 on the U.K. Singles chart; when a remixed version of the song was released in 1987, it peaked at #21 on the U.K. Singles chart. It was also moderately successful in France and Ireland.
The second single, “Disenchanted” peaked at #29 on the U.K. Singles chart and #43 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart. It was also moderately successful in the Netherlands and Ireland.
The third single from the album, a cover version of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ 1975 song, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” became a hit, topping the U.K. Singles chart for four weeks and Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Disco Club Play chart for a week, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.

The song also peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was successful in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland. It also featured vocals from jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris, who would later become an unofficial third member of the Commundards as both a back-up and a co-lead singer.
The last single from the album, “So Cold the Night” peaked at #8 on the U.K. Singles chart and #25 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks. It was also moderately successful internationally.
In 1987, The Communards released their sophomore album, “Red” which peaked at #4 on the U.K. Albums chart and #93 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The lead single from the album, “Tomorrow” peaked at #23 on the U.K. Singles chart and reached the top 10 in Ireland and the Netherlands.
The follow-up single, a cover version of the Jackson 5’s 1970 song, “Never Can Say Goodbye” peaked at #4 on the U.K. Singles chart, #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.
The third single released from the album, “For a Friend” peaked at #28 on the U.K. Singles chart and also made the music charts in Belgium, West Germany and Ireland.
The final single, “There’s More to Love” peaked at #20 on the U.K. Singles chart, making it the duo’s last charting single. In 1988, the Communards disbanded and Jimmy went on to start his own solo career.

These days, Jimmy is still active with his solo career and has released six solo albums.

Richard Coles works as an author and is the Chancellor of University of Northampton. He is also an Honorary Chaplain to the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers, a Patron of a social housing project in Wellingborough and a member of the Labour Party.

To see Jimmy Sommerville’s official website, go to:
www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

To see a video for “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” go to:

To see a video for “You Are My World,” go to:

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

To see a video for “So Cold the Night,” go to:

To see a video for “Tomorrow,” go to:

To see a video for “Never Can Say Goodbye,” go to:

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

To see a video for “There’s More to Love,” go to:

Anthony and the Camp

Anthony and the Camp were a dance music group led by producer and lead vocalist Anthony Malloy. The group also featured drummer Linden Aaron, bassist Henley Goddard and Crawford Peterson (who played synthesizers).

They were signed to Warner Bros. Records. Prior to the group’s formation, Anthony had a number-one dance hit with his former music group, Temper.
In 1986, they released their debut single, “What I Like” which topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Disco Club Play chart for 3 weeks, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #80 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.
Their follow-up single, “How Many Lovers” peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Disco Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Modern Girls”.
In 1988, Anthony and the Camp released their debut and only album, “Suspense”. The title song peaked at #30 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart (along with the track, “Open Up Your Heart”), staying on the chart for only 5 weeks.
The second and last single from the album, “Touch & Go Girl” failed to make any impact on the charts at all. Afterwards, it seems as if the group faded into obscurity; it’s unknown what the members are currently up to these days.

To see a video for “What I Like”, go to:

To see a video for “How Many Lovers”, go to:

To see a video for “Suspense”, go to:

To see a video for “Open Up Your Heart”, go to:

To see a video for “Touch & Go Girl”, go to:

Deon Estus

Deon Estus (born Jeffrey Deon Estus in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan) was an R&B\pop singer & bassist who was well-known for working with Wham! and George Michael.

Growing up in Detroit, Deon’s grandmother bought him his first guitar when he was three years old. He later performed opera with the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra youth program. By the time he was 10 years old, he was playing piano, bass, drums, guitar and the saxophone.

While attending Northwestern High School, Deon sang second tenor in the school choir. He also sudied bass with Motown legend James Jamerson (who attended the same school as him). In his teen years, he formed a band which supported The Whispers and The Brothers Johnson on tour.

After completing school, he played with R&B\funk music group, Brainstorm on their albums, “Journey to the Light” and “Funky Entertainment” before moving to Belgium in 1979 to work with Marvin Gaye as part of his touring band. Deon was asked to play on Marvin’s album, “Midnight Love,” but declined due to session commitments.

In 1982, Deon moved to Dublin, Ireland to work with Phil Lynott of rock band Thin Lizzy. While in Dublin, he was approached by George Michael’s publisher, Dick Leahy, who asked him to consider working with George Michael on some songs that he had written. 

After meeting each other in London, Deon and George hit it off well; he was quickly taken on as both the bass player and musical director for Wham! where he also played in their touring band; he also participated in their extensive 1984-85 world tour which culminated in two historic concerts in Beijing and Canton where Wham! became the first western pop music group to perform in China.

After Wham! disbanded in 1986, Deon played on both George Michael and Andrew Ridgley’s solo albums. He was also featured on albums for Annie Lennox, Tina Turner, Frank Zappa, Elton John and Aretha Franklin.

In 1989, he released his debut studio album, “Spell” on the Mika Records label which peaked at #89 on the Billboard 200 and #44 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.

The lead single, “Me or the Rumours” peaked at #34 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #15 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.
The second single, “Heaven Help Me” (which featured additional vocals by George Michael) peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 17 weeks.

The last single released from the album, “Spell” peaked at #11 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #74 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.

In later years, Deon was a partner in a multimedia company called Vox Tone where he was a producer and artist developer. He also did sessions and live work, and released his sophomore album, “Only Love is Real” in 2012. On October 21, 2021, he died at the age of 65 from unknown causes.

To see a video for “Heaven Help Me,” go to:

To see a video for “Me or the Rumours,” go to:

To see a video for “Spell,” go to:

[updated on 12\17\2021]

Will to Power

Will to Power is a freestyle\dance-pop music group from Miami, Florida that was founded in the mid-’80s by producer Bob Rosenberg (born on January 18, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Bob’s mother, Gloria Mann was a singer who had two top 40 hits during the mid-’50s. After attending school, he became a DJ at various local events. By 1985, he began working at a Miami CHR radio station, WHQT (Hot 105) where he remixed & edited songs as a radio-mix DJ for the stations which became popular in the Miami area.

In 1985, he created a rap song called “Miami Vice” (based on the popular 1980s television show of the same name); however, MCA Records claimed that Bob had infringed on their copyright. He also remixed and edited the song, “Beat Box” for 2 Live Crew’s 1986 debut album, “The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are”.

Between 1986 and 1987, Bob worked with various artists to create original music. He chose the name “Will to Power” for the group as an homage to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s theory of an individual’s fundamental will to power.

While attending a Winter Music Seminar in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, he met singer-songwriter Suzi Carr (who had written two tracks for Miami Sound Machine’s 1985 album, “Primitive Love”).
When Bob had mentioned that he was looking for a singer, they provided vocals for a song that Bob had written called “Dreamin’” (which was a tribute to his sister, Robin after she had passed away). When it was played on the Power 96 radio station in Miami, Florida, “Dreamin'” became a regional hit and was soon released on the Thrust Records label.

The song attracted the attention of Epic Records who picked it up, and distributed it to radio stations & dance clubs across the country. It peaked at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 10 weeks) and topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

Afterwards, Epic Records asked Bob if he had enough material to make an album; he would spend most of 1987 and 1988 working on new music.
In 1988, Will to Power released their follow-up single, “Say It’s Gonna Rain” peaked at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart for two weeks, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.
During that same year, they released their self-titled debut studio album on Epic Records which peaked at #68 on the Billboard 200.
Their third single, “Baby I Love Your Way\Freebird Medley” (which is a combination of Peter Frampton’s 1976 song, “Baby, I Love Your Way” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1975 song, “Freebird”) topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in December of 1988. The song also peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #6 on the U.K. Singles chart.

Although Epic Records were reluctant to release the single, Bob distributed copies of the song to various radio stations in Miami, Florida; after a few other radio stations picked up the song, Epic Records finally decided to release it as a single. By January of 1989, it was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The final single released from the album, “Fading Away” topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks. It also peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100, #84 on the U.K. Singles chart and #2 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
In late 1990, Will to Power released their sophomore album, “Journey Home” which peaked at #178 on the Billboard 200; around that time, Elin Michaels was the primary female vocalist for the group.
The lead single from the album, a cover version of 10cc’s 1975 song, “I’m Not in Love” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
The follow-up single, a cover version of Heatwave’s 1977 song, “Boogie Nights” failed to make any impact on the music charts at all; however, another track from the album, “Fly Bird” made the music charts in the Netherlands.
After that, nothing much was heard from Will to Power and it seemed as if they faded into obscurity; in 1996, their compliation album, “Love Power” was released by Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2004, Will to Power returned to the music scene with the release of their third studio album, “Spirit Warrior” on the Straight Blast Records label which was only promoted to DJ record pools.

One of the tracks from the album, “Dreamin’” (which was sung by Gioia Bruno from Exposé ) peaked at #1 in “DJ Times” magazine as well as the record pool charts and dance radio stations in area such as Wilmington, Delaware.

These days (according to research), the current line-up of Will to Power consists of Bob Rosenberg and Elin Michaels where they appear to still perform together. Suzi Carr currently resides in Los Angeles, California where she apparently still performs as well.

To see Will to Power’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/willtopowermusic/

To follow Will to Power on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/willtopowermusic/

To follow Suzi Carr on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/suzicarr

To see a video for “Baby I Love Your Way\Freebird Medley,” go to:

To see a video for “Dreamin’,” go to:

To see a video for “Fading Away,” go to:

To see a video for “Say It’s Gonna Rain,” go to:

To see a video for “I’m Not in Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Boogie Nights,” go to:

To see a video for “Fly Bird,” go to:

Happy 2-Year Anniversary of Rare and Obscure Music

It has been officially 2 years since I’ve started the “Rare and Obscure Music” blog. I appreciate all the positive comments, suggestions, and feedback I’ve received. It’s hard to believe it’s been 2 years already. It seemed just like yesterday when I first started.

Happy 2-Year Anniversary to the “Rare and Obscure Music” blog!
Sincerely, the Music-Know-It-All

Aneka (Special 2-Year Anniversary Post)

Aneka (born Mary Sandeman on November 20, 1954 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a former Scottish pop singer from the ’80s.

In 1979, she released a folk music album under her real name called “Introducing Mary Sandeman” on the Fleet record label; it’s unknown much impact the album made on any music charts at all.

In 1981, she recorded a song called “Japanese Boy” for the Hansa record label. Impressed with the results, her record company decided to release it as a single with full promotion. After her stage name “Aneka” was discovered in a telephone directory, she devised a suitable image for her performances of the song which consisted of her wearing a Japanese wig and a kimono.

The song topped the U.K. Singles chart for a week in August of that same year. It also topped the music charts in Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland. In the United States, “Japanese Boy” managed to peak at #15 on Billboard’s Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.

After the success of “Japanese Boy,” the record company commissioned an album for Aneka and searched to find a follow-up single; the song, “Little Lady” was eventually chosen, but caused some concern about what image to use because it was felt that the Japanese look that Aneka had would be considered inappropriate for the song.

To promote “Little Lady,” Aneka adopted a 19th-century “lady” image, but kept the same high-pitched voice that she used for her previous single; however, the song only peaked at #50 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In June of that same year, she released her self-titled album (or “Japanese Boy” in Europe) on the Hansa record label where it managed to make the album charts in Switzerland and Sweden, but failed to chart at all in the United Kingdom.

Her third single, “Ooh Shooby Doo Doo Lang” was moderately successful in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands; however, it failed to make any impact on the U.K. Singles chart.

She later released two more singles: “Heart to Beat” in 1983 and a cover version of Yao Lee’s song, “Rose, Rose, I Love You” in 1984 which didn’t make any music charts at all.

After that, Aneka went back to using her birth name, Mary Sandeman and returned to folk music; in 1991, she released the album, “Reflections on Scotland.” She appeared with the Scottish Fiddle orchestra in concert and on record.

In 1994, Mary made a documentary called “Aite Mo Ghaoil: Mary Sandeman and Islay.” She has also appeared on STV music shows such as “Thingummyjig” and participated in Hogmanay celebrations. 

In 2006, she was featured in a Channel 4 documentary called “Bring Back the One Hit Wonders” where Justin Lee Collins attempted to organize a one-off performance of as many “one hit wonders” as possible; however, Mary declined to participate because she didn’t want to travel to London from her home in Scotland and had no desire to perform her hit song, “Japanese Boy.

These days, Mary is retired from the music business and was last known to be working as a part-time tour guide for the Scottish city of Stirling.

To see a video for “Japanese Boy,” go to:

To see a video for “Little Lady,” go to:

To see a video for “Ooh Shooby Doo Doo Lang,” go to:

To see a video for “Heart to Beat,” go to:

To see a video for “Rose, Rose, I Love You,” go to:

[updated on 10\04\2020]