Keni Burke
Encyclopedia
Kenneth M. Burke better known as Keni Burke, is an American
R&B
, soul
, funk
, and jazz
singer, songwriter
, record producer
, and multi-instrumentalist
who began his career as a member of the 1970s soul outfit, the Five Stairsteps.
's Dark Horse Records
in 1975, and had their next hit with the Burke-penned "From Us to You", from their 1976 album 2nd Resurrection. The group disbanded soon after.
and bassist
, Burke continued to work for the Dark Horse label as a session musician, while burgeoning a solo career of his own. In 1977, he released his self-titled debut album, which featured the songs "Keep on Singing", "Shuffle", and "From Me to You".
During this period he contributed instrumentation to songs by a diverse range of artists such as Sly & the Family Stone
, Natalie Cole
, Billy Preston
, Terry Callier
, Curtis Mayfield
, Bill Withers
, Dusty Springfield
, Diana Ross
, and Gladys Knight
.
In 1981, Changes, Burke's best-selling album to date, was released, containing the singles "Hang Tight" and his signature hit "Rising to the Top"—a big success in Chicago. The song has become a popular sampling choice for hip hop
artists, having been borrowed by artists such as Doug E Fresh ("Keep Risin To The Top"), Big Daddy Kane
("Smooth Operator"), LL Cool J
("Around the Way Girl"), Pete Rock & CL Smooth
("Take You There"), Mary J. Blige
("Love No Limit"), O.C.
("Born 2 Live"), Sean Price
("Sabado Gigante") and once again by LL Cool J for the song "Paradise
", with Amerie
, though a lot of these songs have been mistakenly thought to use the bass line from the 1983 song "All Night Long" by the Mary Jane Girls
. In 2006, "Rising to The Top" appeared in the soundtrack for the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
, on fictional Quiet Storm
station Vice City For Lovers. Burke's next release was the 1982 self-produced You're the Best.
Throughout the '80s and into the '90s, Burke continued his session and production work for artists such as Peabo Bryson
, The O'Jays
, The Jones Girls
and Keith Sweat
, and in 1998 released his last album to date Nothin' but Love, containing the hit "Indigenous Love", which was popular in the United Kingdom
via the Expansion Records
Label.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
who began his career as a member of the 1970s soul outfit, the Five Stairsteps.
Five Stairsteps
As a member of the Five Stairsteps, Burke wrote the group's first minor hit "You Waited Too Long" in 1966, but the group would see their biggest success with the million-selling song "O-o-h Child" in 1970. The group went on to sign with George HarrisonGeorge Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's Dark Horse Records
Dark Horse Records
Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by George Harrison in 1974.-History:Harrison had recorded for EMI under a contract which expired in 1976. All his subsequent recordings were released through Dark Horse Records, starting with Thirty Three & 1/3 in 1976 and ending with Live in Japan in 1992...
in 1975, and had their next hit with the Burke-penned "From Us to You", from their 1976 album 2nd Resurrection. The group disbanded soon after.
Solo career and session work
Skilled as a guitaristGuitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, Burke continued to work for the Dark Horse label as a session musician, while burgeoning a solo career of his own. In 1977, he released his self-titled debut album, which featured the songs "Keep on Singing", "Shuffle", and "From Me to You".
During this period he contributed instrumentation to songs by a diverse range of artists such as Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, Terry Callier
Terry Callier
Terrence O. Callier, known as Terry Callier is an American jazz, soul and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Life and career:...
, Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, and Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
.
In 1981, Changes, Burke's best-selling album to date, was released, containing the singles "Hang Tight" and his signature hit "Rising to the Top"—a big success in Chicago. The song has become a popular sampling choice for hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists, having been borrowed by artists such as Doug E Fresh ("Keep Risin To The Top"), Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
("Smooth Operator"), LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
("Around the Way Girl"), Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth are a hip-hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, All Souled Out and followed with 1992's Mecca and the Soul Brother LP.-The Golden Age :...
("Take You There"), Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
("Love No Limit"), O.C.
O.C. (rapper)
Omar Credle , known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper who has been involved with several renowned underground hip-hop groups and also released many solo albums.-Recording career:...
("Born 2 Live"), Sean Price
Sean Price
Sean Price is an American rapper and member of the hip hop supergroups Boot Camp Clik and Random Axe. He came to fame as one-half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruckus, or in short Ruck, along with partner Rock. He also is featured in the video game NBA 2K11 as a playable...
("Sabado Gigante") and once again by LL Cool J for the song "Paradise
Paradise (song)
"Paradise" is a song by American rapper LL Cool J featuring American R&B singer Amerie. Produced by Trackmasters, the track was released in early 2003 as the second single from LL Cool J's ninth studio album, 10 . It also appears on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva, in which LL...
", with Amerie
Amerie
Amerie Mi Marie Rogers , known professionally as Amerie or Ameriie, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, and was well-received in the urban market...
, though a lot of these songs have been mistakenly thought to use the bass line from the 1983 song "All Night Long" by the Mary Jane Girls
Mary Jane Girls
The Mary Jane Girls were an American R&B, soul, funk and disco group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. They are known for their hit songs "All Night Long", "Candyman" and "In My House".-Formation:...
. In 2006, "Rising to The Top" appeared in the soundtrack for the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, on fictional Quiet Storm
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
station Vice City For Lovers. Burke's next release was the 1982 self-produced You're the Best.
Throughout the '80s and into the '90s, Burke continued his session and production work for artists such as Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...
, The O'Jays
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
, The Jones Girls
The Jones Girls
The Jones Girls were an R&B trio of sisters from Detroit, Michigan. They first recorded for GM Records in 1968, then recorded for Philadelphia International Records with Gamble & Huff.-History:...
and Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:...
, and in 1998 released his last album to date Nothin' but Love, containing the hit "Indigenous Love", which was popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
via the Expansion Records
Expansion Records
Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989 DJ, Author & Journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, which both he and Searling run to this day.-Label history:...
Label.
Discography
- See also Five Stairsteps discography
- 1977: Keni BurkeKeni Burke (album)Keni Burke is the debut solo album by former Five Stairsteps member Keni Burke. Released in 1977, on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records label.-Track listing:#Keep on Singing 4:40#You Are All Mine 3:02#Day 2:48#It's the Last Time 4:06...
- 1981: You're the BestYou're the Best (album)-Track listing:# Let Somebody Love You 5:07# Gotta Find My Way Back in Your Heart 6:16# Love Is the Answer 5:35# You're the Best 4:15# Paintings of Love 2:42# Night Riders 5:08...
- 1982: ChangesChanges (Keni Burke album)- Track listing :# Shakin' - # Hang Tight - # Can't Get Enough - # Who Do You Love -...
- 1998: Nothin' but Love
External links
- Keni Burke at SoulWalking.co.uk
- Keni Burke Fan page
- http://www.sixmillionsteps.com/drupal/node/935 - 75 minute audio mix of Keni Burke related music with dialogue from KB
- Expansion Presents: Live in the UK October 9th 2010