Craig Gendreau, better known by his stage name Rick Wes, is an American singer who was active from 1990 to 1991.

Career

Craig Gendreau was discovered at a talent show in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...

by songwriter and producer

Maurice Starr Larry Curtis Johnson (born July 14, 1953), better known by his stage name Maurice Starr, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work creating songs and albums with boy bands New Edition and New Kids on ...

, who was looking for "a white soul kid." Despite Gendreau having no singing background or stage experience, Starr envisioned him as "like

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

-- only better, with a touch of

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

." While figuring out how to market Gendreau, Starr gave him the first name "Rick" after

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

, and the last name "Wes" after getting lost somewhere between

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

and

Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsfor ...

and seeing a "North South East West" road sign. Wes released his debut album ''North, South, East, Wes'' through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1990. Greg Sandow of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the album an F, calling it: "nine of the lamest songs ever recorded, dance music blended with a watery memory of Elvis and so vapidly produced that you have to wonder whether Starr now thinks he can create hits without doing any real work." In 1991, Wes released his second album ''Possession'' through Boston Records/

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

. Like its predecessor, the album was also a commercial failure.

Discography

Albums

* ''North, South, East, Wes'' (1990) * ''Possession'' (1991)

Singles

* "North, South, East, West" (1990) * "Don'tchu Wanna Rock" (1990) * "Possession" (1991) * "It's You" (1991)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wes, Rick Living people American male singers 20th-century American singers People from Fall River, Massachusetts Singers from Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people)