Times Two was an American male
duo
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*Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland
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Arts, enterta ...
composed of vocalists/keyboardists Shanti Jones and Johnny Dollar, both from
Point Reyes, California. They
wrote
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
most of their own material, and either produced or co-produced it, as well.
History
They debuted in 1988 with their
Warner Bros./
Reprise album ''X2'', which reached No. 137 on the
Billboard 200. In the US their biggest hit was "Strange But True," which peaked at No. 21 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
That year,
Debbie Gibson's manager Douglas Breitbart signed Times Two as the opening act for her
Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue may refer to:
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* ''Out of the Blue'' (1931 film), a British musical by Gene Gerrard
* ''Out of the Blue'' (1947 film), an American comedy directed by Leigh Jason
*'' Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley'', a ...
Tour.
Their second U.S. single "
Cecilia" (a cover of
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
's hit, featuring work by
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
himself, and produced by
Club Nouveau
Club Nouveau is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name ( French for "New Club") was changed from its original inca ...
's Jay King) was far less successful, only reaching No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song went to No. 1 in New Zealand for three weeks in 1988, however, spending 14 weeks on the chart altogether. The album ''X2'' made No. 13 in New Zealand on the strength of their No. 1, spending 11 weeks on the chart.
Poor sales figures (for whatever reason) eventually led to the duo being dropped from Warner/Reprise, but they soon resurfaced in 1990 on
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
with the EP "Danger Is My Business." The track "Jack the Jill" prominently featured samples from
Blue Swede's 1974 cover of
B. J. Thomas
Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...
' 1969 hit song "
Hooked on a Feeling."
The EP was initially meant to serve as a teaser for their next full-length album ''Hi-Fi & Mighty''. A small number of promotional copies of this full-length album were distributed, which included the tracks from the previous EP, some other all-new songs, and also a couple of remixes. However, problems with management led to the cancellation of its commercial release, and the album was shelved. Soon afterward, Times Two disbanded.
Post-breakup
Shanti Jones fronted a band called Sex & Reverb; they have produced several CDs.
Johnny Dollar subsequently performed under the name Giovanni Di Morente, and performed with El Radio Fantastique in San Francisco's Bay Area.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''X2'' (1988)
* ''Hi-Fi & Mighty'' (1990) ''(only released in certain countries)''
Extended plays
* ''Danger Is My Business'' (1990)
Singles
* "Strange but True" (1988) peaked #21 on U.S.
Billboard Hot 100, and #12 on the US Dance chart.
* "Cecilia" (1989) peaked at #79 on U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
* "Set Me Free" (1990)
References
External links
*
Times Twoon
Allmusic.com
Times Two – Strange But True– release listing on
Discogs.com
American pop music groups
American musical duos
{{US-band-stub