Alicia Myers (born November 20, 1957) is an American
R&B musician. Beginning her music career with the band Al Hudson & the Soul Partners, who later evolved into
One Way
One-way or one way may refer to:
* One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction
*One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin
Music
*One Way (American ba ...
, Myers went on to a moderately successful solo career in the early 1980s, scoring hits such as "I Want to Thank You", "Don't Stop What You're Doin'", and "You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say)".
Early life/Personal life
Myers was born on November 20, 1957, in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, to Lawrence and Margaret Myers, as one of their nine children. Her older brother, Jackie Myers, also a musician, would later become part of the beach band
Chairmen of the Board
Chairmen of the Board is an American-Canadian, Detroit, Michigan-based soul music musical ensemble, group, who saw their greatest commercial success in the 1970s.
Recording career
General Johnson (musician), General Johnson (1941–2010) had a ...
.
The two siblings competed in a local talent competition in April 1968 at Detroit's Martin Luther King Jr. High School, where they sang, "
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a 1968 single released by American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, on the Tamla label in 1968. The B-side of the single is "Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl" from the duo's ''United'' LP. The ...
", originally performed by
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
and
Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye.
...
, and they were awarded first place.
She attended
Lee University for her collegiate studies.
She is a survivor of childhood tuberculosis. She later survived breast cancer in 1998 and has since become an advocate for the disease.
Music career
In 1978, she departed her hometown to start her music career in Los Angeles, California, with Al Hudson & the Soul Partners. With Myers in the lineup, they released the album ''Happy Feet'' as Al Hudson and the Partners in 1979; this record includes the R&B hit "You Can Do It", co-penned by Myers and featuring her on lead vocals, which was a big club/disco hit. Soon thereafter, the group changed their name to One Way featuring Al Hudson and, eventually, simply
One Way
One-way or one way may refer to:
* One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction
*One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin
Music
*One Way (American ba ...
.
After her stint in the band, she started her solo music recording career in 1981, with the release of ''Alicia'' by
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
.
This album achieved a
''Billboard'' magazine R&B Albums chart peak of No. 41
and featured two of her biggest hits, "I Want to Thank You" and "Don't Stop What You're Doin'".
Her follow-up album, ''Alicia Again'', released later the same year, failed to chart.
Her subsequent album, ''I Fooled You This Time'' appeared the following year under the same label,
and it surpassed the R&B Album chart placement of ''Alicia'', reaching number 27. The high charting success of ''I Fooled You'' can be attributed to the inclusion of the aforementioned "I Want To Thank You", which had gained popularity due to DJs such as Tee Scott playing it in heavy rotation, where it was discovered by those who missed it the previous year upon its initial release.
Her fourth album, 1984's ''I Appreciate'' became her highest-charting album on the R&B chart, peaking at number 12, while also heralding her only appearance on
The ''Billboard'' 200, where it peaked at No. 186.
''I Appreciate'' would be her last album of newly recorded material released in the 1980s.
Universal Special Products re-released her debut ''Alicia'' album, with the same exact track listing, as ''Don't Stop What You're Doin'' in 1986,
without further chart success.
In 2011, Myers released her first album of new material in 27 years, entitled ''Peace of Mind''.
Legacy
In 1990, the singer Harmony featured a cover of Myers' song "I Want to Thank You" on her 1990 album ''Let There Be Harmony''. The following year,
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
sampled the same Myers tune on the song "
Make It Happen" from her 1991 album ''
Emotions
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
'', while
Father MC
Timothy Brown, also known as Father MC, is an American rapper who achieved success in the early 1990s on the Uptown Records label.
Personal life
Father MC appeared in the August 1996 issue of ''Playgirl'' in a photospread taken by Greg Weiner.
...
sampled the song "Close to You" with background vocals by
Kenny Greene
Kenny Greene (January 17, 1969 – October 1, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter who was also a member of the R&B group Intro.
Career
As a member of the R&B group Intro, Greene wrote and produced many of the group's tracks and was le ...
of
Intro
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...
on his 1992
album of the same name. Several years later, "I Want to Thank You" was again sampled by
E-40
Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...
in his song "I Wanna Thank You" featuring
Suga-T
Tenina Stevens (born December 21, 1971), better known by her stage name SUGA-T, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. She is a founding member of The Click, a rap group that also includes her brothers E-40 and D-Shot and her cousin B ...
, taken from his 1996 album ''
Tha Hall of Game''. Also,
Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
and
Q-Tip sampled the song for Busta's "
Thank You
"''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...
" in 2013. It was later sampled again in 2019 by
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
for his song "Temporary Lover", taken from his ninth album, ''
Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
'', and in 2022 by
the Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...
for his song "
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
", taken from his fifth album ''
Dawn FM
''Dawn FM'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on January 7, 2022, through XO and Republic Records. The album features narration by Jim Carrey, guest vocals from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne ...
''.
The song "If You Play Your Cards Right" from her debut album is covered often by several artist since its release; most recently by
Syleena Johnson
Syleena Johnson ( Thompson; September 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter from Chicago, Illinois.
Personal life
Johnson is the daughter of 1960s rhythm and blues, R&B Hi Records singer Syl Johnson and Bre ...
on her second album ''
Chapter 2: The Voice''.
Chante Moore covered Myer's song "I Want To Thank You" on her 1994 album ''
A Love Supreme
''A Love Supreme'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Ga ...
''.
In October 2019, a mural by artist
Stephen Powers
Stephen Powers (1840–1904) was an American journalist, ethnographer, and historian of Native American tribes in California. He traveled extensively to study and learn about their cultures, and wrote notable accounts of them. His articles we ...
was unveiled on
Pier 40 in Manhattan, New York consisting of "I LOVE TO THANK YOU," inspired by Myer's song.
Discography
Studio albums
Miscellaneous albums
*''Don't Stop What You're Doin (1986; re-release of ''Alicia'' album from 1981)
Singles
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Alicia
1957 births
Living people
African-American songwriters
African-American Christians
Musicians from Detroit
Musicians from Los Angeles
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Michigan
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people