Barbara Weathers (born December 7, 1963) is an American R&B/

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, and former lead singer of R&B vocal

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Atlantic Starr Atlantic Starr is an American band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits "Always", "Secret Lovers", "Send for Me", "Circles", "Silver Shadow" and " Masterpiece". History Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York ...

Overview

Weathers joined up at the age of 13 with an R&B band known as Covacus. This band was from her native area of

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

. In 1984, she left Covacus to join

, replacing female co-lead singer Sharon Bryant, who had embarked upon a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

career. Weathers' arrival heralded a new era of mainstream success for Atlantic Starr, beginning with her debut on the 1985 album ''

As the Band Turns ''As the Band Turns'' is the sixth album by R&B band Atlantic Starr, released in 1985. Following the departure of initial lead singer Sharon Bryant, ''As The Band'' sees the introduction of new vocalist Barbara Weathers. This proved to be one ...

''. A song from the album, "

Secret Lovers "Secret Lovers", released in 1985, was the third single from ''As the Band Turns'', the sixth album from American group Atlantic Starr. "Secret Lovers" was Atlantic Starr's true breakthrough hit on the pop charts in both the US and UK, though the ...

" reached No. 1 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult Contemporary Songs The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

chart, No. 3 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart (becoming the band's first major Pop hit), and No. 4 on the

Hot R&B Songs Hot R&B Songs is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular R&B songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations, digital download sales and streaming data. It was establish ...

chart. The album spun off four additional top-40 singles on the

chart, including two other top tens- the debut single "Freak-A-Ristic", which shot to No. 6, and "If Your Heart Isn't In It", which matched "Secret Lovers"' placement at No. 4. Another of these top-40 songs, the No. 12 hit " Silver Shadow" featured Weathers as the sole lead vocalist, her first such song with the group. ''As the Band Turns'' was eventually certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Meanwhile, Weathers continued contributing to Atlantic Starr's success, singing on the band's 1987 follow-up album '' All In The Name Of Love''. Spearheaded by the single "

Always Always may refer to: Film and television * ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom * ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg * ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...

", a chart-topper on the Pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts, this album surpassed its predecessor, earning

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

certification in the US. Follow-up singles from the album included another R&B top ten hit, "One Lover at a Time", also featuring Weathers as the sole lead vocalist. Following the massive popularity of this album, Weathers left the group to pursue a

career, going on to release her debut solo album in 1990 on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. The LP got to No. 18 on the UK

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

Hiplist chart.

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

called the LP "a big, squeaky clean production" with "a singer of charm and variety in Weathers".

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

also noted the album as "an attractive and smooth collection". While the album was not as successful in America, the album cut "The Master Key" rose to no. 13 upon the US

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. She later appeared on

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...

's October 1990 LP ''

Taste of Chocolate ''Taste of Chocolate'' is the third album by American rapper Big Daddy Kane, released in October 1990 on Cold Chillin' Records. The album reached No. 10 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 37 on the Billboard 200 chart. Overview Arti ...

'' and

Paul Jackson Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

's 1993 album ''A River in the Desert''. Weathers's 1995 sophomore LP entitled ''Seeing for the Very First Time'' was issued solely in Japan. During October 2011, she released ''Satisfaction Guaranteed'', her third studio album. Weathers is also a member of jazz saxophonist

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

's band.

Discography

Albums

With Atlantic Starr

*''

'' (1985) *'' All in the Name of Love (1987)

Solo

*''Barbara Weathers'' (1990) *''Seeing For The Very First Time'' (Weberworks, 1995) *''Satisfaction Guaranteed'' (Weberworks, 2011)

Singles

With Atlantic Starr

1985 *"Freak-A-Ristic" *"Cool, Calm, Collected" *" Silver Shadow" *"

" 1986 *"If Your Heart Isn't In It" *"Armed and Dangerous" 1986 1987 *"

" *"One Lover at A Time" *"All in the Name of Love" 1988 *"Thankful"

Solo

1990 *The Master Key *Our Love Will Last Forever

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weather, Barbara 1963 births American rhythm and blues singers Living people Reprise Records artists Atlantic Starr members African-American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers