Shiro

Shiro (born in Los Angeles, California) was a female R&B singer from the 90’s. Not much information is given about her, but she released one album on Scotti Bros. Records.

In 1995, Shiro released her only album, “Can We Talk.” It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted. 

The first two singles, “Tell Me (Would You)” and the title song didn’t appear to make much impact on the charts.

The only charting single, “Good Love” (featuring rapper Lord Tariq) peaked at #63 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.

After that, it seemed as if Shiro had faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what she’s up to these days.

To see the music video for “Can We Talk,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Tell Me (Would You),” go to:

 

[updated on 04\19\2016]

Leslie Pearl

Leslie Pearl (born on July 26, 1952 in Pennsylvania) is a pop singer-songwriter from the late ’70s\early ’80s.
In 1977, she and her sister, Deborah released a self-titled album under the name “Pearl” on London Records. During the late ’70s and early ’80s, she wrote songs for artists such as Crystal Gayle, Johnny Mathis, Dr. Hook, Mary MacGregor and Kenny Rogers.
In 1982, Leslie released her only solo album, “Words & Music” on RCA Records. It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted.
The lead single, “If The Love Fits Wear It” peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, making it her only highest charting single to date. It was also moderately successful in Canada and Ireland.
The follow-up single, “The Ones Who Turn Me On” failed to make any impact on the charts at all. After that, Leslie continued to write songs and performed jingles for Pepsi, Ford, Gillette and most notably, the Folgers coffee jingle, “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up.”

In later years (according to research), she worked for Warner Bros. Music and BMG as a staff writer from 2000 to 2010. These days, it’s unknown what she’s currently up to or if she is still active with her music career.

To see a video for “If The Love Fits Wear It,” go to:

To see a video for “The Ones Who Turn Me On,” go to:

[Updated on 12\01\2021]

Stevie Woods

Stevie Woods (born Joseph Stephen Woods Jr. on July 2, 1951 in Chatham, Virginia) was a male R&B\pop singer who managed to score two Top 40 hits during the ’80s. He was the son of jazz tenor and alto saxophonist Rusty Bryant and also the cousin of actor Phillip Michael Thomas (known for his role on the ’80s tv show “Miami Vice”).

Stevie was a former Marine and a graduate of Austin Community College. In the ’70s and ’80s, he was married to Hollywood actress\entrepreneur Cheri (Lewis) Woods; together, they had a daughter, Tiana in 1985 (who is now a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter and the leader for a band called Varna).In 1981, he released his debut album, “Take Me To Your Heaven” which peaked at #153 on the Billboard 200 and #44 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
His first single, “Steal the Night” became his only hit song to date, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #36 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Fly Away” peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #23 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
The last single from the album, “Just Can’t Win ‘Em” became another Top 40 hit for Stevie, peaking at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #57 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. In 1982, Stevie released his sophomore album, “The Woman in My Life” which didn’t appear to chart at all on the Billboard 200 chart.

The title song missed the Hot 100, but it managed to peak at #42 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.

In 1983, Stevie released his third studio album, “Attitude” which was a commercial flop. The only single to chart was “Ain’t That Peculiar” which peaked at #54 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.
After his success in the United States came to an end, he moved to Germany where he successfully re-launched his career with projects such as the single, “Rock Me Baby” and having a starring role in the musical, “Starlight Express.”
In 2011, Stevie released his last studio album, “Quiet Storm” independently. Sadly on January 28, 2014, he passed away from diabetes-related complications in Berlin, Germany at the age of 62.

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

 

To see a video for “Fly Away,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Just Can’t Win ‘Em All,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Woman in My Life,” go to:

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

[updated on 11\21\2021]

Charlene

Charlene (born Charlene Marilynn D’Angelo on June 1, 1950 in Hollywood, California) is a pop singer who began her career in the ’70s, but it wasn’t until the ’80s that she became well-known as a “one hit wonder.”
In 1973, she signed a record contract with Motown Records under the name Charlene Duncan at the age of 23. Under the label, she released two unsuccessful singles: “Relove\Give It One More Try” and a cover of the song, “All That Love Went to Waste” from the film, “A Touch of Class.”

Charlene worked on finding her niche at Motown by writing her own songs and doing demos for other artists (including Michael Jackson), and worked with different producers & writers before finally teaming up with Ron Miller.
In November of 1976, she released her self-titled debut album on Motown’s Prodigal label. Her artist name was shorterened to “Charlene” and appeared as such on the album cover, but confusingly, it had the name “Charlene Duncan” printed on the spine.
The lead single from the album, “It Ain’t Easy Coming Down” peaked at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #23 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
In May of 1977, Charlene released her sophomore album, “Songs of Love” which was a repackaged version of her debut album with the track, “Freddie” replacing the track, “Shake a Hand” and the songs resequenced.
The lead single, “Freddie” peaked at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #40 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. The follow-up single from the album, “I’ve Never Been to Me” peaked at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1978, Charlene released a promotional single called “Are You Free” on the Ariola Records America label. In addition to the “Charlene”\”Songs of Love” projects, she recorded a full album’s length of material for Motown Records that was never released.
In June of 1980, she released the single, “Hungry\I Won’t Remember Ever Loving You” which failed to chart at all. After that, Motown Records released Charlene from the label.

In 1982, Scott Shannon, a DJ from Tampa, Florida who worked at radio station WRBQ-FM began playing the version of “I’ve Never Been to Me” from her debut album (with the original spoken bridge) at the behest of his girlfriend. The response from local listeners was such as to motivate Shannon (who was a former employee at Motown) to alert then-Motown president Jay Lasker of the song’s hit potential.

During that time, Charlene had moved to England and was working at a candy store in Ilford in London. After locating her, Jay Lasker personally telephoned Charlene to re-sign with Motown Records in order to facilitate the re-release of “I’ve Never Been to Me.”
The re-release of “I’ve Never Been to Me” received positive feedback from audiences. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, and #60 on Billboard’s Country Singles chart. It also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, Germany, Holland, Italy, Denmark and Japan.

Following the song’s re-release, Charlene married Englishman Jeff Oliver in March of 1982. The music video for “I’ve Never Been to Me” was filmed at Blicking Hall, Norfolk, England with Charlene appearing in her actual wedding dress.
During that same year, her third studio album, “I’ve Never Been to Me” was released, peaking at #36 on the Billboard 200 and #43 on the U.K. Albums chart.
The follow-up single from the album, a re-release of “It Ain’t Easy Comin’ Down” peaked at #9 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song was featured in the film, “The Last American Virgin.”
After Charlene re-signed with Motown Records in 1982, Motown agreed to not only the mainstream production of a brand new album of material, but also to the U.S. release of an album of religious songs, “The Sky Is the Limit” that she began with Chapel Lane Records in England.
Toward the end of 1982, Charlene released the single, “Used to Be”, a duet with Stevie Wonder. The song peaked at #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was moderately successful on the Adult Contemporary and R&B charts. However, due to its controversial lyrical content, some radio stations in the United States refused to play the song and it was banned in the United Kingdom.
Also in that same year, Charlene released her fifth studio album, “Used to Be” flopped on the charts, peaking at #162 on the Billboard 200.
The follow-up singles from the album: “I Want to Go Back There” and “If You Take Away The Pain Until The Morning” failed to make any impact on the charts at all.
In 1984, Charlene released her sixth studio album, “Hit & Run Lover” which didn’t make the charts. The album showcased primarily up-tempo dance music and separated her from producer Ron Miller & the Miller-Hirsch writing team that she had worked with for much of her previous albums.
The title song and the track, “We’re Both in Love With You” were released as singles from the album, but failed to chart at all. Although Charlene was offered the power ballad, “We Belong” (which went on to become a hit for singer Pat Benatar), the song’s inclusion on the album was opposed by the album’s executive producer, Ray Singleton.
In 1985, Motown attempted to revamp Charlene’s image in order to appeal to new fans and she was featured in the film, “The Last Dragon” (along with labelmates such as DeBarge and Vanity). She was also featured on the soundtrack to the film with the track, “Fire.”

Although “The Last Dragon” managed to improve the standings of the other Motown artists, by that time, Motown Records was turning their attention to artists who were offering up the New Jack Swing sound that would become successful during the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Charlene’s appearance in the film did not boost her popularity and she was dropped from Motown Records again. In later years, she focused on her family and church.

In 1994, “I’ve Never Been to Me” was featured in the film, “The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” which gave it some newfound fame and gave Charlene icon status in the gay community. In 2004, her songwriting was featured on the NBC network soap opera, “Passions” and she completed a tour of the United Kingdom with singer Kiki Dee.

Around 2012, Charlene resided in California with her family where she recorded music under the name Charlene Oliver and launched a website of her new dance\club\house music which could be downloaded from the site.
During that same year, she revamped a new video attached to her club mix of “I’ve Never Been to Me” and released the single, “Heard You On the Radio” on iTunes.

In 2013, she was scheduled to release a new album through Gotham Records after releasing “Heard You on the Radio”, but it doesn’t appear as if it has been released. She has also written three books: an autobiography, a children’s book and a World War II-inspired novel.
As of 2021, Charlene resides in Fort Worth, Texas where she works as an instructor at the Creative Soul Music School. In May of that same year, she released a new single called “Destiny” which is accessible on streaming services.

To see a video for “I’ve Never Been to Me,” go to:

To see a video for “All That Love Went to Waste,” go to:

 

To see a video for “It Ain’t Easy Comin’ Down,” go to:

To see a video for “Used to Be” (with Stevie Wonder), go to:

To see a video for “Freddie,” go to:

To see a video for “Hungry,” go to:

 

To see a video for “The Sky is the Limit,” go to:

To see a video for “I Want to Go Back There Again,” go to:

To see a video for “If You Take Away the Pain Until the Morning,” go to:

To see a video for “Hit & Run Lover,” go to:

To see a video for “We’re Both in Love With You,” go to:

To see a video for “Fire,” go to:

To see a video for “Heard You On the Radio,” go to:

To see a video for “Destiny,” go to:

[updated on 11\30\2021]

Kolorz

Kolorz was an R&B group from the early 90’s. Not much information is given about them, but they were signed to Scotti Bros. Records and Michael Anthony & Delshaun were two members of the group.

In 1994, Kolorz released their self-titled EP. It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted. The only single released from the album “A Little Love” charted for 5 weeks.

In 1996, the group split up. Michael Anthony and Delshaun formed the duo, Entity, but they were never signed to a label.

Kolorz took a break from the music scene to focus on their families, but they later reunited to form an R&B group called Vets. They have performed in several shows in San Francisco, California, but as of 2016, they have yet to be signed to a new record label and not much has been heard from them lately.

 

To see a fan-made video for “A Little Love,” go to:

[updated on 04\19\2016]

Times 3

Times 3 were an R&B trio from the early 90’s whose members consisted of LaShana Dendy (who was said to be a former choreographer for MC Hammer), Keesha Hollier (who was indicated to be an NWA rapper)  and Stephanie Bell.

In 1991, they released their one and only self-titled album on Solar Records. It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted at all. Their first single, “Typical Relationship” was featured on the soundtrack to the movie, “Deep Cover,” but didn’t make any impact on the charts. The group’s follow-up single, a cover version of the Emotions’ song, “Best of My Love” also failed to chart. After that, it seemed as if the group faded into obscurity.

According to a comment I received from Stephanie Bell’s mother in 2014:

“My child, Stephanie Bell, is alive and well singing for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! She realized that her destiny was not in making record/albums, but rather in making melody for her Savior! She is happily married to a wonderful man, and has two awesome sons!”

According to a comment I received from LaShana Dendy in 2022:

“I am LaShana Dendy (you have my name spelled incorrectly) and I sang background for many artists and currently released an urban inspired children’s song The ABC shuffle. Keesha is also alive and doing well!”

To see a video for “Typical Relationship,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Best of My Love,” go to:

[updated on 04\14\2022]

I’m Back

Hello!!

I apologize for my lack of blogging. My computer was out for repairs and I was unable to blog for a while, but now I’m back!!

Keep your eye out for new blog entries!!