Louis York is an American band formed by

Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...

and

Chuck Harmony Charles T. Harmon (born 1979),Gerrick D. Kennedy''Los Angeles Times'', February 24, 2015. better known as Chuck Harmony, is an American music producer, musician, songwriter and entrepreneur, based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a three-time Gram ...

in 2015.

History

Kelly and Harmony first met while working on

Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982) is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song " Be OK" (featuring will.i.am). She was previously signed to Motown Record ...

's 2009 album ''

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

''.Gerrick D. Kennedy
"Hitmakers Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony debut as Louis York,"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', February 24, 2015. They went on to collaborate as a duo writing and producing tracks for artists including

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

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 ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

.Maurice Bobb
"Louis York Search for Their Very Own 'Clair Huxtable' in New Video,"

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, April 28, 2015. Wanting to create music that would better reflect their own point of view and move them beyond being songwriters for hire, they formed Louis York. The group name originates from the hometown of its founders, Claude Kelly (New York City) and Chuck Harmony (East St. Louis). They write and produce all the tracks, with Kelly providing vocals and Harmony playing keyboards, guitars, drums and the vocoder. Drawing from several musical influences, such as their backgrounds in church choirs, growing up with R&B and being exposed to

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and the

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

sound as children, Louis York describes their music as " world music" in the sense that it is multi-genre and has an international sound.Gardner, John
"Louis York: American Griots, Weirdo Workshop Founders, and Multi - GRAMMY Nominated Musicians."
''The World Music Foundation Podcast.'' The World Music Foundation. Retrieved 21 August 2020. Louis York is the first act on their imprint Weirdo Workshop, whose releases are distributed by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

. Based out of a house in Franklin, Tennessee, The Weirdo Workshop exists as a "multi-purpose creative hub" from which the duo produces music, plans for future projects and hosts lectures, book clubs and live shows. Louis York debuted with the release of the single "Clair Huxtable" on February 24, 2015. The song celebrates strong women like its namesake, the mother on the television sitcom ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

''. In the music video, Kelly and Harmony are seen searching for a woman like Mrs. Huxtable: strong, smart, sexy and elegant. They released their second single, "Good Drinks, Dumb Jokes", on August 13, 2015. ''Masterpiece Theater – Act I'', Louis York's debut EP, was recorded in Los Angeles in the summer of 2015, and released on September 18, 2015. The ''

'' described it as "an eclectic mix steeped in hook-driven pop and throwback R&B along with rock and African tribal rhythms." Their follow-up EP, ''Masterpiece Theater – Act II'', was released on November 18, 2016."New Music: Louis York – Masterpiece Theater Act II (EP),"
youknowigotsoul.com, November 18, 2016. In 2019, the duo released their debut album titled ''American Griots - The Album.'' The title of the album alludes to the

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

s of West Africa who are storytellers, poets and songwriters who travel from village to village performing and passing on oral traditions. With the addition of "American", the duo hoped to modernize and personalize the role of the griot. Through the album's title, Louis York attempt to communicate how they see themselves and give artists a renewed sense of responsibility as touring performers.

Members

– vocals *

– keyboards, guitars, piano, drums, vocoder

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

*
Interview on The World Music Foundation Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis York Musical groups established in 2015 Musical groups from New York City Contemporary R&B duos American contemporary R&B musical groups African-American musical groups American musical duos 2015 establishments in New York City