Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as an "acrobatic,

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 ...

-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

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 ...

band

Mtume Mtume (pronounced ''em-tu-may'') was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R&B hits during its career. Its founder, former percussionist James Mtume, previously played and toured with M ...

; her soulful lead vocals are featured on their 1983 R&B hit "

Juicy Fruit Juicy Fruit is an American brand of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company, a U.S. company that since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the privately held Mars, Incorporated. It was introduced in 1893, and in the 21st century the brand name is rec ...

". Agee has worked consistently as a backing vocalist from the mid-1970s to the present day, predominantly with

James Mtume James Forman (January 3, 1946January 9, 2022), known professionally as Mtume or James Mtume, was an American jazz and R&B musician, songwriter, record producer, activist, and radio personality. He came to prominence as a jazz musician, working ...

, who produced her one solo studio album, ''Welcome to My Dream'', for

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 1987. She is also a part of "the Lovely Ladies" trio, who tour with the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

Early life and education

Born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and raised in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Newark Arts High School Newark Arts High School is a four-year magnet public high school, serving students in Ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school is located in t ...

and

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

Career

Mtume and backup singing

Agee sang on

's second studio album, ''

Rebirth Cycle ''Rebirth Cycle'' is the second studio album by American musician James Mtume. It was produced by Mtume himself, and released on the Third Street Records label. It is one of a number of contemporary albums described as "some of the most compellin ...

'' (1977), and on the Mtume album, ''

Kiss This World Goodbye ''Kiss This World Goodbye'' is a 1978 album by R&B group Mtume. This was their debut album on the Epic Records label as well as the first album featuring vocals by Tawatha Agee. Track listing All songs written by Reggie Lucas and James Mtum ...

'' (1978), which features "

The Closer I Get to You "The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis's band, who were members of Flac ...

" (originally sung by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

and

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

on Flack's 1977 album, ''

Blue Lights in the Basement ''Blue Lights in the Basement'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Roberta Flack released by Atlantic on December 13, 1977. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming her third to ...

''), and continued with the band on their 1980 follow-up, ''

In Search of the Rainbow Seekers ''In Search Of The Rainbow Seekers'' is a 1980 album by R&B group Mtume. This was their second album on the Epic Records label. Track listing All tracks composed by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas; except where noted. #"Give It on Up (If You Wa ...

'' ("Mrs. Sippi," "Give It On Up (If You Want To)"). She also provided backing vocals on three studio albums by

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

, ''

What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' ''What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin is the third album by Stephanie Mills. Released in 1979 and produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. Track listing *All songs written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas except where indicated. Personnel *Ste ...

'' (1979), '' Sweet Sensation'' (1980), and ''

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...

'' (1981), plus ''Keep It Comin'' (1981) by

Jean Knight Jean Knight (née Caliste; born January 26, 1943)Official records state that Jean Caliste, aged 16, married in June 1954, indicating a birth year of 1938. is an American R&B and soul singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Launching her profession ...

and Premium. Agee cowrote the

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

duet " Two Hearts" with Mtume bandmates

and

Reggie Lucas Reginald Grant Lucas (February 25, 1953 – May 19, 2018)Ullanda McCullough Ullanda McCullough is an American pop music singer most noted as a backing vocalist. Career McCullough began her singing career at age 13 in Detroit, Michigan. In early 1970s she sang numerous advertising jingles including the 1971 Coca-Cola com ...

(from her 1982 studio album, '' Watching You Watching Me''). With King she also co-wrote, and sang on, "Keep Goin' On", produced by Mtume and Lucas, for saxophonist

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

. Agee was the featured vocalist on many of

's hits, including the oft-sampled "

" (UK Top 40, 1983, and the number-one R&B spot, in the U.S., for eight weeks in the summer of 1983). She remained with the band through their last two studio albums, '' You, Me and He'' (1984) and ''Theater of the Mind'' (1986), contributing guitar and keyboard parts, respectively, in addition to vocals.

Solo recording

Tawatha Agee's only solo studio album to date, ''Welcome to My Dream'', was issued by

in 1987 and produced by James Mtume along with James Batton and

bandmate Ed Moore. Agee, Mtume, Moore, and Mtume keyboardist Philip Field wrote songs for the album.

Return to backup singing

After ''Welcome to My Dream'' (1987), Agee focused again on session singing. She has recorded with artists such as

Blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with ...

, Bruce Fisher (''Red Hot'', 1977),

Cabo Frio Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro state. It was founded by the Portuguese on November 13, 1615. The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply north ...

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...

the Heath Brothers The Heath Brothers was an American jazz group, formed in 1975 in Philadelphia, by the brothers Jimmy (tenor saxophone), Percy (bass), and Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums); and pianist Stanley Cowell. Tony Purrone (guitar) and Jimmy's son Mtume ( ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

, B. B. & Q.,

LeVert LeVert was an American R&B vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Formed in 1983, LeVert was composed of Sean and Gerald Levert (sons of Eddie Levert, founder and lead singer of R&B/Soul vocal group O'Jays) and Marc Gordon.Wells, ...

Kashif Kashif (also spelled Kaashif, Kaşif, Khasif or Kashef, ar, کاشف) is an Arabic word, commonly used as a male given name in the Muslim world. Its meaning is close to the "revealer", "discoverer", "uncoverer" or "pioneer", "explorer". When use ...

Keni Burke Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps. Biography Five Stairsteps As a member ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

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, Rena Scott, Jewel,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

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the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

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, Foreigner and

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. She was also featured on the

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

(1997) soundtrack as a singing voice of one of the muses.

Solo discography

Albums

*''Welcome to My Dream'' (

, 1987)

Singles

* "Are You Serious?" (Epic, 1987) * "Thigh Ride" (Epic, 1987) * "Did I Dream You" (Epic, 1987) * "Love On Hold" (Glitterbox/

Defected Records In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

, 2017) with Aeroplane

References

External links

* * *
Interview
on SoulMusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Agee, Tawatha 1954 births American soul singers African-American women singers Howard University alumni Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Musicians from Pittsburgh Newark Arts High School alumni Singers from New Jersey Singers from Pennsylvania Living people American sopranos 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers