Jaki Graham

Jaki Graham (born September 15 1956, Birmingham, England) is an English singer.

Career

Graham originally sang in a band called Ferrari, and then went on to sing with the band Medium Wave, before becoming a backing vocalist for UB40. She appeared as a featured vocalist on the UB40's 1986 album, "Rat in the Kitchen". Graham was soon discovered and went on to achieve notable chart success, including two singles in which she duetted with the former Linx member, and future "Fame Academy" vocal coach, David Grant. Among her chart entries were Top Ten placings for "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" (UK #5), "Round and Around" (UK #9) and "Set Me Free" (UK #7). She also hit the Top Twenty with "Breaking Away" (UK #16), "Step Right Up" (UK #15), and her second Grant duet, "Mated" (UK #20).

In 1990 she provided backing vocals on Kim Wilde's single release, "I Can't Say Goodbye".

Her biggest international success was reaching number one on "Billboard"'s Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1994, with her cover version of Chaka Khan's hit, "Ain't Nobody". Despite her star status in the UK, Graham's success in the United States has failed to cross over from the dance / club audiences. Her output beyond the 1980s has been neither as prolific or high-profile, with many of her albums seeing release only in Japan, where she maintains huge popularity. [http://music.aol.com/artist/jaki-graham/4390/biography]

More recently, she has been seen on the ITV singing contest, "Hit Me Baby One More Time".

Graham's most recent single, "Superstition", was released exclusively to HMV stores on 21 November 2005.

Discography

Albums

* "Heaven Knows" (1985) - (# 48 UK)
* "Breaking Away" (1986) - (#25 UK)
* "From Now On" (1989)
* "Real Life" (1994)
* "Hold On" (1995)
* "Rhythm of life" (1996)
* "Don't Keep Me Waiting" (1997)
* "My Life" (1998)cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 233
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]

ingles

* "What's the Name of Your Game" (1984)
* "Once More With The Feeling" (1984)
* "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" (duet with David Grant) (1985) (#5 UK)
* "Round And Round" (1985) (#9 UK)
* "Heaven Knows" (1985) (#59 UK)
* "Mated" (duet with David Grant) (1985) (#20 UK)
* "Set Me Free" (1986) (#7 UK, #15 U.S. Dance)
* "Breaking Away" (1986) (#16 UK)
* "Step Right Up" (1986) (#15 UK)
* "Still in Love" (1987) (#83 UK)
* "No More Tears" (1988) (#60 UK)
* "From Now On" (1989) (#73 UK)
* "The Better Part Of Me" (1989) (#79 UK)
* "Touch Me (When We're Dancing)" (1991)
* "Band of Gold" (1992)
* "Ain't Nobody" (1994) (#44 UK, #1 U.S. Dance)
* "You Can Count On Me" (1995) (#62 UK)
* "Absolute E-Sensual" (1995) (#69 UK, #3 U.S. Dance)
* "Style" (1995)
* "Christmas Song" (1995)
* "Seek & You Will Find" (1996)
* "The Only Love" (1996)
* "You and I" (1997)
* "Don't Keep Me Waiting" (1997)
* "Walking On Water" (1997)
* "Superstition" (2005)cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 233
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]

References

External links

* [http://www.jakigraham.com Official site]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/graham_jaki/artist.jhtml Jaki Graham at Vh1.com]
* [http://www.jakigraham.net jakigraham.net]
* [http://www.myspace.com/jakigraham Jaki Graham] on MySpace.com

ee also

*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
*List of performers on Top of the Pops
*Number-one dance hits of 1994 (USA)
*List of black Britons