Kim English (September 6, 1970 – April 2, 2019) was an American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

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 ...

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 an ...

and

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

singer.

Early life

On September 6, 1970, English was born in

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, Illinois, U.S. English's parents were Ronald English and Annie Joyce English. English had several brothers, Eric, Richard, and Ronald Carl.

Music career

Throughout her career, English experienced success on the US

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 th ...

Hot Dance 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, ...

and

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

charts as well as the

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 ...

, beginning in the mid-1990s and continuing into the 21st century. Although her first chart entry on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play came in 1995 and was only a moderate hit ("I Know a Place", No. 32), her debut single was actually "Nitelife" in 1994, produced and written by

Ten City Ten City (derived from ''intensity'') is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house. ...

. Between 1999 and 2002, she scored six hits in a row that hit the top two. Five of those went to number one: "Unspeakable Joy", "Missing You", "Bumpin' and Jumpin'", "Everyday" and "Treat Me Right". All of these hit singles (excluding "I Know a Place") are featured on her debut album ''Higher Things'', released in late 1998 on the New York City based record label, Nervous Records NYC. "Unspeakable Joy" and "Everyday" went on to become her most successful radio hits. The album also featured a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

's song "Been So Long". English began as a

singer and many of her most popular songs contain references to God, faith and belief in oneself. By 2007, English had earned her sixth, seventh and eighth US dance number-ones with "It Makes a Difference", "C'est La Vie" and "My Destiny". All three hits are from her second album, titled ''My Destiny'', which was released in late September 2006. All of her hits were released on Nervous Records. September 2009 saw the release of the single "Nothing's Impossible".

Personal life

English had one son, Christopher. For the last five years of her life, English had been on dialysis awaiting a kidney transplant. On April 2, 2019, English died at the age of 48 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. Terry Matthew, "Legendary House Vocalist Kim English Has Died", ''5 Magazine'', April 2, 2019
/ref> English was diagnosed with kidney failure."Kim English, Chicago singer whose dance hits fueled house music scene, has died"
from ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' (April 3, 2019)

Discography

Albums

*''Higher Things'' ( Nervous Records NYC, 1998) *''Re-Energized'' (Nervous Records NYC, 2000) *''My Destiny'' (Nervous Records NYC, 2006)

Singles

References

External links

* *
Kim English
at MySpace {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Kim 1970 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers American dance musicians American electronic musicians American house musicians American women in electronic music Deaths from kidney failure Singers from Chicago 21st-century African-American women singers