Janice Michell McClain (born 25 January 1964 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) is an American R&B singer, probably best known for her 1979

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

hit "Smack Dab in the Middle".

Early life and teenage career

McClain was raised in North Philly, the only child of a construction father and a mother who worked as a secretary and later as a dressmaker. Singing nearly from infancy in church, McClain grew up in a musical household - both of her parents had themselves cut records as teenagers - , McClain becoming conversant at an early age with current

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 ...

hits, showtunes and opera: her early idols included Freda Payne and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and as a teenager McClain became an especial fan of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. A student at the

Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as CAPA, is a magnet school in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the edge of the Christian Street Historic District. It is a part of the School Distri ...

, McClain also studied at Settlement Music School. At age 14 McClain's evident vocal prowess led to her professional performing debut singing with the local jazz ensemble

Pieces of a Dream Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * Pieces (video game), ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game f ...

: also when McClain was 14, her uncle Milton Tennant, a songwriter and record producer, had McClain cut her first record. Shortly after her fifteenth birthday McClain recorded the track "Smack Dab in the Middle", co-written and co-produced by Tennant and Thom Page (the latter also an uncle of McClain's): the track was successfully shopped to RFC, the recently launched

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

disco-oriented label, and released October 1979 to become one of the Top Ten most-played tracks in American discothèques for the first five weeks of 1980. However the track would not become a mainstream success - barely crossing over to the R&B chart with a #91 peak - and although McClain did cut tracks for a projected album she had no evident further releases prior to two mid-1980s

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

Adult career

On 10 July 1982 - a month after her high school graduation - McClain was in the lineup of a Robin Hood Dell benefit concert alongside such Philly soul stars as

McFadden & Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...

, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes & Billy Paul. Two days before her nineteenth birthday McClain reportedly caused a local sensation making her debut at the premiere North Philly jazz club Jewel's, with McClain rapidly becoming established as a top lounge act, regular gigs at Jewel's leading to engagements at New Jersey venues. McClain also performed at the

Kool Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...

"jazz picnic" at

Waterloo Village Waterloo Village is a restored 19th-century canal town in Byram Township, New Jersey, Byram Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County (west of Stanhope, New Jersey, Stanhope) in northwestern New Jersey, United States. The community was ...

in June 1983, and would serve as opening act for Philly engagements of such top R&B acts as

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

and the Commodores, also opening for

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. While performing at the Trump Plaza (Atlantic City) showroom Jezebel's late in 1984 McClain was scouted by

Jheryl Busby Jheryl Busby (May 5, 1949 – November 4, 2008) was an American recording company executive who was the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Motown Records. Biography Busby grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where he went to ...

, head a&r rep for the

Soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

division of

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 ...

: Busby had been tipped off re McClain by

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

after the latter had caught McClain's act either at Jezebel's or at Harrah's Marina where McClain had made her Atlantic City debut that September. Mcclain was signed to MCA in July 1985 with her self-titled album originally scheduled for a 30 April 1986 release with a March release for the balladic track "Let's Spend the Night" as advance single: however the album's release was delayed until the year's end with the dance track "Passion & Pain" as lead single, "Let's Spend the Night" being issued as the second single in April 1987: neither the album nor its singles were successful with only "Passion and Pain" charting, stalling at #75 on the R&B chart. Subsequent to a 1994 12" single release, McClain's recording resume has comprised chorale duties for Philly-area sessions, contributing to the albums '' It's Long Overdue'' by Keith Martin (1994), ''All the Way From Philadelphia'' by the Three Tenors of Soul ( William Hart, Ted Mills, Russell Thompkins Jr.) (2007), ''Love, Niecy Style'' by

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

(2007), and '' George Clinton & His Gangsters of Love'' (2008), plus the 2010 seasonal EP '' Ronnie Spector's Best Christmas Ever''. She remains an active live performer in Philadelphia and its surrounding area.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Janice McClain'' (

, 1986)

Singles

References

External links

* * Allmusic profile {{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Janice 1964 births American child singers American disco singers Living people Singers from Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers