Good morning, music fans!
Here are my Rare and Obscure Music picks for this week:
#1. 702 Get It Together (from their 1996 album, “No Doubt”)
#2. Judy Rodman Girls Ride Horses Too (from her 1987 album, “A Place Called Love”)
#3. Philly’s Most Wanted Cross The Border (from their 2001 album, “Get Down or Lay Down”)
#4. Marshall Dyllon Live It Up (from their 2000 album, “Enjoy the Ride”)
#5. Corina Now That You’re Gone (from her 1991 self-titled album)
Traneen is an R&B music singer from the early 2000s. Not much background information is given about this artist, but she was signed to the Infinite Records label.
In 2000, she released her only studio album, “Diary” which didn’t appear to generate a lot of success. Afterwards, it seems as if Traneen has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what she’s currently up to these days.
To see a video for a sampler of her “Diary” album, go to:
World Party were a British musical group that was the solo project of musician/songwriter Karl Wallinger (born Karl Edmond Der Vere Wallinger on October 19, 1957 in Prestatyn, Wales).
Karl spent his childhood years in Prestatyn, Wales, but he attended a public school in Surrey, England called Charterhouse. He began his music career in 1977 as a keyboard player with Pax and later formed a short-lived band called Quasimodo. He briefly worked in music publishing and later became the musical director of a West End performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.
After his stint with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, he joined a funk music band called The Out before joining the folk-rock band, The Waterboys. Karl was a member of The Waterboys until 1985 when he left to create World Party, releasing the single, “Private Revolution” in 1986. The song peaked at #107 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1987, World Party released their debut studio album, “Private Revolution” on Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200, and was moderately successful in Australia & Canada. At that point, Karl was the only member of the group and the only person featured on the album cover as well. Singer Sinead O’Connor made a guest appearance on the album.
The follow-up single, “Ship of Fools” became a hit, peaking at #42 on the UK Singles Chart and #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. Internationally, it made the music charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
The last single released from the album, “All Come True” failed to make any music charts at all. In between the group’s debut and sophomore albums, Karl helped Sinead O’Connor with recording her 1988 debut studio album, “The Lion and the Cobra”.
In 1990, World Party released their sophomore album, “Goodbye Jumbo” which peaked at #36 on the UK Albums Chart and #73 on the Billboard 200. Internationally, the album charted in Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and Sweden. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Alternative Music Album” and was named “Album of the Year” by Q magazine.
The first single, “Way Down Now” peaked at #66 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and #21 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. In other countries, it charted in Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.
The follow-up singles from the album, “Put the Message in the Box” (which peaked at #39) and “Thank You World” (which peaked at #68) were moderately successful on the U.K. Singles chart.
After releasing “Thank You World” as an EP in 1991, Karl recruited guitarist David Catlin-Birch and drummer Chris Sharrock as members for World Party’s 1993 album, “Bang!” which peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also peaked at #126 on the Billboard 200.
The lead single, “Is It Like Today?” peaked at #19 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at #38 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and #5 on Billboard’s Alternative Rock Airplay chart.
The second single, “Give It All Away” peaked at #43 on the UK Singles Chart, but didn’t make the music charts in the United States or in other countries nor did the third single, “All I Gave” which peaked at #37 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1994, World Party was featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Reality Bites” with the track, “When You Come Back to Me”. Afterwards, David Catlin-Birch left the group.
In 1997, the group released their fourth studio album, “Egyptology”. The album peaked at #34 on the UK Albums Chart and #167 on the Billboard 200. The album was written following the death of Karl’s mother.
The album flopped, with the only charting single, “Beautiful Dream” peaking at #31 on the UK Singles Chart; however, the song, “She’s the One” won a Ivor Novello Award and was recorded by singer Robbie Williams.
World Party would later leave Chrysalis Records due to a disagreement over “She’s the One” which was released as a promotional single. Chris Sharrock left the group, leaving Karl as a solo act again.
In 2000, World Party released the album, “Dumbing Up” on Karl’s own record label, Seaview Records. The album peaked at #64 on the UK Albums chart and the lone single, “Here Comes the Future” peaked at #89 on the UK Singles Chart.
In February of 2001, Karl suffered from an aneurysm which left him unable to talk. In 2006 (after a five-year rehabilitation), he played in his first live show in a decade at the South by Southwest festival in Texas. He also played at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. In 2007, World Party supported Steely Dan on their first tour in Australia.
In 2009, the group toured the West Coast of the United States, appearing at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, California.
In 2012, World Party released the album, “Arkeology” which featured new songs, live recordings and cover versions. Afterwards, they toured extensively in the United States and also toured in England for the first time in 12 years. In November of that same year, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
After their 2015 North American tour, nothing much was heard from World Party. In an 2022 interview with The Big Takeover, it was revealed that Karlis working on new music, but it’s currently unknown when it’ll be released.
To follow Karl Wallinger on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/worldpartykarlwallinger
To see a video for “Ship of Fools”, go to:
To see a video for “Private Revolution”, go to:
To see a video for “Way Down Now”, go to:
To see a video for “Put the Message in the Box”, go to:
To see a video for “Thank You World”, go to:
To see a video for “Is It Like Today?”, go to:
To see a video for “Give It All Away”, go to:
To see a video for “All I Gave”, go to:
To see a video for “Beautiful Dream”, go to:
To see a video for “She’s the One”, go to:
To see a video for “Here Comes the Future”, go to:
To see a video for “When You Come Back To Me” (from the “Reality Bites” soundtrack), go to:
Candy Hill was an R&B music trio from Los Angeles, California that consisted of members Casha D (born Casha Darjean), Loui-V (born Vatana Shaw) and OC (born Ociris Gomez).
Prior to the trio’s formation, the girls were in and out of various music groups during their teen years. In 2006, they were featured on rap duo 2XL’s song, “Magic City”. Afterwards, they were signed to a record deal with Universal/Republic Records to record two songs.
Due to their record label paying them a small advance to help cover their recording expenses, the trio kept their day jobs working at an insurance company and they did other vocal work in order to pay rent for the house that they were living in together.
In 2007, Candy Hill released their debut single, “Juicy” which didn’t appear to make any impact on the music charts at all nor did their follow-up single, “Spare”. Afterwards, it seemed as if they disbanded.
In 2008, Casha Darjean was featured on rapper Yung Berg’s single, “The Business”. According to research, she gave birth to a daughter in 2015.
Vatana Shaw currently works at the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, California as the Head of Web3 Music Brand Partnerships. It’s unknown what Osiris Gomez is currently up to thse days.
To see a video for “Juicy”, go to:
To see a video for “Spare”, go to:
Omero Mumba (born Omero James Mumba on July 2, 1989 in Dublin, Ireland) is a former hip-hop artist and actor from the 2000s. He is the younger brother of singer Samantha Mumba.
In 1995, he made his acting debut on the television series, “The Governor”. In 2000, he was featured on Samantha’s debut album, “Gotta Tell You” on the track, “The Boy”. When Omero was 13 years old, he signed a record contract with Polydor Records.
In 2002, he released his debut and only single, “Lil’ Big Man” which peaked at #42 on the UK Singles Chart and #16 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song was featured on the compliation album, “Now That’s What I Call Music! 52”.
During that same year, he and Samantha appeared in the film version of H.G. Wells’ 1895 novel, “The Time Machine”. Afterwards, nothing much was heard from Omero until 2009 when he had a minor role in the film, “3 Crosses”.
In 2010, he wrote and directed a music video for Bruneian singer Hill Zaini called “Stay in the Middle”. The video received a nomination for “Most Mind-Blowing Music Video” at the Asia Pacific Voice Independent Music Awards where it came in third place.
Since then, it appears as if Omero has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what he’s currently up to these days.
[Note: There are no videos available for this blog entry.]
Neal Coty (born Neal Lee Angleberger on May 13, 1964 in Thurmont, Maryland) is a country music singer and songwriter from the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Neal was adopted at a young age and got his musical inspiration from his uncles, who were fans of country and Southern rock music. During his childhood, he began playing the guitar after it was given to him by his grandmother.
After completing high school, he attended cosmetology school, but dropped out after two months. Afterwards, Neal attended a theater program at Towson University in Towson, Maryland and performed his own music during open mic-nights. He was booked as a touring act for singer Kathy Mattea after he was discovered by a talent agent.
Neal later resided in New York City and Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career and gained some small success writing commercial jingles.
He moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a country music career after being encouraged to do by a friend. He wrote songs for artists such as Randy VanWarmer and Roger Murrah. One of the songs that he wrote, “Collect From Wichita” was recorded by Ronna Reeves.
Neal’s success as a songwriter led to a record deal with Mercury Records Nashville. In 1997, he released his debut studio album “Chance and Circumstance”. Although the lead single, “Tainted” didn’t make the charts, it received positive feedback from critics.
In 2000, Neal released the single, “Legacy” which peaked at #49 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.
A year later, he released his sophomore album, “Legacy”. To help promote the album, Neal drove to various radio stations in his truck with his picture painted on it. His record label partnered up with Jones Radio Networks and the Great American Country television network to hold a sweepstakes in which truck was the grand prize.
The follow-up singles from the albums, “Right Down Through The Middle Of Us” and “Breathin'” didn’t make any impact on the charts at all.
Afterwards, he turned his attention to songwriting, writing songs for artists such as Mark Chestnutt, Craig Morgan, Blake Shelton, James Wesley and Hank Williams Jr.
These days (according to research), it appears as if Neal is still involved in the music business as a songwriter; in 2022, he wrote the song, “She Was” for Joe Nichols’ album, “Good Day For Living”.
To see a video for “Tainted”, go to:
To see a video for “Legacy”, go to:
To see a video for “Right Through The Middle Of Us”, go to:
To see a video for “Breathin'”, go to:
Vega was an R&B music group from the late ’90s from Detroit, Michigan. The members consisted of brothers Eugene & Ahsohn Williams, Jason Chenevert and Tennell Williams.
They were presented by their manager to music producer Dallas Austin at a music industry convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Impressed with the group, Dallas had the group relocate from Detroit to Atlanta. They temporarily moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work with Dallas Austin and his team of writers.
In 1999, Vega released their debut single, “Let Me Get It” which peaked at #80 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks. The song was nationally successful in the South and parts of the Midwest.
Their follow-up single, “Mommie” peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart in 2000, staying on the chart for only 5 weeks.
Around that time, Vega was supposed to release their debut studio album, “Life On Earth”, but it was ultimately shelved (although promotional copies appear to exist). In 2000, they released their last single to date, “It’s The Way” which didn’t chart at all.
Afterwards, it seems as if the group faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what Eugene, Ahsohn, Jason and Tennell are currently up to these days.
To see a video for “Let Me Get It”, go to:
To see a video for “Mommie”, go to:
To see a video for “It’s The Way”, go to:
Sarah Johns (born in 1979 in Pollard, Kentucky) is a country music singer from the 2000s.
During her childhood, Sarah sang in her church choir. Her parents didn’t allow her to listen to secular music, so she began sneaking home cassettes by country music artists such as Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette, which later helped her out with her songwriting.
After being encouraged by a church soundman, she began performing in shows outside of her church, recorded a demo and shopped it around Nashville, Tennessee, but to no avail. She later attended the University of Kentucky where she performed regularly at a local restaurant.
While performing one day, Sarah met Toby Keith’s manager who advised her to move to Nashville. Within a month, she quit school and moved to Nashville where she got a job cleaning tour buses. After a year, she was offered the chance to tour with Toby Keith, performing on two songs with his band as a guest performer.
In early 2006, Sarah signed a record deal with the Show Dog Nashville record label; however, she didn’t release anything under the label and left in April of that same year. She later signed a new record deal with BNA Records.
In August of that same year, Sarah released her debut and only studio album, “Big Love in a Small Town” which peaked at #198 on the Billboard 200.
The follow-up single from the album, “He Hates Me” peaked at #47 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.
According to research, Sarah was living in Tennessee as of 2012 and was working on a new album at the time which doesn’t appear to have been released. Since then, it’s unknown if she is currently active with her music career.
To see a video for “The One in the Middle”, go to:
To see a video for “He Hates Me”, go to:
No Good (or No Good But So Good) was a hip-hop music group from Miami, Florida. The group originally consisted of Derrick “Mr. Fatal” Hill, Tracy “T-Nasty” Lattimer and John “Slo” Strachtan.
In 1992, Derrick, Tracy and John began working as dancers and hype men for rapper Luther “Luke” Campbell. During that same year, they formed a dance troupe called No Good But So Good and eventually made a shift into rap music. Together, they performed at local clubs in Miami.
In December of 1996, the group released their debut studio album, “Up to No Good” on the Luke Records label.
The two singles released from the album: “Get Your Shake On” and “Six O’Clock in the Morning” didn’t make any impact on the music charts at all.
In 1998, No Good But So Good were featured on Luke’s single, “Raise the Roof” which was a number-one hit on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart. It was also a moderate hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #26) and peaked at #20 Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks.
Afterwards, John left the group, leaving Derrick and Tracy as the remaining members; they later shortened their name from No Good But So Good to No Good.
In 1998, they released the single, “Lizard, Lizard” (featuring Luke and rapper Jiggie) which peaked at #9 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart and #66 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.
In February of 1999, No Good released their sophomore album, “Lizard, Lizard”. The follow-up single, “Let’s Go” failed to make the charts at all.
The duo later signed a record deal with the ARTISTdirect Records label. In 2001, they released the single, “Ballin’ Boy” which topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart (staying on the chart for 23 weeks) and #54 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks.
In May of 2002, No Good released their third and last studio album to date, “Gameday PBB”. The follow-up single from the album, “Wooozie\Dopeman” flopped on the charts.
By 2005, the duo had disbanded and appear to have faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been from them since the 2000s.
To see a video for “Ballin’ Boy”, go to:
To see a video for “Raise The Roof” (with Luke), go to:
To see a video for “Get Your Shake On”, go to:
To see a video for “Six O’Clock in the Morning”, go to:
To see a video for “Wooozie”, go to:
The Clique Girlz was a pop\rock girl group from the 2000s that originally consisted of the Monroe sisters from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey: Destinee (born Destinee Rae Monroe on June 16, 1994) & Paris (born Paris Quinn Monroe on January 9, 1996) and their friend, Ariel Moore (born Ariel Alexis Moore on July 27, 1995).
In 2004, Destinee, Paris and Ariel formed a group together under the name Clique with the Monroe sisters’ mom, Lenore working as their manager. They recorded the song “Lemonade” for the Alex’s Lemonade charity.
The girls opened up for the Backstreet Boys at one of their concerts after being invited to do so by member Howey D. They later opened up for other artists such as Billy Ray Cyrus, The Click Five, the Cheetah Girls, Kirk Franklin and the Jonas Brothers.
At the beginning of 2007, the group left their hometown to go to Hollywood, California to attend a meeting and they were signed to Interscope Records by Jimmy Iovine. Their name was changed to Clique Girlz because there was another music group called “Clique.” During that same year, they were featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Bratz” with the track, “Alter Ego.”
In March of 2008, the Clique Girlz went to Tokyo, Japan to work on their debut album. The following month, they released a 3-song EP.
Their first single, “Then I Woke Up” (which was originally sung by Diana DeGarmo in 2004) peaked at #2 on Billboard’s sales chart. The follow-up single, “Incredible” didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts.
In the summer of 2008, the Clique Girlz performed in several shows at Six Flags and other venues, opening up for artists such as Demi Lovato and Drake Bell. They later traveled to Japan again to promote their upcoming album, appearing on several Japanese television shows and performed at the MTV Vibrations 2008.
On August 27, 2008, the group released their debut and only studio album, “Incredible” in Japan. They performed and participated in various events such as the Fourth of July Philadelphia Fireworks Show, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Grammys, the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, the Teen Choice Awards and the MTV Movie Awards. They also appeared on “The Today Show” as well.
During that same year, an acoustic version of Clique Girlz’s song, “Incredible” was featured on the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack. They released an EP called “Smile” and the title track managed to peak at #2 on Billboard’s sales chart.
After Ariel’s departure, auditions were held at Center Staging in Burbank, California to find a new member. In late February of 2009, pictures from a photoshoot for Baby Bottle Pop featured new member Sara Diamond (born on January 5, 1995). It was later confirmed that Sara was now part of the group; however, she was let go from them in late April 2009 due to unknown reasons.
In 2009, the Clique Girlz disbanded. The following year, Destinee and Paris formed their own music duo called Destinee & Paris. In August of 2011, they released their single, “True Love” which didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts.
The Monroe sisters were backing vocalists for the 10th season of “American Idol”, appeared on the Disney Channel show, “So Random”, were featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Despicible Me” with the track, “I’m On a Roll” and toured with Britney Spears as the opening act on her “Femme Fatale Tour”.
It was reported that Destinee and Paris were working on their debut album, “Heart of Mine”, but since then, nothing much has been heard about it and it is presumed that the album was shelved.
These days (according to research), Destinee is a member of The Billy Walton Band. It’s unknown if Paris is still involved in music, but she appears to be quite active on Instagram.
Ariel went on to sing with a new girl group called No More Drama (or NMD), but it appears as if she is now a solo artist.
To follow Destinee Monroe on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/destineemonroe
To follow Paris Monroe on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/parisqmonroe
To see Sara Diamond’s official website, go to:
https://www.iamsaradiamond.com/
To follow Sara Diamond on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/iamsaradiamond
To see a video for “Then I Woke Up”, go to:
To see a video for “Incredible”, go to:
To see a video for “Smile”, go to:
To see a video for “Alter Ego”, go to:
To see a video for “Here With Me Now”, go to:
To see a video for “Lemonade”, go to:
To see a video for Destinee & Paris’s song, “True Love”, go to:
rareandobscuremusic 