Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953)
is an American singer, songwriter,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the
Five Stairsteps
The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Ken ...
.
Biography
Five Stairsteps
As a member of the Five Stairsteps, Burke wrote the group's first minor hit "You Waited Too Long" in 1966, but the group would see their biggest success with the million-selling song "
O-o-h Child
"O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single, written by Stan Vincent, recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label.
The Five Stairsteps had previous peripheral success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield ...
" in 1970. The group went on to sign with
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's
Dark Horse Records
Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...
in 1975, and had their next hit with the Burke-penned "From Us to You", from their 1976 album ''2nd Resurrection''. The group reemerged for two albums as the Invisible Man's Band but disbanded soon after.
Solo career and session work
Skilled as a
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
and
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
, Burke continued to work for the Dark Horse label as a session musician, while burgeoning a solo career of his own. In 1977, he released his self-titled debut album, which featured the songs "Keep on Singing", "Give All You Can Give", and "From Me to You".
During this period he contributed instrumentation to songs by a diverse range of artists such as
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...
,
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
,
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
,
Terry Callier
Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter.
Life and career
Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was r ...
,
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. ,
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" (1972) ...
,
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...
,
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
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
.
In 1981, Burke released his self-produced follow-up solo album, ''You're the Best'', but it was his third album, ''Changes'', which appeared the following year, that made a more significant impact.
This album included the singles "Hang Tight" and his signature hit "
Risin' to the Top
"Risin' to the Top" is a song by former Five Stairsteps member Keni Burke. Released in 1982 from the ''Changes'' album, it became his most successful hit as a solo artist, peaking at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' R&B charts'' and is considered ...
," a big success in Chicago.
The latter song has become a popular sampling choice for
hip hop artists, having been borrowed by artists such as
Doug E Fresh
Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxing, beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum ...
("Keep Risin to the Top"),
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...
("Smooth Operator"),
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
featuring Amerie ("Paradise"),
Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & CL Smooth were a hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, ''All Souled Out'' and followed that with their 1992 LP ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''.
Career
1991–1994: The Golden Age
As a prod ...
("Take You There"),
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
("Love No Limit"),
O.C. ("Born 2 Live"), and
Sean Price
Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock.
Early life and educati ...
("Sabado Gigante"), though a lot of these songs have been mistakenly thought to use the bass line from the 1983 song "All Night Long" by the
Mary Jane Girls
The Mary Jane Girls were an American girl group formed in 1983, best known for their songs "In My House", " All Night Long", "Candy Man", and their cover version of " Walk Like a Man". They were protégées of musician Rick James and disbanded i ...
.
In 2006, "Rising to the Top" appeared in the soundtrack for the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, on fictional radio station
Vice City for Lovers.
Throughout the '80s and into the '90s, Burke continued his session and production work for artists such as
Peabo Bryson
Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...
,
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 ...
,
The Jones Girls
The Jones Girls were an American R&B vocal trio of sisters from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Consisting of Brenda, Shirley and Valorie Jones, the Jones Girls first signed and recorded for GM Records in 1970. The trio were best known for th ...
and
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 A ...
, and in 1998 released his last album to date ''Nothin' but Love'', containing the hit "Indigenous Love", which was popular in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
via the
Expansion Records
Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern Soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989, DJ Author & Journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, both he and Searling run Expansion Records.
Label hist ...
Label.
Discography
:''See also
Five Stairsteps discography''
Studio albums
* ''
Keni Burke
Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps.
Biography Five Stairsteps
As a member ...
'' (1977)
* ''
You're the Best'' (1981)
* ''
Changes
Changes may refer to:
Books
* ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series
* ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
'' (1982)
* ''Nothin' but Love'' (1998)
Compilation albums
* ''The Wonderful World of Keni Burke'' (1992)
* ''You're the Best / Changes'' (2010)
Singles
References
External links
*
Keni Burke - Six Million Steps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Keni
1953 births
African-American male singer-songwriters
American funk bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American funk guitarists
American funk keyboardists
American funk singers
American multi-instrumentalists
Record producers from Illinois
American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
American soul guitarists
American male guitarists
American soul keyboardists
American soul singers
Singers from Chicago
Living people
Dark Horse Records artists
Guitarists from Chicago
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
African-American pianists
African-American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
20th-century African-American male singers