Vanilla Ice

Infobox musical artist
Name=Vanilla Ice


Img_capt=
Img_size=
Landscape=
Background=solo_singer
Birth_name=Robert Matthew Van Winkle
Alias=Vanilla Ice
Born=birth date and age|1967|10|31
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died=
Hometown=Wellington, Florida, U.S.
Instrument=
Genre=hip hop,nu metal,rapcore,alternative metal,rap
Occupation=Rapper, Singer, Actor
Years_active=1988–present
Label=SBK
Associated_acts=Insane Clown Posse
URL= [http://www.vanillaice.com/ VanillaIce.com]
Notable_instruments=

Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967),cite web|url=http://www.live-metal.net/features_interviews_vanillaice|title=The Next Ice Age|accessdate=2008-04-26|last=Price|first=Jason|publisher=Live-Metal] best known as Vanilla Ice, is an American rap artist known for the 1990 smash hit "Ice Ice Baby."

Career

Early life

Van Winkle was born at Baylor University Medical Center to Camilla Beth Van Winkle (née Dickerson), a secretary and part-time private music teacher, and Dallas-born William Basil Van Winkle [cite web|url=http://www.wargs.com/other/vanwinkle.html|title=Ancestry of Robert Matthew Van Winkle|author=William Addams Reitwiesner|accessmonthday=March 20|accessyear=2007] , who left the family when Rob was four years old. He has German, Dutch and Irish ancestry.

Van Winkle attended R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas. He became interested in breakdancing. Practicing on cardboard in his early teen years, he earned the nickname "Vanilla Ice".cite journal |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2002/01/03/ice/index.html |title=Ice capades |accessdate=2007-11-10 |last=Vontz |first=Andrew |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=Salon.com] In the late 1980s, Van Winkle was the main attraction of many predominantly black local clubs with his freestyle rapping and dancing. He and his group of friends, consisting of Floyd "DJ Earthquake" Brown and several dancers, opened shows for rap heavyweights Public Enemy and M.C. Hammer.

In 1989, Van Winkle was represented by Jay King of Dallas as part of the rap group Vanilla Ice, Chante, Ambiance, LaRue and New Choice. [Barton, David. (February 12, 1989) Sacramento Bee "Breaking through is hard to do: Man behind music tries to regain his platinum touch." Encore section, page 16.] Van Winkle's first foray into the music industry was the little-known album "Hooked", released in 1989 on Atlanta-based independent label Ichiban Records. Selling 38,000 copies in three years, the album is considered a collector's item among fans due to its limited production.

His debut single from the record, "Play that Funky Music," failed to catch on with listeners, and both Van Winkle and the album remained in obscurity until a Georgia DJ decided to flip the twelve-inch single and play the B-side, which was "Ice Ice Baby," a track about Van Winkle's rhyming skills, the Miami street scene, and a gunfight on A1A/Beachfront Avenue. The overnight success of the single was enough for SBK Records to sign Van Winkle and buy the rights to "Hooked" for $300,000.

Mainstream success and failure (1990-1991)

Compilations

*"Back 2 Back Hits" (April 10, 1998)
*"The Best of Vanilla Ice" (February 23, 1999; reissued on March 13, 2001 and August 22, 2006)

Partial filmography

*"Saturday Morning Videos" (1990)
*"Top of the Pops" - Episode: December 6 (1990)
*"Saturday Night Live" - Episode #16.10 (1991) Musical Guest
*"" (1991)
*"Cool as Ice" (1991) John 'Johnny' Van Owen
*"Teen Vid II" (1991)
*"Circus of the Stars" Episode: #16 (1991)
*"Sex Book Video" (1992)
*"Alyas Boy Kano" (1992) Performer
*"Beavis and Butt-Head" - Episode: True Crime (1993) Performer
*"Behind the Music" - Episode: Vanilla Ice (1999)
*"The Howard Stern Radio Show" - Episode: April 3 (1999)
*"25 Lame" (1999)
*"The 11 O'Clock Show" - Episode #4.41 (2000)
*"Comedy Central Presents: The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Rob Reiner" (2000)
*"Welcome to Death Row" (2001)
*"Celebrity Boxing" (2002)
*"After They Were Famous" - Episode: April 6 (2002)
*"The New Guy" (2002) Music Store Employee
*"The Surreal Life" (2003)
*"Hollywood Squares" - Episode: March 3 (2003)
*"Betty Blowtorch (And Her Amazing True Life Adventures)" (2003)
*"The Sharon Osbourne Show" - Episode: December 16 (2003)
*"Remaking Vanilla Ice" (2004)
*"Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Get Old: The Afterlife of Vanilla Ice" (2004)
*"The Farm" (2004)
*"The Daily Buzz" - Episode: August 15 (2005)
*"The Helix...Loaded" (2005) Theo
*"Hit Me Baby One More Time" - Episode #1.2 (2005)
*"Jensen!" - Episode: November 29 (2005)
*"Attack of the Show!" (2006)
*"The Bros." (2006)
*"Top of the Pops" - Episode: March 13 (2006)
*"" (2007)
*"The Tyra Banks Show" - Episodes: February 2 and April 11 (2007)
*"Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge- August 10 (2007)

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.vanillaice.com Official Site]