Caron Wheeler
| Caron Wheeler | |
|---|---|
 Caron Wheeler at the 1990 Grammy Awards | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Caron Wheeler |
| Born | 19 January 1963 |
| Origin | London |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels |
Capitol (US) RCA (UK) |
| Associated acts | Soul II Soul |
Caron Wheeler (born 19 January 1963) is a British recording artist who gained fame by writing and singing the lead vocals on the two biggest hits for Soul II Soul, "Keep on Movin'"[1] and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)". She also was a backing vocalist for Elvis Costello in 1983, The Special AKA in 1984 (singing background vocals on the hit single Free Nelson Mandela) and Howard Jones in 1985. She also provided backing vocals for a track on Erasure's album, The Innocents in 1988. She was a member of the female trio Afrodiziak.
Career
Wheeler was also a founder member of the female vocal group Brown Sugar, along with vocalist Kofi. The two were re-united in October 2005 at the Metropolitan Black Police Association's annual gala at The Barbican in London. During the 1980s, she was a member of the female vocal quartet Afrodiziak, and sang on records by Madness, Elvis Costello, and Dexys Midnight Runners, among others.
In 1988, Wheeler created the group Soul II Soul with Jazzie B. Their debut album "Club Classics Vol. One" spawned the number 1 singles: "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)". The single "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. After her success with Soul II Soul, Wheeler embarked on a solo career, and released two albums: UK Blak (1990) and Beach of the War Goddess (1993). Her biggest solo success single is "Livin' in the Light" from her first solo album, which hit No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a week at No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1989. It also reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart.[2]
Wheeler's only other solo Top 40 hit single was the title track from UK Blak.[2] She also contributed a song to the Damon Wayans movie Mo Money in 1992; the mid-tempo groove "I Adore You", produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who also executive produced the soundtrack), was a Top 20 R&B hit. Wheeler is also featured with Soul II Soul on the soundtrack to the Angela Bassett movie, How Stella Got Her Groove Back in 1998. More recently, Wheeler featured on Richard X's 2003 album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1.
In 2003, she also contributed the track "Another Star" to the Stevie Wonder tribute album Conception - An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs.
In 2013, Wheeler rejoined Soul II Soul and began touring with the group. During her interview with Jools Holland, Wheeler stated that she will be recording new music with Soul II Soul.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | US R&B | |||
| 1990 | UK Blak
|
14 | 133 | 30 |
|
| 1991 | Remix Only For Japan
|
- | - | - |
|
| 1993 | Beach of the War Goddess
|
- | - | 81 |
|
| 2006 | Live at Duo Music Exchange
|
- | - | - |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[2] | AUS | AUT | BEL [4] |
CAN [5] |
GER [6] |
IRE [7] |
NLD [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWE | SWI | US | US R&B |
US Dan | ||||
| 1989 | "Keep On Movin'" (with Soul II Soul) | 5 | 87 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 14 | — | 18 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
|
Club Classics Vol. One |
| "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" (with Soul II Soul) | 1 | 45 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1990 | "Livin' In The Light" | 14 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 46 | 25 | 26 | 43 | — | 53 | 3 | 1 | UK Blak | |
| "UK Blak" | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | 44 | — | |||
| 1991 | "Blue (Is The Colour of Pain)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | — | ||
| "Don't Quit" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | — | |||
| 1992 | "I Adore You" | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 99 | 12 | — | Beach of the War Goddess | |
| 1993 | "Beach of the War Goddess" | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "In Our Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 61 | — | |||
| "Soul Street" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1996 | "Keep on Movin' (Remix)" (with Soul II Soul) | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |
| "Just the Two of Us" (Toshinobu Kubota featuring Caron Wheeler) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sunshine, Moonlight | ||
| 1999 | "Star" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 82 | — | non-album single | |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- Kingsdale School
References
- ↑ Wynn, Ron. "Biography: Caron Wheeler". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
- 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 598. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "UK Certified Awards Search > Caron Wheeler". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ↑ "BEL Charts > Soul II Soul". VRT Top 30. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ↑ "Can Charts > Caron Wheeler". RPM (magazine). Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ↑ "Ger Charts > Caron Wheeler". Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ↑ "IRE Charts Search > Caron Wheeler". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ↑ "NLD Charts > Caron Wheeler". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ↑ "NZ Charts > Caron Wheeler". nz. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- 1 2 "US Certifications > Soul II Soul". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ↑ "UK Certified Awards Search > Soul II Soul". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ↑ "CAN Certifications > Soul II Soul". Music Canada. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
External links
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