Foster & McElroy
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Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy are an R&B record production duo, which has produced hit singles for acts such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Silk-E, and, most notably, En Vogue,. Im addition, they have made their own recordings under the names "Foster & McElroy" (the Top Ten R&B hit "Dr. Soul" with M.C. Lyte and the Atlantic album FM2) and "Fmob" ("Runaway Love" with En Vogue).
Foster was born in 1962 and was greatly influenced by the Philly soul of the era, while Thomas McElroy was influenced by his father's love for jazz music. The two musicians first met in California while attending college, and decided to work together as colleagues
Signing to the independent Triangle label, they released several singles before forming the new jack swing group Club Nouveau with Jay King, and produced Timex Social Club's hit single "Rumors" in 1986. Foster & McElroy released one solo LP, FM2, in 1989. FM2 included songs such as "Around The World In 80 Beats" and "Dr. Soul" (a top ten R&B hit featuring rapper MC Lyte), and was a moderate success.
While working on their FM2 album, Foster & McElroy made plans to put together a girl group that would be a modern-day version of The Supremes, and would produce records for the group that mixed classic soul style vocals with hip hop beats. After several auditions, Foster & McErloy eventually selected Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, and Terry Ellis to become the members of En Vogue, as the girl group came to be called. With hits such as "Hold On", "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", and "Don't Let Go (Love)", En Vogue became a successful recording act during the early to mid 1990s.
