Tony! Toni! Toné!
Encyclopedia
Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

/R&B group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 from Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins is an American musician, blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!.- Early life :...

 on lead vocals and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, his brother Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...

 (born Charles Ray Wiggins) on lead vocals and bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...

, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s. Other members were Elijah Baker, Carl Wheeler, Randall Wiggins, and Amar Khalil, who is the current lead singer of the group, and Antron Haile.

The group's name is derived from Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...

's portrayal of an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

 sharpshooter in The Untouchables. In high school, a friend of D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins is an American musician, blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!.- Early life :...

 joked that the teacher would call him "Tony, Tony, Tony" if they saw the way he was dressed. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Tony, Tony" as a joke, until they realized it had a nice ring to it.

History

Their first album, Who?
Who? (album)
Who? is the debut album of American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 25, 1988 by Wing Records and was produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster. The album charted for 44 weeks on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, peaking at number 69. It produced four singles,...

,produced and co written by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, was released in 1988. The album went gold and had several hit singles. The first of these, "Little Walter
Little Walter (song)
"Little Walter" is the title of the debut single by Tony! Toni! Toné!. Taken as the lead single from the R&B band's debut album, Who, the hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. It also peaked at forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100...

" went to #1 on the R&B charts. While none of the singles went gold, the next three singles, "Born Not To Know", "For The Love Of You" and "Baby Doll" were all Top 10 R&B singles.

The group's second album The Revival
The Revival
The Revival is the second studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released May 8, 1990, on Wing Records. It was produced and arranged primarily by the group, with additional production by Foster & McElroy...

was released in 1990 and reached platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 status. The album spawned several #1 R&B hits with "It Never Rains In Southern California", "Feels Good
Feels Good
"Feels Good" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Toné!. The hit song spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. It was also their first top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine...

", "The Blues
The Blues (song)
"The Blues" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Tone!. The hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B Singles Chart and peaked at number forty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also peaked at number forty-three on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart, and number...

", and "Whatever You Want
Whatever You Want (Tony! Toni! Toné! song)
"Whatever You Want" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Tone!. It was the fourth and final single released from their second album, The Revival...

" all topping the R&B charts. "Feels Good" was the group's first single to breach the Top 10 of the Hot 100 and managed to go gold.

The single "Me & You" appears on the soundtrack
Boyz n the Hood (soundtrack)
Boyz n the Hood is the soundtrack to the 1991 hood film, Boyz n the Hood. It was released on July 9, 1991 through Columbia Records and contained mostly hip hop music. The album was very successful, making it to #12 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart and was certified gold by...

 to the motion picture Boyz n the Hood
Boyz N the Hood
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood film written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett and Regina King, the film depicts life in poor South Central Los Angeles, California and was filmed and released...

.

Furthering the group's success, they released their third studio album to date, Sons of Soul
Sons of Soul
Sons of Soul is the third studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released June 22, 1993, on Wing Records. It was produced entirely produced by the group, who intended to pay homage with the album to their musical influences. Recording sessions for the album took place at various...

, in 1993. The album went double platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 and had hit singles "If I Had No Loot" which hit #7 on the Hot 100, "Anniversary" which reached #10 on the Hot 100, and "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow" which reached #4 on the R&B charts.

Following the release of Sons of Soul, the group was a part of the R&B supergroup Black Men United
Black Men United
Black Men United was a collaboration of many African American male R&B, hip hop and soul music artists. The sole song "U Will Know", written by a young D'Angelo, was released in 1994. It was featured in the movie Jason's Lyric and on the movie's soundtrack.-Artists involved:Many artists...

, Silk
Silk (group)
Silk is an American R&B group, formed in 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia.-Career:Silk are best known for their hit singles, "Happy Days", "Freak Me" from their debut album, Lose Control. Another hit from Lose Control, "Girl U For Me", helped the album reach double platinum status...

 and H-Town
H-Town (band)
H-Town is an American R&B/hip hop vocal group. It was originally founded by twin brothers Keven “Dino” Conner, Solomon “Shazam” Conner, and their longtime friend Darryl “G.I.” Jackson in 1992.-Formation:...

 was included in the group as well with the song "U Will Know" which appeared on the soundtrack
Jason's Lyric (soundtrack)
Jason's Lyric is the original soundtrack to the 1994 film Jason's Lyric. Released in the fall of 1994, it topped the Top R&B Albums chart and was a Top 20 Billboard 200 ranking album...

 for the movie Jason's Lyric
Jason's Lyric
Jason's Lyric is a 1994 romantic drama film, written by Bobby Smith, Jr., and directed by Doug McHenry. The film marks the directorial debut of McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson...

.

In 1996, the group released their final studio album to date, House of Music
House of Music
House of Music is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released November 19, 1996, on Mercury Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 1995 to 1996, with production handled primarily by the group members...

. The album lacked the strong singles of earlier entries, only getting "Thinking Of You" & "Let's Get Down" into the top 10 on the R&B charts, with "Thinking Of You" hitting #22 on the Hot 100. The album still managed to reach platinum status.

Tony! Toni! Toné!, with Amar Khalil singing lead vocals (in place of Saadiq), has been touring since late 1998.

Other endeavors

Raphael Saadiq released his first solo effort, the Top 20 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

hit "Ask of You" for the Higher Learning
Higher Learning
Higher Learning is a 1995 American drama film, starring an ensemble cast. It also featured Tyra Banks' first performance in a theatrical film...

soundtrack, in 1995. Around the same time, Saadiq became a much-sought-after R&B 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...

, scoring hits for D'Angelo
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influences,...

, Total
Total (band)
Total was an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records imprint during the 1990s.-Emergence & Total:...

, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

, and others. Later in the 2000s, he started a solo career, releasing two albums, Instant Vintage (2002) and Ray Ray (2004). Regarding changing his surname to 'Saadiq' for a solo career, in February 2009 Raphael stated to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul is a British music magazine covering black music. Genres covered include soul, R&B, jazz, hip hop, reggae and world music. It was first published in 1966 and is known for first using the term Northern Soul....

: "I just wanted to have my own identity".

Lucy Pearl
Lucy Pearl
Lucy Pearl was an R&B supergroup formed in 1999, as the brainchild of former Tony! Toni! Toné! member Raphael Saadiq and D'Angelo. However, D'Angelo backed out of the group due to scheduling conflicts. The other members of Lucy Pearl were Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad...

 was an R&B supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

 formed in 1999 as the brainchild of Raphael Saadiq. The other members of Lucy Pearl were Dawn Robinson
Dawn Robinson
Dawn Robinson is an American R&B/soul/Dance-pop singer best known for her work as a member of hit Urban/Dance-pop group, En Vogue....

 (En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...

) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, producer who enjoyed a great deal of fame as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998....

 (A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

). They released their self-titled debut album in 2000. After two singles, "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man", Dawn Robinson left and was replaced by Joi. The new line-up released the track "Without You". The group split up shortly after, releasing no other material.

In 2005, D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins is an American musician, blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!.- Early life :...

 became the band leader for the Weekends at the D.L.
Weekends at the D.L.
Weekends at the D.L. was a talk show on Comedy Central, created in July 2005. In a typical episode, host D. L. Hughley entertains guests around a coffee table, where they drink wine and smoke stogies on the D.L...

television show hosted by comedian D. L. Hughley
D. L. Hughley
Darryl Lynn "D. L." Hughley is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is perhaps best known as the star of the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys, and as one of the four comedians featured in the Spike Lee film The Original Kings of Comedy. Additionally, he has been the host of CNN's D. L...

, which airs on the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

 cable network.

D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins is an American musician, blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!.- Early life :...

 solo album, Eyes Never Lie, was a disappointment only selling approximately 150,000 units despite its acclaim as some of the most innovative writing and artistry from the Tony's founder.

A recent episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

 featured a skit which mentioned a fictional New Jack Swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...

 Supergroup named Tone, Toni, Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...

.

Personal life

D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins
D'wayne Wiggins is an American musician, blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!.- Early life :...

 is married to the previous owner of an Oakland coffee shop, Jahva House. Together they have three children.

Reunions

In 2003, members of Tony! Toni! Toné!, except for Saadiq, were invited by Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

 to be guest artists on her album The Diary of Alicia Keys
The Diary of Alicia Keys
The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2003 by J Records...

. The song that resulted from that session was called "Diary", and when it was released as a single in the fall of 2004, it gave them their first Top 10 US hit in eleven years.

Studio albums

Year Album Chart positions US
certifications
Record label
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

US
R&B
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

UK
1988 Who?
Who? (album)
Who? is the debut album of American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 25, 1988 by Wing Records and was produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster. The album charted for 44 weeks on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, peaking at number 69. It produced four singles,...

69 14 Gold Wing/Mercury
Wing Records
Wing Records was a record label subsidiary of Mercury Records, founded in 1955, that enjoyed its greatest success during the late 50s. In 1986, the label was revived by Mercury's parent company PolyGram and, just before its final fade, the label enjoyed a brief success with then new R&B singers...

1990 The Revival
The Revival
The Revival is the second studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released May 8, 1990, on Wing Records. It was produced and arranged primarily by the group, with additional production by Foster & McElroy...

34 4 Platinum
1993 Sons of Soul
Sons of Soul
Sons of Soul is the third studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released June 22, 1993, on Wing Records. It was produced entirely produced by the group, who intended to pay homage with the album to their musical influences. Recording sessions for the album took place at various...

24 3 66 2x Platinum Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

1996 House of Music
House of Music
House of Music is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released November 19, 1996, on Mercury Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 1995 to 1996, with production handled primarily by the group members...

32 10 Platinum
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified

Compilation albums

Year Album Chart positions Record label
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

US
R&B
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

1997 Hits
Hits (Tony! Toni! Toné! album)
Hits is a compilation album by Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 28, 1997 for Mercury Records and was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné!, Foster & McElroy and Quik...

54 Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

2001 The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tony! Toni! Toné!
2011 Icon Universal Motown
"—" denotes the album failed to chart

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

US
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

US
Dance
UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

1988 "Little Walter
Little Walter (song)
"Little Walter" is the title of the debut single by Tony! Toni! Toné!. Taken as the lead single from the R&B band's debut album, Who, the hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. It also peaked at forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100...

"
47 1 43 Who?
"Born Not to Know" 4
"Baby Doll" 5 44
1989 "For the Love of You" 6
1990 "The Blues
The Blues (song)
"The Blues" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Tone!. The hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B Singles Chart and peaked at number forty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also peaked at number forty-three on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart, and number...

"
46 1 43 92 The Revival
"Feels Good
Feels Good
"Feels Good" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Toné!. The hit song spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. It was also their first top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine...

"
9 1 3 85
"Oakland Stroke" (feat. Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...

)
50
"It Never Rains (In Southern California)
It Never Rains (In Southern California)
"It Never Rains " is a 1990 song recorded by the American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. This song peaked at Number One on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs charts in 1990 for two weeks, and thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is mention in Jayceon Terrell Taylor's song Game's Pain...

"
34 1 69
1991 "Whatever You Want
Whatever You Want (Tony! Toni! Toné! song)
"Whatever You Want" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Tony! Toni! Tone!. It was the fourth and final single released from their second album, The Revival...

"
48 1
"House Party II (I Don't Know What You Come to Do)" 19 House Party II
"Me and You" 27 Boyz n the Hood
1993 "If I Had No Loot" 7 8 45 44 Sons of Soul
"Anniversary" 10 2
1994 "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" 31 4
"Leavin" 82 41
"Slow Wine" 107 21
"My Ex-Girlfriend"
1996 "Let's Get Down" (feat. DJ Quik
DJ Quik
David Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....

)
30 5 33 House of Music
1997 "Thinking of You" 22
"Boys and Girls" 52
2004 "Diary" (with Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

)
8 2 1 The Diary of Alicia Keys
"—" denotes the single failed to or did not chart

See also

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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