Jody Watley

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Jody Watley

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Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Jody V. Watley
Born = birth date and age|1959|01|30
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Origin =
Occupation = Singer, songwriter, record producer, pianist
Years_active = 1977–present
Label = SOLAR, MCA, Atlantic, Avitone Recordings
Associated_acts = Shalamar, Babyface, 4Hero, Destiny's Child, Band Aid, George Michael

Jody Watley (born January 30, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and label owner.

Watley has sold over twenty million albums and singles worldwide. [Boykin, Keith. " [http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2006/07/24/jody_watley_bar Jody Watley Barred From Talking About Gay Games During Chicago Radio Interview] ", 2006-07-24. Accessed 2008-02-03. "She's a Grammy Award-winning artist who has sold more than 20 million albums and singles worldwide."] Along with Janet Jackson and Madonna, she ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards most nominated female artists ever, with ten nominations. In 1988, she won the Grammy Award for "Best New Artist". In 2008, she was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Billboard Magazine, and was also prominently featured [cite news |first=Cesare |last=Cunnacia |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Vogue Italia |url= |work= |publisher=Condé Nast Publications |date=July |accessdate=2008-07 ] in an historic issue of "Vogue Italia" highlighting black beauty that same year.

Jody Watley ranks as the #144 most successful R&B artist of all time according to "Billboard" magazine.fact|date=September 2008

Biography

halamar (1977 - 1984)

Watley got her start as a dancer on the hit TV show Soul Train at the age of fourteen. From 1977 to 1984, she was a singer in the R&B group Shalamar with Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel. The group achieved a platinum-selling album, "Friends", and the #1 R&B singles "A Night To Remember", "This Is For The Lover In You" and "The Second Time Around" in the U.S.; the group also scored numerous Top-10 hits on the UK charts. After several conflicts within the group, Watley left, disillusioned. Post-Shalamar, Jody took part in Bob Geldof's historic Band Aid alongside such stars as Sting, Bono from U2 and George Michael. Their charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" helped raise millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia. She also met Duran Duran's bassist John Taylor during this event and dated him briefly.

Early solo career (1984 - 1989)

In late 1986, Watley released her first single off her debut album called "Looking For A New Love", which became a hit with an instant catch phrase ("Hasta La Vista…Baby"). Watley's solo debut album, "Jody Watley", was released in March 1987 on MCA Records. "Looking for A New Love" stayed at #2 on the Billboard's Hot 100 Single chart for four weeks, and sold over 750,000 copies in the U.S.The album peaked at #10 on The Billboard 200 chart and spawned four more hits, "Don't You Want Me" (#6), "Still A Thrill" (#56), "Some Kind Of Lover" (#10) and "Most Of All" (#60). It sold over two million copies in the U.S. and nearly five million copies worldwide.

At the 30th Annual Grammy Awards, Watley was named Best New Artist, and was also nominated for Grammy Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. That same year (1988), she was also nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards and three Soul Train Awards, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year.

In the spring of 1989, Watley released her second album, "Larger Than Life". Her second album solidified her as a pop icon in the music industry. The album sold over four million copies worldwide, and hit the Top 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in America. The first single release, "Real Love," was a massive hit that set a trend with its new style of bass heavy-thumping beat dance. In America, it hit #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, the Single Sales chart, and the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, while hitting #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; the single also went gold there for attaining sales of over 500,000 copies. The album contained two more Top 10 Pop, Dance and R&B hits: "Friends" (featuring Eric B. & Rakim). It is noted as the first singer/rapper collaboration that became commonplace by the late 1990s. The ballad "Everything" peaked at #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The albums final single, "Precious Love" became a moderate hit peaked at #51 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #87 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During the summer of 1989, Watley's "Real Love" video, directed by David Fincher, was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards including Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Dance Video, and Best Female Video at the 1989 award show. That record was held until Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson's video "Scream" received eleven VMA nominations in 1995. The next year, she was also nominated for two Soul Train Awards, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist, and a Narm Award for Best Selling R&B Female Album. While riding high on her Larger Than Life World Tour, a remix album, "You Wanna Dance with Me?", was released in October 1989 and hit "Gold" status in America.

Into the 90s

Dance To Fitness

In 1990, Watley released a million-selling home video, "Dance To Fitness", a first for a black woman. Jody continued to be visible appearing in ad campaigns for GAP, and fashion layouts in such high profile magazines as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Essence. Jody Watley was also named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1990. That year Watley broadened her musical horizons by contributing a jazzy rendition of "After You Who" (on which she also apparently played piano) to "Red, Hot, & Blue", an AIDS-awareness charity recording by contemporary stars singing Cole Porter. The following year, Jody married long time producer André Cymone.

Affairs Of The Heart

On December 17, 1991, Watley released her third album, "Affairs Of The Heart". The album peaked at #21 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, #124 on The Billboard 200), and sold less than 400,000 copies in the U.S. Watley claimed to have had only minor marketing and promotional support for her new sound and artistic vision. Although the lead off single, "I Want You," peaked at #5 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, it only managed to climb to #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The next single, "I'm The One You Need" fared better, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Watley's first foray into House music produced by international DJ David Morales who also remixed the track to produce his infamous "Dead Zone mix" It was seen as an underground masterpiece, with vinyl promo's trading at one time in excess of $100. The remix is featured on the DJ John Digweed's Choice Classics compilation album produced by Azuli Records. 'Affairs Of The Heart's' final single was "It All Begins With You". She was invited by President George H. W. Bush in 1992 to perform the song at the White House. "It All Begins With You" peaked at #80 on the Hot R&B Singles chart.

Intimacy

On November 9, 1993 MCA released Jody's fourth solo album, "Intimacy". The album only reached #38 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #164 on The Billboard 200. The album, "Intimacy" sold approximately 250,000 copies in the U.S. Its two releases, "Your Love Keeps Working On Me" and the spoken word/hip-hop tune " When A Man Loves A Woman", achieved moderate success on the R&B and Dance singles charts; peaking at #26 R&B/#2 Dance, and #11 R&B/#16 Dance respectively. The BBG Remix of "When A Man Loves A Man" also topped the dance charts in the UK. It also contained the song "Ecstasy", produced by David Morales, which became an underground hit and later appeared on her "Greatest Hits" collection.

Affection

After having parted ways with MCA Records, Jody took an independent and entrepreneurial path releasing her fifth solo album, "Affection", on July 11, 1995 through her own Avitone Records label. The noted independent Bellmark Records distributed it. It sold approx. 143,000 copies, according to SoundscanFact|September|date=September 2007 and spent a few months on the Billboard R&B chart. The albums' title track, "Affection" became a hit peaking at #28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Photographer Michael Walls is credited for the photograph on the album cover.

Greatest Hits

In 1996, Jody's career hit an upswing. On February 13, MCA released a Greatest Hits package on Jody's recordings for the label. She then made history as the first African-American to play Rizzo in the hit Broadway musical "Grease", and appeared in the Saks Fifth Avenue catalog.

That fall, Watley scored a platinum-selling single as a guest vocalist on Babyface's "This Is For The Lover In You". The single, which also featured vocals from LL Cool J and Watley's former Shalamar band mates Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel, was a remake of Shalamar's Top 10 hit by the same name. Babyface's version peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and #2 on the R&B Singles Chart. The song's video also received heavy rotation on MTV and BET. As the year wound to a close, Jody signed with Big Beat/Atlantic Records, and began working on what was to be her major label come-back.

The late 90s and the Millennium

Flower

After spending most of 1997 in the recording studio crafting her sixth studio album, Flower, Watley was back in early 1998 with its lead off singles "Off The Hook" and "If I'm Not In Love." "Off The Hook" peaked at #23 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and #73 Billboard Hot 100, but fared much better on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Propelled by remixes from Masters At Work and Soul Solution(Dance act), the track reached #1 on the dance chart, making it her first #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit in nine years. Later the same year, a single of "If I'm Not In Love" was released, with promo mixes by Sal Dano (credited as BK Dano) and Lenny Bertoldo, and that song reached #2 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Big Beat Records was absorbed into its parent label, Atlantic Records, which then shelved the album from a U.S. release. Flower was, however, released in Canada, Great Britain and Japan. The critically-acclaimed release was championed by many UK magazines, including Blues and Soul, and Echoes magazine among others.

The Saturday Night Experience

In November 1999, Jody reactivated her independent label, Avitone, and released her seventh studio album "The Saturday Night Experience". A collection of organic club music tracks, it was released in Japan, along with a single "Another Chapter" with remixes by DJ Soma.

Destiny's Child released a cover of the Watley penned "Flower" album track "Sweet Sixteen", on their multi-platinum "The Writing's On The Wall" album.

The following year, MCA released "The Jody Watley Millennium Collection," a sort of leaner version of Watley's previous Greatest Hits album.

Midnight Lounge

In 2001, Jody released her eighth studio album, Midnight Lounge in Europe and Japan. A collection of tracks that combined a blend of soul, jazz, R&B, and club music. After achieving moderate success in its original origins of release, Watley arranged for it to be released in the U.S. through her Avitone imprint in a short term license deal with Shanachie Records on March 11, 2003. "Midnight Lounge" was Watley's first studio album released in the U.S. in eight years, reaching Top 20 status on Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart. Junior Vasquez and several other producers contributed remixes to the single release of "Whenever", bringing the track to No.19 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart. One of the albums' other singles titled, "Photographs" became a sizable hit overseas, especially in Japan. It also became an underground hit Stateside. Photographer Michael Walls is credited on the Midnight Lounge album sleeve.

In 2005, Jody made history on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Chart, when she re-released her 1987 smash hit "Looking For A New Love", her 2005 remixes of the song hit No.1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart for the 2nd time in 2005, making her the first artist ever to take the same song to No.1 in two different decades. The 2005 mixes of the single also sold well in multiple formats. As a result of this single hitting #1, Jody Watley has the distinction of being among the few artists who have been to #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in all of the past three decades (the 80's, 90's, and 00's).

The Makeover

Jody's album "The Makeover" was released on August 8, 2006 through her own label, Avitone Records, in a unique partnerhsip as an exclusive with The Virgin Megastore Chain, where it debuted at #1 for the retailer over major label releases, in one of those "new paradigm" concepts around the music business. The 1st single/video is a remake of Madonna's "Borderline". The single reached #2 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, January 13, 2007. The second single, a cover of Chic's "I Want Your Love" reached #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play for the week of June 16, 2007. The album is co produced by Watley's long term collaborator Rodney Lee and an international über cool selection of producers and DJ's such as 4hero, King Britt, Mark De Clive Lowe, DJ Spinna and Chris Brann of the Wamdue Project. Jody was asked by her long time trainer to appear with him while working out, as a guest of the Bravo's reality series, "Work Out", to promote "The Makeover".In 2007, Watley was listed as #5 in the Year End Billboard Dance Play Artists. Her singles 'I Want Your Love' was #15 and "Borderline" #19 according to Billboard Year End Chart Review for 2007. [ [http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/chart_display.jsp?f=+Hot+Dance+Club+Play+Artists&g=Year-end+Top+Artists Billboard Charts - Year-end Top Artists - Hot Dance Club Play Artists ] ] [ [http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+Dance+Club+Play+Tracks&g=Year-end+Singles Billboard Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot Dance Club Play Tracks ] ] In January 2008, Watley topped the U.K. Dance Charts according to Music Week Jan.7 at #1, her first U.K. mainstream dance hit in two decades. [ [http://mamimagazine.com/wordpress/?p=256 JODY WATLEY U.K. NUMBER ONE | MAMi Magazine Blog ] ]

Discography

Albums

Personal life

Watley's father was a minister/disc jockey. Her sister Midori (porn star) and singer, her brother John was her tour manager in 1996, and operates a vocal training and production company in Japan. [Jody Watley in her own words ' [http://www.jodywatley.net/profile.php BIO] ' - 2006] She has two children, Lauren and Arie, and was married to producer André Cymone. [ [http://soulmusic.com/ExpressYourself/ExpressYourselfJodyWatley.html Soul Music: Jody Watley] ] [She is also the older sister to famous porn star Midori aka Michele Evette Watley [http://www.singersroom.com/exposure/profile-artist-100144.asp] ] [ [http://www.myspace.com/MicheleWatley MySpace.com - Michele Watley aka Midori - Balboa Village, California - Club / Hip Hop - www.myspace.com/michelewatley ] ]

References

ee also

* List of best-selling music artists
* List of number-one dance hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

External links

* [http://jodywatley.net/ Jody Watley's official site]
*imdb name|id=0914448|name=Jody Watley
* [http://www.soulexpress.us/ Soul Express - Jody Watley on tour with Chris Standring & Jeff Lorber]
* [http://americamodels.com/jodywatley/ Jody Watley: MAD Jody Pages]
* [http://www.myspace.com/jodywatley Jody Watley's My Space page]
* [http://rhythmic.blogdrive.com/archive/29.html Aria - 10 Questions with Jody Watley]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3kBXB_lxiQ Jody Watley on Songs from the Alchemist's Playground with Tony Blass and Eric G. KCLA-FM 99.3 - Interview Part 1]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrigNhElbCM Jody Watley on Songs from the Alchemist's Playground with Tony Blass and Eric G. KCLA-FM 99.3 - Interview Part 2]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvaqWwuMbdM Jody Watley on Songs from the Alchemist's Playground with Tony Blass and Eric G. KCLA-FM 99.3 - Interview Part 3]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55bOEOb_b0o Jody Watley on Songs from the Alchemist's Playground with Tony Blass and Eric G. KCLA-FM 99.3 - Interview Part 4]