Club Nouveau is an American
R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, following the breakup of the
Timex Social Club
Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single " Rumors".
History
Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, Cr ...
.
The group's name (
French for "New Club") was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed by
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version of
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...
's song "
Lean on Me" won a
Grammy award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
in 1987.
History
From its debut album, ''
Life, Love & Pain
''Life, Love & Pain '' is the debut album by R&B group Club Nouveau. It was released in late 1986 with production by Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy and Jay King. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart and number ...
'', which was released in 1986,
the group scored four consecutive hits: "Jealousy" (essentially an
answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...
responding to Timex Social Club's hit "
Rumors"), "Situation #9", "
Lean on Me" and "
Why You Treat Me So Bad
"Why You Treat Me So Bad?" is a 1987 single by Club Nouveau from their 1986 album '' Life, Love & Pain.'' The basic melodic hook of the song is taken from a hit by Club Nouveau member Jay King's previous project as producer, Timex Social Club (nam ...
". The latter two both made it to #2 on the
''Billboard'' R&B chart the next year, with "
Lean on Me" going on to become a big
''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit.
"Jealousy" also made an appearance on the soundtrack for the film ''
Modern Girls
''Modern Girls'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Jerry Kramer, starring Virginia Madsen, Daphne Zuniga and Cynthia Gibb.
Plot summary
Three women in their early 20s, Margo, Kelly, and Cece, are roommates living in Los Angeles worki ...
''. "
Why You Treat Me So Bad
"Why You Treat Me So Bad?" is a 1987 single by Club Nouveau from their 1986 album '' Life, Love & Pain.'' The basic melodic hook of the song is taken from a hit by Club Nouveau member Jay King's previous project as producer, Timex Social Club (nam ...
" was
interpolated
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
by the hip-hop duo
Luniz, on its hit single "
I Got 5 on It", and subsequently by rapper/record producer
Puff Daddy on his #1 R&B single "
Satisfy You".
The group's original lineup consisted of
Jay King, Valerie Watson,
Samuelle Prater,
Denzil Foster, and
Thomas McElroy
Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! T ...
.
Foster and McElroy soon left to form their own production team and focus on working with other acts. Prater, who had performed lead vocals on "Lean on Me," eventually left as well
to pursue a solo career, but reunited with the group in 2009.
The group's next albums — beginning with ''
Listen to the Message'' — were laced with an evolving social consciousness.
Notable recordings include "You Ain't No Friend of Mine" from ''Under A Nouveau Groove''; a
dancehall-influenced version of the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
classic "
Oh, Happy Day," from ''A New Beginning''; "Let It Go" from ''Everything Is Black''; and "What Kind of Love" from ''The Collection Volume I''. The group also recorded "Step by Step" for the ''
Who's That Girl Who's That Girl? may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Who's That Girl'' (1987 film), an American film starring Madonna
* ''Who's That Girl'', a Philippine film of 2011
* "Who's That Girl?", an episode of ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!''
Music
* Who's Tha ...
'' soundtrack.
Club Nouveau was nominated for a Grammy for
Best R&B Performance
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...
in 1987. The group's version of "Lean on Me" was its most celebrated hit, resulting in a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in addition to winning the Grammy for
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
that same year.
"Lean on Me" was also nominated for two
American Music Award
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...
s, nominated and won a
Bammy Award, a BRE Drummer award, a Bay Area Star award and it won two
NARM NARM was the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, now renamed as the Music Business Association. NARM may also refer to:
*North American Reciprocal Museums
*North American Registry of Midwives, a certifying organization for midwives
*N ...
(National Association of Recording Merchandisers) awards.
The 2015 lineup consists of King, Watson, and Prater.
In 2017, as part of
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
's divestment requirements as a result of its purchase of Parlophone, the group's Warner Bros. recordings were acquired by
Tommy Boy Records, which worked 12-inch singles from its first album to clubs as a result of its emerging relationship with Warner and from being an expert in the format.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
See also
*
List of number-one hits (United States)
This is a list of songs that have peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the magazine's national singles charts that preceded it. Introduced in 1958, the Hot 100 is the pre-eminent singles chart in the United States, currently mon ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in th ...
*
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Ba ...
*
*
30th Annual Grammy Awards
The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.
Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
American contemporary R&B musical groups
Grammy Award winners
Warner Records artists
Musical groups from Sacramento, California