Debbie Deb

Deborah Claire Wesoff - Kowalski, better known as Debbie Deb, is an American dance-pop singer, best known for 1980s freestyle dance songs such as "Lookout Weekend" and "When I Hear Music".

Biography

Deb was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in North Miami Beach, Florida. A music aficionado from a young age, she was "discovered" at the age of 16 by producer Pretty Tony at a Miami record store where she was working. While Debbie had no formal training in singing, she had been singing most of her life. Pretty Tony told her that he liked the way she spoke and asked if she could sing, and she answered yes. They recorded "When I Hear Music," which she co-wrote with Pretty Tony in his studio the very next day. Released on the Jam Packed record label in 1984, the song has since become a staple in clubs and on dance and urban radio stations and mixshows. Other hits followed, including "Lookout Weekend", "I Wanna Work It Out", "There's A Party Going On", "I Wanna Dance," and a remake of Connie's 1980s Latin freestyle classic "Funky Little Beat". ^[1]

However, Deb was overweight and suffered from low self-esteem, and found her sudden fame difficult to cope with. She was crushed when her record company decided not to put her picture on the sleeves of her records and, in a Milli Vanilli-esque move, even hired an "impostor" to perform and pose as "Debbie Deb". As a result, she made little, if any, money from her hit singles, and was so hurt by the experience that she stopped singing for years, relying on her work as a hairdresser to make ends meet.^[2]

Deb finally resurfaced on the recording scene in 1995 with the album She's Back. Now living near Philadelphia, she continues to work as a hair stylist and also keeps busy performing frequent concerts around the United States, especially "freestyle revival" shows with other artists like Lisa Lisa, Stevie B, Exposé, The Cover Girls, and Shannon. Gwen Stefani has cited Deb as an influence, and in the summer of 2006, Janet Jackson featured a cover version of "Lookout Weekend" on her Web site.

In early 2009, Debbie debuted a new single, "Everytime You Come Around," on her Myspace page (on which she bills herself as "The Real Debbie Deb").

Discography

• Lookout Weekend (1986)
• She's Back (1995)

Sampled

• Debbie Deb's song "When I Hear Music" has been sampled by many artists of today, such as: Pitbull "Fuego", Xscape "Wassup", Shauna K "Dance," Big DelphVoltio "Ponmela", "VIP" (notable for its frequent plays on BET: Uncut) and Melissa Lujan who actually did her own cover version of "When I Hear Music"

Cover versions

• Kid Sister recorded a hip-hop cover version of "Lookout Weekend" featuring Nina Sky for the soundtrack of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore.
• Janet Jackson released a cover version of "Lookout Weekend" as a free digital download on her website as a gift to her fans prior to the release of her album 20 Y.O..
• Daron Malakian from System of a Down has sung a part of "Lookout Weekend" live
• The Black Eyed Peas covered "Lookout Weekend" with Esthero for their album Bridging The Gap, simply titled "Weekends"
• Kelis sampled the same melody from "Lookout Weekend" & "When I Hear Music" in her 2006 Album Kelis Was Here on the track "Weekend".
• Buzz Fuzz used the melody from "When I Hear Music" on the track "King Of The Beats", combined with a sample from "Get Busy" by Disco Four
• Pitbull sampled "When I Hear Music" in his 2006 Album El Mariel on the song "Fuego".
• Voltio sampled "When I Hear Music" in his Video for Ponmela".
• Dan Bryk recorded a medley of "Lookout Weekend" and Graham Parker's "The Weekend's Too Short" on his 2003 covers album "If I Were You".
• Randy Ramirez recorded a hard rock version of "When I Hear Music" that is featured on his myspace.
• Jason Mraz has sung a part of "Lookout Weekend" in the middle of one of his songs, live.
• Lady Tigra of L'Trimm covered "When I Hear Music" in the episode "Band" of the children's television show "Yo, Gabba Gabba!", which first aired on October 15, 2009.

References

1. ^ http://www.coldcrush.com.au/electro_sydney/electro_funk/miami-bass-electro-bass-techno-bass/debbie-deb-lookout-weekend-when-i-hear-music/
2. ^ http://www.metroactive.com/metro/06.07.06/debbie-deb-0623.html Metroactive.com Retrieved on 06-06-07

External links

• Debbie Deb's Myspace page
• Interview with Debbie Deb detailing her career

Persondata
Name	Deb, Debbie
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Date of birth	1970
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