Dionne Farris

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Dionne Farris
Farris at the 2013 Black Women Rock concert
Farris at the 2013 Black Women Rock concert
Background information
Also known asThe Original Soul Rocker, Lady DY
Born (1969-12-04) December 4, 1969 (age 54)
Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Years active1992–present
LabelsColumbia
Free and Clear Records
Websitedionnefarris.com

Dionne Yvette Farris (born December 4, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in

Arrested Development (1992) hit single "Tennessee
".

Farris rose to fame with the release of her debut album, Wild Seed – Wild Flower (1994) on Columbia Records. The album featured the Top 40 single, "I Know" (1995). That same year, the video earned Farris the Billboard Music Video Awards Best Pop/Rock New Artist Clip of the Year. She was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (1996).

Early life

Farris was born in Plainfield, New Jersey,[1] the daughter of Larraine (Wall) and Richard Farris, both of whom had musical talents and aspirations, and named Dionne for their favorite singer Dionne Warwick.[2] Farris was raised in Bordentown, New Jersey by her single mother, whose side of the family introduced her to the musical acts that shaped and influenced her. Farris was a huge fan of Diana Ross as a child – one of Farris’ fonder memories was attending a Ross concert in Manhattan at the age of eight, being lifted by her uncle onstage, and getting kissed by the superstar.[3]

Farris began taking dance lessons at the age of three at Irene Parker Dance Studio in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. She danced ballet, jazz, tap, and toe for 10 years, opting at 13 to sing instead. She sang in her high school's choir.

After graduating from Bordentown Regional High in 1987, Farris attended Mercer County Community College, where she studied photography.

El Debarge.[4] She signed a management contract with Michael Mauldin
's (father of Dupri) company as a solo artist, but later became a member of a girl group they were producing, known as Onyx.

Career

Arrested Development

Farris and

Fox Theater after having a fight with Speech and co-leader Headliner.[4]

Wild Seed – Wild Flower

Farris reached out to

UK Singles Chart, "I Know" peaked (after a re-release) at No. 41 in May 1995.[7] Wild Seed – Wild Flower reached No. 57 on the Billboard 200 chart.[6] Radio & Records
magazine ranked "I Know" as the number-one most played song on mainstream Top 40/CHR radio stations for 1995 and spent 10 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart (April 1 – June 3, 1995).

On April 8, 1995, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "I Know" and a roots acoustic rendition of the Beatles song "Blackbird."

Soundtracks

In 1995, her version of Billy Taylor's "

civil rights activist of Medgar Evers. Farris' soundtrack work continued for the movie The Truth About Cats & Dogs, in which she contributed a version of the Stevie Wonder classic "For Once in My Life" as the closing song and the movie The First Wives Club with a rendition of Bill Withers' "Heartbreak Road". Her single "Hopeless" (written by Van Hunt) appears on the Love Jones soundtrack (1997).[6]

For Truth If Not Love

Farris recorded a second album For Truth if Not Love with Columbia, but she and the label parted ways before the project was released. It was released in 2007, issued on iTunes. It featured the track "Stuck in the Middle".

Independent releases

Farris released her official follow-up album Signs of Life in (2011), named Top 10 soul albums of 2011,[8] a mixtape Lady Dy, the Mixtape Pt 1 (2011) and a live jazz album Dionne Get Your Gunn: Featuring the Russell Gunn Quartet with Dionne Farris (2012) via PledgeMusic crowd funding on her own record label, Free & Clear Records.

Personal life

Farris has a daughter, rapper Baby Tate,[9][10] whose father is former Follow for Now member David Ryan Harris.[11]

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

  • Lady Dy, The Mixtape pt. 1 (2011), Free & Clear Records

Singles

  • "I Know" (1995), Sony
  • "Don't Ever Touch Me Again" (1995), Sony
  • "Passion" (1996), Sony
  • "Food for Thought" (1996), Sony [promo]
  • "For Once in My Life" (1996),
    The Truth About Cats & Dogs
     (movie soundtrack)
  • "Hopeless" (1997), Sony

Soundtracks

References

  1. ^ Rateyourmusic.com
  2. ^ "The Hottest New Female Singers". Jet Magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. May 29, 1995. p. 61. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  3. ^ Wikane, Christian John. "Have Fun: A Tribute to Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers, and the CHIC Groove of 'diana' (Parts 1–4)". PopMatters. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Carter, Kevin L. "What New in Princeton & Central New Jersey?". US 1 newspaper. prinstoninfocom. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "Speech Interview". Songfacts. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  7. ISBN 1-904994-10-5
    .
  8. ^ Hargro, Carlton (December 11, 2011). "Top 10 Soul Albums of 2011". Cribnotes Powered by the Tabernacle. Creative Loafing Atlanta. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  9. ^ "SXSW 2019 Schedule – Yung Baby Tate". sxsw.com. SXSW, LLC. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  10. ^ Phillips, Yoh. ""I Gotta Get Higher": An Interview with Yung Baby Tate". Djbooth. The DJ Booth LLC. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  11. ^ "Yung Baby Tate: 'I don't send hate back to the haters'". grungecake.com. Grunge Cake. April 4, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2019.

External links

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