Tony! Toni! Toné!
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Tony! Toni! Toné! was an R&B group from Oakland, California popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. It was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Charlie Ray Wiggins (also known as Raphael Saadiq) on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian on drums. Other members were Elijah Baker, Carl Wheeler, Randall Wiggins, and Antron Haile.
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[edit] History
Their first album, Who?, was released in 1988. The album went gold and had several hit singles. The first of these, "Little Walter" went to #1 on the R&B charts. While none of the singles went gold, the next three singles, "Born Not To Know", "For The Love Of You" and "Baby Doll" were all Top 10 R&B singles.
Firmly establishing themselves, the group's second album The Revival was released in 1990 and reached platinum status. The album spawned several #1 R&B hits with "It Never Rains", "Feels Good" and "Whatever You Want" all topping the R&B charts. "Feels Good" was the group's first single to breach the Top 10 of the Hot 100 and managed to go gold.
Furthering the group's success, they released their best selling album to date, Sons Of Soul, in 1993. The album went double platinum and had hit singles "If I had No Loot" which hit #7 on the Hot 100, "Anniversary" which reached #10 on the Hot 100, and "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow" which reached #4 on the R&B charts.
In 1996, the group released their last album to date, House of Music. The album lacked the strong singles of earlier entries, only getting "Thinking Of You" into the top 10 on the R&B charts. The album still managed to reach platinum status.
[edit] Other endeavors
Raphael Saadiq released his first solo effort, the Top 20 Billboard hit "Ask of You" for the Higher Learning soundtrack, in 1995. Around the same time, Saadiq became a much-sought-after R&B producer, scoring hits for D'Angelo, Total, The Roots, and others. Later in the 2000s, he started a solo career, releasing two albums, Instant Vintage (2002) and Ray Ray (2004).
Lucy Pearl was an R&B supergroup formed in 1999 as the brainchild of Raphael Saadiq. The other members of Lucy Pearl were Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). They released their self-titled debut album in 2000. After two singles, "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man", Dawn Robinson left and was replaced by Joi. The new line-up released the track "Without You". The group split up shortly after, releasing no other material.
[edit] Reunions
In 2003, most members of Tony! Toni! Toné! except for Saadiq were invited by Alicia Keys to guest on her album The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song that resulted from that session was called "Diary", and when it was released as a single in the fall of 2004, it gave them their first Top 10 US hit in eleven years. In 2005, D'wayne Wiggins became the band leader for the Weekends at the D.L. television show hosted by comedian D. L. Hughley, which airs on the Comedy Central cable network.
In 2006, the group reunited for the New Jack Reunion Tour, running throughout the U.S.
[edit] Current Projects
Dwayne currently volunteers with the Urban Services YMCA in Oakland. Together, they provide paid music apprenticeships through the YMCA Dare2Dream program. Students gain experience in music production, studio recording techniques, and the business aspects of the music industry.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | Cerification |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Who? | Gold |
| 1990 | The Revival | Platinum |
| 1993 | Sons of Soul | 2x Platinum |
| 1996 | House of Music | Platinum |
| 1997 | Greatest Hits | not certified |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 |
US R&B/Hip-Hop |
US Dance |
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| 1988 | "Little Walter" | 47 | 1 | 43 | Who? |
| 1988 | "Born Not to Know" | – | 4 | – | |
| 1988 | "Baby Doll" | – | 5 | 44 | |
| 1989 | "For the Love of You" | – | 6 | – | |
| 1990 | "The Blues" | 46 | 1 | 43 | The Revival |
| 1990 | "Feels Good" | 9 | 1 | 3 | |
| 1990 | "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" | 34 | 1 | – | |
| 1991 | "Whatever You Want" | 48 | 1 | – | |
| 1991 | "House Party II" | – | 19 | – | House Party II soundtrack |
| 1993 | "If I Had No Loot" | 7 | 8 | 45 | Sons of Soul |
| 1993 | "Anniversary" | 10 | 2 | – | |
| 1994 | "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" | 31 | 4 | – | |
| 1994 | "Slow Wine" | – | 21 | – | |
| 1996 | "Let's Get Down" | – | 5 | – | House of Music |
| 1997 | "Thinking of You" | 22 | – | ||
| 2004 | "Diary" (Alicia Keys Featuring Tony! Toni! Toné!) | 6 | 2 | 1 | Alicia Key's The Diary of Alicia Keys |
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- New jack swing
