MPB / ADEVA / GUTHRIE, GWEN / SYREETA - RE:VERSAL 003

Adeva (born Patricia Daniels in 1960) is a female African American house music and contemporary R&B artist from Paterson, New Jersey, United States, and the youngest of six children. Born around 1960 in Paterson, New Jersey, Daniels was the youngest of six children. She developed her voice as a member, and later director and vocal coach, of her church choir. She began singing professionally in the mid-1980s, releasing the single "In and Out of My Life" in 1988 on Easy Street Records. Immediately after this, she signed with the UK label Cooltempo (a subsidiary of EMI) later in 1988 and released a house rendition of the Otis Redding hit "Respect" that reached #17 in the UK,. Her debut album, Adeva!, was released in August 1989, which peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart and was certified Platinum. In addition to "Respect", the album contained several other hit singles including "Warning!" and "I Thank You", both of which also reached #17 in the UK, and "Musical Freedom" which reached #22. The album was released in the United States in 1990 via EMI's Capitol Records, where "Warning!" had become a Top 10 Dance Chart hit. Her second album, 1991's Love or Lust? failed to chart in either the UK or the US despite featuring two hit singles on the US Dance chart, "Independent Woman" (US Dance #7) and "It Should Have Been Me" (US Dance #1), and she was dropped by Cooltempo in 1992. Adeva collaborated with house-music pioneer Frankie Knuckles in 1995, with whom she released two UK Top 40 singles, and an album, Welcome to the Real World. Those song are "Too Many Fish" (UK Singles Chart #34, U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs #1) and "Whadda U Want (From Me)" (UK Singles Chart #36, U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs #3). In 1997, Adeva released another album, New Direction, on Distinct'ive Records, but this was unsuccessful. It included the moderate hit ""Where Is The Love? / The Way That You Feel" which reached number 54 on the UK Singles Chart. It was her last album to date, though she was featured on various singles in 2003-04 with other artists including Radical Noiz and Eric Prydz who both sampled Adeva's 1988 single "In and Out of My Life" (the track had also been sampled by OnePhatDeeva in 1999). She was also featured on the 2004 single "Wish I Never Knew" by the Scandinavian dance act Slippery People. Adeva still occasionally performs live in concert. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Gwen Guthrie (July 14 (some sources say July 9) 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer and songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, Gary Glitter and Roberta Flack. Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma and raised in Newark, New Jersey. In school, she studied classical music, and her father began teaching her piano when she was eight years old. By the early 1970s, she had joined vocal groups such as the Ebonettes and the Matchmakers, meanwhile working as an elementary school teacher. When a backup singer scheduled to sing on Aretha Franklin's 1974 single "I'm in Love" fell ill, Guthrie took the vocalist's place beside Cissy Houston; thus Guthrie would happily state that her career on record began "at the top". Guthrie soon began moonlighting as a singer of commercial jingles, sometimes with her friend Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson fame). A songwriting partnership with Patrick Grant resulted in Ben E. King's comeback single, "Supernatural Thing", and "This Time I'll Be Sweeter", covered by numerous artists. Together they wrote seven tracks on the Sister Sledge's 1975 album Circle Of Love: Cross My Heart, Protect Our Love, Love Don't You Go Through No Changes On Me, Don't You Miss Him Now, Pain Reliever, You're Much Better Off Loving Me, and Fireman. She was also the writer of Roberta Flack's "God Don't Like Ugly". As Guthrie's solo career developed, she worked extensively with Sly and Robbie on dub-influenced club cuts, and began racking up dance hits. She was dubbed "The First Lady of the Paradise Garage" as several of her songs became anthems at the venue, helped by the frequent and dynamic performances she gave there. She soon teamed musically with famed Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan. Guthrie is probably best known for her 1986 dance anthem "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent", a self-written and -produced track which garnered some controversy for lyrics such as: "No romance without finance/You've got to have a j-o-b if you want to be with me". (and "...Rent" was later sampled by numerous dance and hip hop artists, notably by Foxy Brown in 1998 "Job"). She also had a hit with a cover of "(They Long to Be) Close to You", which reached #25 in the UK charts the same year. Her single "Can't Love You Tonight" boldly addressed AIDS at a time when the disease was a taboo subject, and she was an ally to the gay community, and people with AIDS long before the masses caught up. Proceeds from the single went to the AIDS Coalition. Other club hits of hers include "Padlock", "Peanut Butter", and "Peek-a-Boo". Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Syreeta Wright (August 3, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a singer-songwriter active from the 1960s until her death. She is considered one of the most underrated R&B vocalists to emerge out of the 1970s Motown scene. Born Syreeta Wright in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Syreeta was working in the '60s as a Motown secretary when she was enlisted as a backup singer. Founder Berry Gordy later signed her to the label and she recorded a Brian Holland/Ashford & Simpson tune initially meant for Diana Ross, "I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You." Wright married Stevie Wonder on September 14, 1970, and although they were divorced just 18 months later, their professional collaboration as songwriters spawned a series of hits, including "If You Really Love Me," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" and The Spinners' "It's a Shame." She released her first Wonder-produced Motown album, the critically acclaimed Syreeta, under the MoWest imprint in 1972. Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta, which musically depicted their relationship from love/marriage to divorce/enduring friendship, was released in 1974. The titles peaked at No. 185 and No. 116, respectively, on Billboard album chart. Her singles include "Spinnin' and Spinnin'" and "Your Kiss Is Sweet." Her best showing on the chart came with 1980's simply titled Syreeta, released on Motown's Tamla imprint, which reached No. 73. The duet with Billy Preston, "With You I'm Born Again," originally appeared on that year's soundtrack to the Paramount movie Fast Break. The track reached No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart in 1980. Syreeta recorded her last studio album, The Spell, in 1983. The album was produced by Jermaine Jackson. During this time, Syreeta boasted a résumé that included work with Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Leon Ware and Donald Byrd, among others. After "The Spell," she kept a relatively low profile. She appeared as guest vocalist on albums by artists such as Kirk Whalum (1989) and Nelson Rangell (1992). In 1994, she re-emerged to tour with the Jesus Christ Superstar cast featuring Ted Neeley as Jesus and Carl Anderson as Judas. She played the role of Mary Magdalene. She also recorded with Michael Bolton. Syreeta spent a lot of time in the United Kingdom in the last 15 years. She recorded some songs that were released in the UK as part of a series of compilations on the Motorcity label. The songs also appeared on a Japanese only CD called With You I'm Born Again. She died on July 6, 2004 of congestive heart failure, which she acquired as a side effect of chemotherapy and radiation treatments she was receiving for an ongoing bout with breast cancer. She was 57 years old. Her song "Harmour Love" was featured in both the opening and closing credits of the 2005 independent film Junebug, sparking a resurgence in catalog sales of "One to One", as no soundtrack was made available to the film. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.