The Jets are a Tongan- American family band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, composed of brothers and sisters LeRoy, Eddie,

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

, Haini, Rudy, Kathi, Elizabeth, and Moana Wolfgramm, who perform

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, R&B, and dance music. They started performing as a family band in 1977. The group enjoyed worldwide success in 1985–1990, performing three world tours, and producing five top-10 hits on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

The original band consisted of the eight oldest children of Maikeli "Mike" and Vaké Wolfgramm, who were originally from Tonga. The family has 17 children: 15 by birth, and two, Eddie and Eugene, by adoption. The children attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School. The family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The band initially called themselves Quasar after a now-defunct brand of television sets. They changed their name to the Jets, a name taken from the

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

song " Bennie and the Jets" on the suggestion of manager Don Powell.

Career

The original members of the Jets had a number of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits, five of which reached the top ten, including the 1986 single " Crush on You", which peaked at No. 3 in July 1986 (No. 5 UK, No. 4 US R&B, No. 4 US Dance). They are also known for the singles " You Got It All", " Cross My Broken Heart", " Rocket 2 U" and " Make It Real". "

Sendin' All My Love "Sendin' All My Love" is a song by the American sibling group The Jets. It was written by Stephen Bray (who is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with Madonna during the 1980s) and Linda Mallah. Released as a single from The Jet ...

", which peaked at No. 88 on the Hot 100, 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 ...

'' dance chart. "You Got It All" and "Make It Real", both ballads featuring lead vocals by

Elizabeth Wolfgramm Elizabeth Wolfgramm (born August 19, 1972) is an American singer and a former member of the family group The Jets, composed of siblings: Eddie, Eugene, Elizabeth, Haini, Kathi, Leroy, Moana, and Rudy Wolfgramm. Some of her later work has appea ...

, were No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard''

adult contemporary chart 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 stat ...

. The band was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1988 for the song "Rocket 2 U" that featured lead vocals by Haini Wolfgramm. The Jets also performed the theme song for '' Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' in 1989. The group performed " The Star-Spangled Banner" at the seventh game of the

1987 World Series The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the Nation ...

, held in their hometown of Minneapolis, and at Game 3 of the

1991 Stanley Cup Finals The 1991 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1990–91 season, and the culmination of the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars. It ...

in suburban Bloomington. The band also performed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul, South Korea and the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Recent appearances

*On October 10, 2009, seven of the original band members reunited to perform at the Mega 80s & 90s Music Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii along with fellow MCA recording artists Ready for the World, the Cover Girls and En Vogue. *On April 9, 2010, all of the original members except Eugene performed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. It was billed as their 25th-anniversary reunion show. *In 2015, the band celebrated its 30th anniversary with performances in Manila and Cebu, Philippines. *In July 2015 in Orem, Utah, the Jets performed a hometown concert with Debbie Gibson. *The Jets were featured on the TV One music documentary ''Unsung'' on March 17, 2019.

Line-up

The Jets' original lineup consisted of eight of the siblings. *LeRoy Wolfgramm (born July 19, 1965) – vocals, electric guitar *Eddie Wolfgramm (born August 14, 1966) – vocals, tenor saxophone, percussion *

Eugene Wolfgramm Eugene Joseph Wolfgramm, a.k.a. Gene Hunt (born September 24, 1967), is a founding member of the Minneapolis-based group The Jets. Like the other Wolfgramms, Eugene is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Biography Eugene ...

(born September 24, 1967) – vocals,

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

*Haini Wolfgramm (born January 25, 1968) – vocals, bass guitar *Rudy Wolfgramm (born March 1, 1969) – vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Kathi Wolfgramm (born September 6, 1970) – vocals, keyboards, percussion *

(born August 19, 1972) – vocals, keyboards, percussion *Moana Wolfgramm (born October 13, 1973) – vocals, keyboards, percussion

Spin-off

In 1988,

and Joe Pasquale formed the duo Boys Club, which recorded for MCA Records. Boys Club released the song "I Remember Holding You", which reached No. 8 on the Hot 100. Eugene later reunited for the album '' The Best of the Jets'' (1990), but he and other siblings (Eddie, Elizabeth, Kathi) eventually left the band in succession. The band was also featured on the soundtrack for '' The Disney Afternoon'', on which they performed the '' Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' theme song. They also appeared on the soundtracks for ''Burglar'' (1987) ("Tough Guys"), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987) ("Cross My Broken Heart"), '' The Karate Kid Part III'' ("Under Any Moon") and '' The Family Man'' (2000) ("La La Means I Love You").

Influence

American pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

recorded a new version of "You Got It All" in 1997, which appears on international editions of her 2000 album '' Oops!... I Did It Again''. Musical artists Arnee Hidalgo, Pinay and MYMP have also covered the song. "Crush on You" is featured as the base sample for the

French house French house, also known as French touch, filter house and tekfunk, is a style of house music originally produced by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Euro disco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance m ...

anthem "Intro" by

Alan Braxe Alain Quême (), professionally known as Alan Braxe (born 9 July 1971), is a French electronic music artist. Braxe is most widely known for his collaborative work with electronic bassist Fred Falke and Kris Menace, and for being part of the mus ...

and

Fred Falke Frédérick Falke () (born 7 January 1973), known professionally as Fred Falke, is a French house and dance music producer and DJ. Biography Falke started out as a bass player before moving to production work. His first record, a collaboratio ...

(2000). Pop singer Aaron Carter included "Crush on You" on his first album, which became a top-10 single in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom in 1997. Singer

Nayobe Nayobe Catalina Gomez, known professionally as Nayobe (born December 18, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York), is an American singer of Afro-Rican heritage and freestyle dance-pop musician. Her most successful singles are "Good Things Come to Those Who W ...

recorded a version of "Make It Real" that became a hit in Latin America. Exposé recorded a version of "The Same Love" on their 1992 self-titled album. More recently, the UK electronic music act Nero sampled "Crush on You" on their 2011 track of the same name.

The Jets and the Jets Original Family Band

As of 2022, there are two touring groups of Jets, which include original members: *The Jets: Elizabeth, Eddie, Kathi, Moana *The Jets Original Family Band: Haini, LeRoy, Rudy

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Tours

* 1985–1986: The Jets World Tour * 1986: Christmas with The Jets World Tour * 1987–1988: Magic World Tour * 1989: Believe World Tour * 2015: The Jets - 30th Anniversary Concert