Joyce "Fenderella" Irby (born July 16, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter,

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

and producer. She was the co-lead vocalist of the

all-female band An all-female band is a musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed. While ...

Klymaxx Klymaxx is an American all-female pop/ R&B band from Los Angeles, California. The band's classic lineup consisted of Bernadette Cooper, Lorena Porter Shelby, Cheryl Cooley, Robbin Grider, Lynn Malsby, and Joyce "Fenderella" Irby. History Klyma ...

. Irby has also worked with artists such as Lloyd,

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

Sammie Sammie Lee Bush, Jr. (born March 1, 1987), known by the mononym Sammie, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1999 hit single, " I Like It", from his debut album, ''From the Bottom to the Top'' (2000). He returned with ...

The SOS Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", "Just Be Good to M ...

and

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

Career

In her teenage years, she used to stand outside concert arenas in the South with her bass around her neck, playing on loading ramps. There she was first noticed by George Clinton. He used to make her sit with him after concerts, encouraging her by listening to her play.

George Clinton/P-Funk Collective

She originally signed on with George Clinton's P-Funk Collective as "Fenderella". While she never featured on any Funkadelic/George Clinton albums, she considers him her lifetime friend and mentor.

Klymaxx

Dick Griffey, president of Solar Records, saw Irby perform on a loading ramp and asked Leon Sylvers, the producer, if he could contact her. They were in search of a female bass player for their new group Klymaxx. Jimmy Jam heard her singing while he was playing piano in the studio with the girls which led her to the opportunity to lead Klymaxx songs. She was the lead singer on 3 of Klymaxx’s 4 biggest records, including their biggest hit “I Miss You.” She also penned and recorded the group’s first hit, “The Men All Pause."

Solo Work

In 1989, she scored a solo deal with

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

and had 3 charted Billboard singles, most notable "Mr. DJ" with

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

which peaked at #2. In 2012, Irby scored a top 5 Billboard hit as a co-writer with the

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

song, "Another Round".

Diva One Productions

Irby relocated from Los Angeles to

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 ...

in the mid 1980s and began to attempt the rise of Atlanta as an urban music center by soliciting major record labels and producers

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

, and

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

to form regional offices in the area. There, she founded Diva One Productions, a production and publishing company. Her greatest impact in this respect, may have been the result of her signing a 16 year-old

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events inv ...

as a songwriter and producer in 1988. Dallas produced the first

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

projects while still signed to Irby's company. She then signed child star Sammie Bush, to a deal with Dallas and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

launching his career when he was 12 years old. Irby also signed Lloyd (The Inc) as an 11-year-old and developed and guided his career through four major record deals (Warner, DreamWorks, Magic Johnson Music/MCA, The Inc/Universal). Irby gave multi platinum writer/producer Jasper Cameron his first songwriting deal.

Honors and awards

Irby won an ASCAP songwriter award in 2012 for co-penning one of the most played Urban records in the US, a top 5 single, “Another Round”, by Fat Joe, Chris Brown, & Mary J Blige.

Personal life

An avid animal lover, Irby started her own

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

"Jams For Animals", to raise consciousness and promote kindness to animals through music and video.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irby, Joyce Women bass guitarists Living people 1954 births People from Los Angeles People from Fort Bragg, North Carolina 20th-century African-American women singers American women singers 20th-century American bass guitarists People from Eatonville, Florida 20th-century American women musicians African-American guitarists 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women