Hi-Five

Infobox musical artist
Name = Hi-Five


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Background = group_or_band
Origin = Waco, Texas
Genre = Rhythm and blues, pop
Occupation = Vocal music group
Years_active = 1990-1994
2005-present
Label(s) = Jive, RCA
Current_members = Marcus Sanders
Roderick Clark
Russell Neal
Treston Irby
Shannon Gill
Terrence Murphy
Deion Braxton
Toriano Easley
Past_members = Tony Thompson (deceased)

Hi-Five is an American R&B quintet based out of Waco, Texas who had a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 in the early 1990s with "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)". Hi-Five was formed in 1990, and consisted of the late Tony Thompson, Roderick "Pooh" Clark, Marcus Sanders, Russell Neal, and Toriano Easley. Easley was later replaced by Treston Irby.

Rise to fame

Hi-Five was signed to Jive Records and released their first album, "Hi-Five", in 1990. The album went multi-platinum and was produced by award-winning hitmaker Teddy Riley; it included such singles as "I Just Can't Handle It" (R&B #10), "I Can't Wait Another Minute" (Pop #8, R&B #1), and their biggest hit to date, "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)", which went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=22902&model.vnuAlbumId=750801|title=Hi-Five Billboard Chart History|publisher=billboard.com|accessdate=2008-08-30] The group enjoyed mainstream success and received comparisons to many of their R&B counterparts, namely New Edition.

Hi-Five's second LP, "Keep It Goin' On", came out in 1992. Though not as successful as their debut effort, several tracks from this album, including "She's Playing Hard To Get" (Pop #5, R&B #2) and the R. Kelly-penned "Quality Time" (Pop #38, R&B #3) got major airplay. Shortly after this album was released, Roderick "Pooh" Clark was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident. In 1993, Hi-Five emerged with a third album, "Faithful", which featured the songs "Unconditional Love" (Pop #92, R&B #21) and "Never Should've Let You Go" (Pop #30, R&B #10).

Later years

After Hi-Five disbanded around 1993, Thompson released a solo album, "Sexsational", in 1995. He scored a minor hit with "I Wanna Love Like That".

In 2005, Thompson re-incarnated Hi-Five with four new members, one of whom is his younger brother, Jordan. Their new album "The Return" was released in 2006 on Thompson's independent label, N'Depth.

On June 1, 2007, Tony Thompson died in his hometown of Waco, Texas. An autopsy later revealed that Thompson, who had a history of "huffing", accidentally overdosed on freon. [cite web|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/07/tony_thompson_autopsy_rpt/|title=Tony Thompson Death Ruled Accidental OD|last=Shepard|first=Julianne|date=2007-07-04|publisher=vibe.com|accessdate=2008-08-29] [cite web|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/06/tony_thompson_obit/|title=UPDATE: Hi-Five's Tony Thompson, 1975-2007|last=Shepard|first=Julianne|date=2007-06-04|publisher=vibe.com|accessdate=2008-08-29]

Discography

Albums

*1990: "Hi-Five" (Jive/Novus) - US #38, R&B #1
*1992: "Keep It Goin On" (Jive/Novus) - US #82, R&B #9
*1993: "Faithful" (Jive) - US #105, R&B #23
*1994: "Greatest Hits" (Jive)
*2005: "The Return" (N'Depth Entertainment)

ingles

*1990: "I Just Can't Handle It" - R&B #10
*1991: "I Can't Wait Another Minute" - US #8, R&B #1
*1991: "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" - US #1, R&B #1, UK# 43
*1991: "Just Another Girlfriend" - US #88, R&B #41
*1992: "Quality Time" - US #38, R&B #3
*1992: "She's Playing Hard to Get" - US #5, R&B #2, UK# 55
*1992: "Mary, Mary" - R&B #50
*1993: "Never Should've Let You Go" - US #30, R&B #10
*1993: "Unconditional Love" - US #92, R&B #21
*1993: "Faithful" - R&B #52
*1993: "What Can I Say to You (To Justify My Love)" - R&B #72

References

External links

*amg|id=11:idjx7i7jg78r|label=Hi-Five
*MySpace|id=hifiveonline|name=Hi-Five
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Hi-Five?anv=Hi+Five Hi-Five] at Discogs