Pepper Mashay
Encyclopedia
Pepper MaShay is an Urban
/Soul music
, House music
and Club/Dance
singer-songwriter
who has had success as a touring and studio performer.
. She left Indiana in her 20s to pursue a career in music, singing backup to performers such as Tina Turner
. Growing up, her musical influences were Janis Joplin
, Joni Mitchell
and Bob Dylan
.
In 1995, she was discovered by music producer Michael O'Hara while abroad in Europe. She assumed that since she was over 40, she may not ever be discovered as a solo talent. Upon branding, O'Hara gave her the performer name "Pepper"; she added "MaShay" to it despite friends' objections that the name sounded like one given to a drag queen
.
chart and more recently, the Hot Dance Airplay
chart. Those singles , include "Something To Feel" (1995), "Happiness" (1997), "Step Into My Life" (1998), "Sextacy" (2000) and "Send Me an Angel" (2005). Her voice is probably best known from the "Let's get soaking wet!" chanting throughout the Barry Harris
track "Dive in the Pool", made famous by its inclusion in the American television series Queer as Folk
. Another collaboration with Harris, "I Got My Pride", hit number two on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001. MaShay has an extensive résumé of work as a background and session singer.
In late 2006, Pepper MaShay earned her first solo chart-topper on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with the song "Lost Yo Mind". It has attained moderate to heavy rotation on dance-oriented radio stations, charting well on the Hot Dance Airplay
. Pepper MaShay issued her new single, "Got To Give The People What They Want" in late January 2008 and "Does Your Mamma Know" during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
/Soul music
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...
, House music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and Club/Dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who has had success as a touring and studio performer.
Personal life
Pepper MaShay, born Jean McClain, grew up in Muncie, IndianaMuncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
. She left Indiana in her 20s to pursue a career in music, singing backup to performers such as Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
. Growing up, her musical influences were Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
In 1995, she was discovered by music producer Michael O'Hara while abroad in Europe. She assumed that since she was over 40, she may not ever be discovered as a solo talent. Upon branding, O'Hara gave her the performer name "Pepper"; she added "MaShay" to it despite friends' objections that the name sounded like one given to a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
.
Career
As a lead vocalist, MaShay has released many tracks that have performed well on the U.S. Hot Dance Club PlayHot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart and more recently, the Hot Dance Airplay
Hot Dance Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance music on the radio in the United States and the stations that program it...
chart. Those singles , include "Something To Feel" (1995), "Happiness" (1997), "Step Into My Life" (1998), "Sextacy" (2000) and "Send Me an Angel" (2005). Her voice is probably best known from the "Let's get soaking wet!" chanting throughout the Barry Harris
Barry Harris (DJ)
Barry Harris is a Canadian composer, artist, producer, musician, remixer & DJ. He created the band Kon Kan , who had worldwide top 5 success with "I Beg Your Pardon'. Initially issued on Toronto Indy label Revolving Records, was quickly discovered and signed by Atlantic Records U.S...
track "Dive in the Pool", made famous by its inclusion in the American television series Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk (US TV series)
Queer as Folk is an American and Canadian television series co-production, produced by Showtime and Temple Street Productions, which was based on the British series of the same name, created by Russell T Davies...
. Another collaboration with Harris, "I Got My Pride", hit number two on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001. MaShay has an extensive résumé of work as a background and session singer.
In late 2006, Pepper MaShay earned her first solo chart-topper on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with the song "Lost Yo Mind". It has attained moderate to heavy rotation on dance-oriented radio stations, charting well on the Hot Dance Airplay
Hot Dance Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance music on the radio in the United States and the stations that program it...
. Pepper MaShay issued her new single, "Got To Give The People What They Want" in late January 2008 and "Does Your Mamma Know" during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Singles
- "Something To Feel"
- "By Any Means Necessary"
- "Into You"
- "Happiness"
- "Right Back To Love"
- "Step 2 Me"
- "Step Into My Life"
- "Sextacy"
- "Here's To Life"
- "Not Much Heaven"
- "Love Pretender"
- "You've Got To Go"
- "Dive in the Pool" (with Barry HarrisBarry Harris (DJ)Barry Harris is a Canadian composer, artist, producer, musician, remixer & DJ. He created the band Kon Kan , who had worldwide top 5 success with "I Beg Your Pardon'. Initially issued on Toronto Indy label Revolving Records, was quickly discovered and signed by Atlantic Records U.S...
) - "I Got My Pride"
- "You and Me (Feels So Good)" (with Solar City)
- "I Want You In My Life"
- "I Pledge"
- "Let's Runaway" (with Scott Michael)
- "Happy New Year" (with Ernest Kohl)
- "I Can't Stop"
- "Electro Illusion"
- "You're My Inspiration"
- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm YoursSigned, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...
" (with Colton FordColton FordColton Ford is the stage name of Glenn Soukesian, a former same-sex adult film star, singer and actor. As of May 2007, he resides in New York City.-Film career:...
) (cover of Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
's 1970 hit) - "Send Me an Angel" (cover of Real LifeReal Life (band)Real Life are a Melbourne-based Australian New Wave/Synthpop band that had hits with their debut single, "Send Me an Angel" and with "Catch Me I'm Falling" , both of which were featured on the band's debut album Heartland .-Biography:...
's 1983 hit) - "Beauty Shop" (featured in the film Beauty ShopBeauty ShopBeauty Shop is a 2005 American comedy film, directed by Bille Woodruff. The film is a spin-off of the Barbershop film franchise, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character which was first introduced in the 2004 film Barbershop 2: Back in Business...
) - "Lost Yo Mind"
- "Got To Give The People What They Want"
- "Does Your Mamma Know"
- "Freeway of LoveFreeway of Love"Freeway of Love" is a Grammy Award-winning song released as the first single from Aretha Franklin's 1985 album Who's Zoomin' Who?. It was very successful in the United States, peaking at the #3 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and topping the Hot R&B Singles chart for five weeks . It went...
" (cover of Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's 1985 hit song)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart