Jon B. (born Jonathan David Buck on November 11, 1974 in Rhode Island) is an R&B singer/songwriter. He was raised in Pasadena, California and comes from a musical family: his father David, a professor of music, his mother Linda, a concert pianist, his sister Deborah, a violinist and his brother Kevin, a cellist. Even his grandparents owned a record store.
Jon B. began singing when he was four years old and by the time he was nine, he learned to play the piano and keyboard. At the age of sixteen, Jon started playing the bass and drums.
In 1992, Jon B. was shopping his demos around which caught the eye of Tracey Edmonds (the then-president and CEO of Yab-Yum Records and the wife of R&B singer/songwriter Babyface). He was contracted as a songwriter & wrote songs for artists such as Toni Braxton, After 7, Michael Jackson and Color Me Badd. On May 23, 1995, Jon B. released his debut album “Bonafide” on Yab Yum/Sony 550/Epic Records which peaked at #79 on the Billboard 200, #24 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart and topped Billboard’s Heatseekers albums chart. The first single from the album “Someone to Love” featuring Babyface became a hit, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #12 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart, #37 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart and #7 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 29 weeks.
The song gained a lot of exposure especially when it was featured on the movie soundtrack to “Bad Boys.” It was even nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.”
The second single from the album “Pretty Girl” peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, #29 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart, #9 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #21 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks.
A promotional single “Isn’t It Scary” managed to peak at #66 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks. Jon B’s debut album was certifiied platinum after spending almost an entire year on the Billboard 200. On September 16, 1997, Jon B. released his sophomore album “Cool Relax” which peaked at #33 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album was praised as one of the best R&B albums of 1997 and was certified double platinum. The first single from the album “Don’t Say” peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, #29 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #34 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. The music video for the single featured actress Sanaa Lathan as the love interest. The second single from the album “Are U Still Down” featuring late rapper Tupac Shakur, which peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, #18 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #9 on Billboard’s Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 48 weeks. The third single “They Don’t Know” became Jon B.’s biggest hit to date, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #11 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 42 weeks. The song also peaked at #32 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The single sold over a million copies and Jon B. even performed the song in an episode of the WB sitcom “Sister Sister” where he starred as himself. The song was later interpolated in Kirko Bangz’s single “Keep It Trill” and Chris Brown’s single “Don’t Think They Know” featuring late R&B singer Aaliyah. The fourth single “I Do (Whatcha Say Boo)” peaked at #117 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and #18 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks. The title song was released as a single, but didn’t make the charts at all.
At the 1998 Billboard Music Awards, Jon B. received five nominations and a Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best Male Single for “They Don’t Know/Are U Still Down.”
While he was on tour promoting “Cool Relax,” Jon B. formed a group with tw0 0f his back-up singers Dominiquinn and Silky Deluxe called Jack Herrera. A full album “Retro Futuristo” was put together, but it was never officially released, however two tracks from the project were released: “Free To Believe” was featured on the “Light It Up” movie soundtrack and “High Off You” was featured on the “Red Star Sounds, Vol. 1: Soul Searching” album.
On March 20, 2001, Jon B. released his third album “Pleasures U Like” which peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The only single released from the album was “Don’t Talk” which peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100, #20 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #21 on Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. The song also managed to peak at #29 on the U.K. Singles chart. A promotional single “Now I’m With You” was released, but it failed to make the Billboard charts at all. Despite the album’s well received reception and being certified Gold, lack of promotion led Jon B to leave Epic Records after the album’s release. Three years later on October 5, 2004, Jon B. released his fourth album “Stronger Everyday” on Sanctuary Records (whcih became his first album released on an independent record label).
The album managed to peak at #140 on the Billboard 200 and #17 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album’s original title was “Everyday Struggles” and was originally recorded under DreamWorks Records, but the label folded in early 2004 before Jon B. got a chance to release any material. The singles “Lately” and “Everytime” didn’t appear to make the Billboard charts at all. Music videos were shot for “Lately” and the remix version of “Everytime” featuring rapper Beenie Man.
The album was critically well-received, but didn’t receive a lot of promotion. Jon B. later left Sanctuary Records in late 2005. The album was able to sell 200K units due to video play, touring, support on iTunes and good word of mouth. In 2006, Jon B. signed a record deal with Arsenal Records. On November 14, 2006, Jon B released a holiday album entitled “Holiday Wishes: From Me To You.” The album contained covers of Christmas classics and original compositions. During that same year, Mexican pop band RBD released a cover version of Jon B.’s song “Tu Amor” as the first single from their English-language album “Rebels.” On October 28, 2008, Jon B. released his sixth album “Helpless Romantic” which peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200 chart, #10 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart and #11 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The album was a concept album that revolved around his recent marriage to his new wife. It was recorded at Jon B’s personal recording studio/record label Vibezelect Studios in Pasadena, California. It would be his last album released on Arsenal Records.
The first single “Ooh So Sexy” featuring rapper Paul Wall peaked at #98 on Billboard’s Hop Songs chart, staying on the chart for only a week. The album received no promotion and no music videos were shot or promoted as well.
Jon B. collaborated with Paul Wall on the song “Tonight” off Paul’s 2007 album “Get Money Stay True.” In 2009, he was featured on rapper Invincible’s song “A Soldier Never Dies” which was dedicated to fallen Marine Anthony Vargas.
On February 14, 2012, Jon B released his sixth album “Comfortable Swagg” on his independent record label Vibezelect Inc.
The first single released from the album was “Only One.” On February 16, 2012, Jon B. released the video for the song on YouTube. On the album, his brother Kevin plays bass on the the tracks “Comfortable Swagg,” “Amnesia” and “Fill Your Cup” (in which he also played the cello on the song). In January of 2013, Jon B. released a compliation album “B-Sides Collection” which features tracks that didn’t make the final cut on his albums.
To see Jon B’s official website, go to:
http://www.jonbworld.com/
To see the music video for “Someone to Love,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3geit04i9DY
To see the music video for “Pretty Girl,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed07nmnpfSE
To see a fan-made video for “Isn’t It Scary,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–gz2CGXEcE
To see the music video for “Don’t Say,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeiLZuPI9-s
To see the music video for “Are U Still Down,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qurhsou1_nk
To see the music video for “They Don’t Know,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5pD4nBabMk
To see the music video for “I Do (Whatcha Say Boo),” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClmnYnUQUZo
To see the music video for “Don’t Talk,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDM-XA0-8g4
To see a fan-made video for “Now That I’m With You,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVlsxVIjIfA
To see the music video for “Lately,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeIvBmaP7E
To see the music video for “Everytime,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtGz5j4jRCI
To see a fan-made video for “Ooh So Sexy,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Kln0BIMHk
To see the music video for “Only One,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC0NloMifaQ