Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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 ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and pop. She is credited as " The First Lady of House Music".Kym Mazelle biography
Telegraph UK. Retrieved December 5, 2016.

Biography

Early life

Mazelle was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

. She lived on the same street as the Jackson family and knew

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

and uncle. In 1981, she attended

Mundelein College Mundelein College was a private, independent, Roman Catholic Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Located on the edge of the Rogers Park, Chicago, Rogers Park and Edgewater, Chicago, Edgewater neig ...

in Chicago. In 1982, she transferred to

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arts and Entertainment Media Management in 1986. During college, she worked part-time as an intern and secretary at

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...

Career

In 1987, she worked with record producer Marshall Jefferson (as House To House) on the single "Taste My Love", released on Police Records label. In 1988, she released the single "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)", a hit on the club charts which reached at No. 53 on the UK singles chart. Her next release, "Wait," a duet with Robert Howard from

The Blow Monkeys The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before split ...

in 1989, peaked at No. 7 in the UK. In 1989, Mazelle's debut album ''Crazy'' was released in the UK and featured the single "Love Strain". With the single "Was That All It Was" returned Mazelle to the UK Top 40 and "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" was remixed by Norman Cook. In 1990, Mazelle joined British music group Soul II Soul. Her lead vocals on the single "Missing You" on their second album '' Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade'' achieved major success worldwide. She also toured with the group throughout the year and their concert DVD '' A New Decade: Live from Brixton Academy'' was released in September 1990. In 1991,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

Records repackaged Mazelle's debut album as ''Brilliant!!'' with remixes of her singles, two new tracks and remixes of "No One Can Love You More Than Me" and "Crazy 'Bout The Man". Mazelle also appeared as "Pattie Roman" on the show Trainer, a sitcom originating from Great Britain.Read, M. (September 30, 2014). ''Seize the Day''. Biteback Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com In 1992 Kym had a hit with Rapination also known as the Rapino Brothers with “Love me the right way” This was a euro piano house sound and was a popular hit in the U.K. particularly the club scene. In 1994, she scored a No. 13 hit in the UK with a cover on "

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a song recorded by American singers Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, released in October 1979. It was written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts (singer), Bruce Roberts, and produced by Giorgio Moroder and G ...

", with

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and dance music, dance singer. She has a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name. Brown sang ...

. Two years later, in 1996, Mazelle released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song " Young Hearts Run Free", which appeared in the 1996

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

film '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'' and also appeared on the director's remix album '' Something for Everybody''. The soundtrack went triple platinum in the United States of America. The success of the single re-invited Mazelle to perform on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

. She has appeared on two live albums by

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of ...

, ''Life on Planet Groove'' and ''My First Name is Maceo''. Mazelle released her second album ''The Pleasure Is All Mine'' in June 2004 and undertook a tour in the UK. The album spawned two singles: "Love Magic" and "On My Own". In 2005, Mazelle took part in the British version of the reality TV show, '' Celebrity Fit Club''. In April 2007, she appeared in the

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

's tribute show "I Can't Stop Loving You". In July 2010, Mazelle joined the cast of UK theatre production of '' Smokey Joe's Cafe''. She also appeared on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

series, '' Celebrity MasterChef''. In September 2010, she released an extended play titled ''Destiny''. She headlined Liverpool Pride on August 6, 2011. On November 3, 2011, she headlined Prince Charles's Prince's Trust Ambassador Ball in Glasgow and helped to raise £93,000.00 for the charity on the night. On April 6, 2013, her appearance on ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'' was broadcast on the BBC.Soul singer Kym Mazelle falls at the first hurdle as The Voice auditions continue
Metro News UK. Retrieved on October 8, 2017 In 2017, Mazelle embarked on her 30th Anniversary Tour, celebrating thirty years in the music industry.

Discography

Albums

* ''Crazy / Brilliant!'' (1989) * ''The Pleasure Is All Mine'' (2004) * ''Destiny'' (2010)

Compilations

* ''Brilliant!!'' (1991) – European remix compilation, with 3 new tracks * ''The Gold Collection'' (1996)

Singles

Solo singles

As featured artist

Filmography

Television

Tours

* A New Decade Tour (1990) (with Soul II Soul) * 25 Year Anniversary Tour (2011–12) (with Soul II Soul) * Kym Mazelle 30th Anniversary Tour (2017)

References

External links

Kym Mazelle
official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazelle, Kym 1960 births Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American dance musicians American expatriates in England American women pop singers American house musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul singers American women in electronic music Capitol Records artists Columbia College Chicago alumni Musicians from Gary, Indiana The Voice UK contestants 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Indiana Soul II Soul members