Rose Royce
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Rose Royce | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | Soul, R&B, disco, funk |
Years active | 1973–present |
Labels | Whitfield, Epic, Streetwave, Omni |
Members | Gwen Dickey Kenny Copeland Kenji Brown Lequeint "Duke" Jobe Victor Nix Henry Garner Freddie Dunn Michael Moore Terry Santiel Michael Nash |
Past members | Ricci Benson Lisa Taylor |
Rose Royce is an American
Career
The
Whitfield, after a decade at Motown, wanted to start a company of his own. He took the T.C.U.
During this time, Whitfield was contacted by film director Michael Schultz, fresh from the success of his first feature, Cooley High. Schultz offered Whitfield the opportunity to score his next picture, Car Wash. Whitfield would use the film to launch his new group and began composing music based on script outlines.[1] He and the band visited the film set, soaking up the atmosphere. The band composed the music concurrently with the picture instead of after the fact, which was not very common at the time. In the spirit of the soundtrack, the band's name was changed one final time to 'Rose Royce'.[1] The name not only referenced the movie's automotive theme (as the group's name closely resembled Rolls-Royce luxury cars), but just as Rolls-Royce cars are premier vehicles, the group was metaphorically stating they were a premier group. The name also helped place Gwen "Rose" Dickey somewhat front and center.[3]
The movie Car Wash and the soundtrack were great successes, bringing the group national fame.
The group's follow-up album, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, produced two top ten singles, "Do Your Dance" and "
In 1978, they released their third album, entitled Rose Royce III: Strikes Again!, and it featured "I'm in Love (And I Love the Feeling)" and "
The single "Is It Love You're After?" was released in 1979, taken from the album Rainbow Connection IV, the last album with lead singer Gwen Dickey before she left to embark on a solo career. It was the band's fourth highest-charting single in the UK.[7][8]
The group followed with a series of modest successes that reached the charts but never gained the status that their previous songs did.[1] Dickey left the group in April 1980 and Rose Royce temporarily disbanded.[9] However, the remaining members regrouped, adjusted the line-up, and kept the group somewhat popular in the UK, where they remained a marquee attraction.[2]
Singer Ricci Benson replaced Dickey, taking over lead female vocals between the 1980 album "Golden Touch" and the 1986 album "Fresh Cut". Lisa Taylor then replaced Benson for the 1989 album "Perfect Lover".[10]
Rose Royce was featured in
Discography
- Car Wash(1976)
- In Full Bloom (1977)
- Strikes Again (1978)
- Rainbow Connection IV (1979)
- Greatest Hits (1980)
- Golden Touch (1980)
- Jump Street (1981)
- Stronger Than Ever (1982)
- Music Magic (1984)
- The Show Must Go On (1985) (unreleased)[A][citation needed]
- Fresh Cut (1986)
- Perfect Lover (1989)[14]
Notes
- Streetwave Recordsin the mid-1980s; apart from the single "Love Me Right Now" (which lists The Show Must Go On as its parent album), there seems to be no existing information about any songs from the album or an album cover.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
- ^ a b c d e Lytle, Craig. "Rose Royce - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ^ a b A. Scott Galloway (2001). The Very Best of Rose Royce (Album notes). Warner Bros.
- ^ "Rose Royce Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ISBN 9781633193420.
- ^ Rizik, Chris. "Rose Royce". SoulTracks. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
- ^ "Is It Love You're After". Official Charts.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 341. CN 5585.
- ^ Hepworth, Michael (March 4, 1989). "R&B Picks" (PDF). Billboard. p. 22 – via Worldradiohistory.com.
- ^ "Rose Royce - TV One". July 27, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ Nichols, Kevin L. (June 21, 2012). "KLN Publishing, LLC: Rose Royce - A blast from the past that everyone still loves". Klnpublishingllc.blogspot.com.
- ^ PERRY, BRANDON A. (October 10, 2013). "Classy Soul at the Classic". Indianapolisrecorder.com.
- ^ "Rose Royce - Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2019.