Jonathan "Johnny" Kemp (August 2, 1959 – April 16, 2015) was a Bahamian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a songwriter in late 1979 and is perhaps best known for his solo work, including his single " Just Got Paid" (1988), which was nominated for 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 in 1989.

Biography

Early life and career

Kemp began singing in nightclubs in the Bahamas at age 13. He moved to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York in 1979 with the band Kinky Fox. In the early 1980s, Kemp became a successful session musician and songwriter, singing backup for the B. B. & Q. Band on their 1982 album ''All Night Long'' (on which he co-wrote several tracks) and for

Change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

on their 1982 album '' Sharing Your Love'' (on which he co-wrote "Take You To Heaven"). He also appeared on the obscure Network LP ''I Need You'' in 1984, where he had lead vocals on the song "Cover Girl", later re-recorded for his self-titled debut solo album.

Solo career

Kemp landed a solo recording contract with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

and released his eponymous debut album in 1986. It charted in the U.S. on ''

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 adverti ...

''s Top Black Albums chart, reaching No. 36 on June 28 of that year. He scored a minor

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

from the album with "Just Another Lover" (co-written by Kashif), which peaked at No. 14 ''Billboards

Hot Black 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 on June 21, 1986 and hit the Hot Dance/Disco charts, reaching No. 26 in Club Play and No. 35 in

12 Inch Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

that same month. Greater success came the following year with the release of his ''

Secrets of Flying Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' (1987) album, which contained a pair of Top 5 hits on ''Billboard''′s Hot Black Singles chart, "Dancin' with Myself" and " Just Got Paid", the latter hitting No. 1. "Just Got Paid" hit No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the summer of 1988, and sold over a million singles in the United States. It went to top the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

and provided his only

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

entry, peaking at No. 68 in August 1988. His only other Hot 100 entry was "Birthday Suit", a tune from the soundtrack to the movie, ''

Sing 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 ...

'' (1989), which climbed to No. 36 in 1989.

Later career

Kemp appeared on

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including " I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", " I'll Give ...

's DVD release, ''

Sweat Hotel Live ''Sweat Hotel Live'' is the second live album by American singer Keith Sweat. It was released by Elektra Records on June 12, 2007. Critical reception AllMusic editor Jonathan Widran rated the album two and a half stars out of five. He found tha ...

'' (2007), which featured live performances by Sweat in a sort of reunion with other R&B/

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing wa ...

era pioneers of the late 1980s, including

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...

. Kemp appeared on the final track, an "all-star finale" rendition of "Just Got Paid", originally recorded at a February 2006 concert in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. Incidentally, Sweat had initially passed on the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

track that would eventually become "Just Got Paid", when it was first offered to him in the mid-1980s. Kemp listened to it, added his own

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

to the melody, and "Just Got Paid" was born. Kemp also performed a version of the

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 ...

theme song (and other songs for that series) that was broadcast on PBS for a few years between the Tina Fabrique and Chaka Khan versions. Kemp was the featured performer (singing "Just Got Paid") at the NJS4E event in New York City, on September 8, 2007. As the name implied, the show celebrated and commemorated 20 years of new jack swing and took place at

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

's Sugar Bar. In the 90s Johnny Kemp and Sherry Goffin Kondor, the daughter of Carole King were the lead singers for the popular children's cover band Sugar Beats. The Sugar Beats featured

The Broadway Kids The Broadway Kids was a concert group based in New York from 1994 to 2004. The group consisted of a rotating company of children, aged 8 to 16, who have performed in at least one Broadway, Off-Broadway or major national touring production. They ...

members and Les Miserables (musical) stars Crysta Macalush Winton and Erin Rakow. Former

Dream Street Dream Street were an American pop music, pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. History The ...

member and

Summerland (TV series) ''Summerland'' is an American drama television series created by Stephen Tolkin and Lori Loughlin. It is centered on a clothing designer in her 30s, Ava Gregory (Loughlin), raising her niece and nephews after their parents die in a tragic acciden ...

star

Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo m ...

was a member of the Sugar Beats. After releasing "80s Greaties" the Sugar Beats broke up in 2009.

Death

Kemp was found dead on April 16, 2015, off the coast of Montego Bay, according to Jamaican reports. He was 55 years old. Kemp had been a passenger on a cruise ship that had docked in Montego Bay. Other cruise ship passengers had seen him earlier that day in the area. Based on an investigation, the St James Police believed he was walking on some rocks, lost his balance, fell, hit his head, and then drowned. He was scheduled to be on the Tom Joyner Foundation-hosted annual ''Fantastic Voyage'' cruise as a performer when his body was found; reports state he did not board the ship. He left behind a wife, Deirdre Fisher-Kemp, and their two sons, one of whom, Jared Kemp, is an actor.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

* ''Just Got Paid'' (2004)

Singles

References

External links

* *
Interview from the NJS4E Event (YouTube)

NJS4E Interview- Part II (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Johnny 1959 births 2015 deaths Bahamian singers Bahamian emigrants to the United States Musicians from New York (state) People from Nassau, Bahamas Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Jamaica Columbia Records artists New jack swing musicians