Nicholas are an American

traditional black gospel Traditional Black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular mu ...

music husband and wife duo from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and they started their music recording careers in 1981, as a quartet, with the release of ''Tell the World'' with Message Records, yet this failed to chart. They released, ''Words Can't Express'', in 1983 with Message Records, which would be their last album released by them, and this was their ''Billboard'' magazine breakthrough release upon the Gospel Albums chart. Their other albums were released by Command Records, starting in 1985, with the release of ''Dedicated'', and this charted #1 on the aforementioned chart. The duo released nine more albums with four of those placing upon the Gospel Albums chart, 1987's ''A Love Like This'', 1989's ''Live in Memphis'', 1990's ''More than Music'', and 1992's ''Back to Basics''. Their last album release happened in 1994 with ''Fired Up!''

Background

The origins of the duo date back to Philip Nicholas' father who was a repentant

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 ...

musician, and he became a minister of music around his hometown of

. While in high school, Philip acquired the ability to play the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, which he utilized in his family band, The Nicholas Chorale Ensemble, that counted as its members Philip's brother, Lonnie, nephews, Steve and Ira Jackson, and a number of other friends and family members on a revolving basis. Philip went to college in his hometown at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

. He was very close friends with a young lady named Diane. She united Philip with a dorm-mate of hers, Brenda Watson, because Brenda was a loud, early morning, shower songstress in the dormitory bathroom. Diane felt that bringing Brenda to Philip's singing group would give her dormitory floor well earned relief from Brenda's early morning shower concerts. Brenda and Philip would soon hit it off both in their professional and personal lives, marrying on February 18, 1978, that just happened to be on Philip's 24th birthday. After completing college and marrying in New Jersey, the duo settled in

where they became musical ministers at the renowned pastor,Time Magazine 12-31-79 Dr. E.V. Hill's church. In pursuit of their professional music career, they coined the group name, Nicholas. They tried and failed to release albums 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 ...

, so Philip alongside partner and brother, Lonnie Nicholas, they established their own record label, Message Records in 1981. At this time the group was a quartet, with another female (Linda Laury Harold) and nephew (Steve Jackson) as the main vocalist. This brotherly owned label would soon cease, when Philip and Lonnie differed over the labels direction, causing Philip to depart, and creating Command Records with ex-Motown producer, Kent Washburn.

History

The duo, but quartet at the time, released albums in 1981 entitled ''Tell the World'', ''Words Can't Express'' in 1983, in 1985 the album ''Dedicated'', and a 12 inch single ''Tell Somebody/God's Woman'' in 1985. Two of these albums charted, ''Word's Can't Express'' and ''Dedicated'', and they placed at Nos. 10 and 1 respectively on the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart. The remaining albums released by the husband and wife duo with Command Records were, 1987's ''A Love Like This'', 1988's ''Live in Memphis'', ''Contemporary'', and ''Inspirational'', 1990's ''More than Music'', 1991's ''Back to Basics'', 1993's ''The Inspirational Sounds Of Nicholas Vol. 1'', and lastly, 1994's ''Fired Up!'' Four of these albums charted on the aforementioned chart, ''A Live Like This'' at No. 2, ''Live in Memphis'' at No. 10, ''More than Music'' at No. 14, and ''Back to Basics'' at No. 12.

Members

* Philip W. Nicholas (born February 18, 1954 in

) * Brenda L. Nicholas (née Watson) (born December 16, 1953 in

Salem, New Jersey Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city's population was 5,146,

)

Discography

References

External links

Official website

''Cross Rhythms'' artist profile
{{Authority control American musical duos Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups from Philadelphia