The Rude Boys

The Rude Boys is a 1980s and 1990s R&B/vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio.

Group

Band members: Joe N Little III (lead singer), Edward (Buddy) Lee Banks (lead singer), Larry (Bingo) Marcus and Melvin Sephus

History

Beginnings

Joe N Little III along with Edward (Buddy) Lee Banks was discovered by Gerald LeVert singing in a local night club in Cleveland,Ohio, LeVert expressed that he wanted to further hear them sing again and possibly sign the two, at that time both were the lead singers of a local R&B group along with members Larry (Bingo) Marcus(a cousin of B.B. King) and Melvin Sephus, after meeting the other group members and working in studio with them, in 1988 LeVert presented the group to Sylvia Rhone then Senior VP of Atlantic Records and in turn got them signed to the label.

Rude Awakening

The band's 1990 debut album Rude Awakening, started slow with its first release "Come On Lets Do This" which peaked at #38 on the Billboard R&B charts. However, it was the group's second single, "Written All Over Your Face" that made the group a sensation, as the single topped the R&B charts and , The song showcased the vocals of Joe Little III and Edward Buddy Banks, with a cameo appearance by Gerald LeVert; the single rode the charts for 31 weeks, and finally made it to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, It also won 1991 Billboard Music Award for R&B Single of the Year ("Written All Over Your Face").

The group would score a second #1 hit on Billboard R&B hit from this album in 1990, "Are You Lonely for Me" written by Little and Tony Nicholas,With the well-rounded, riffing baritone of Little and the vibrating, towering tenor of Banks, the single rose straight to the top. This is one of the few songs, since the emergence of videos, to gain the number one ranking without a video.another song released from the album was the " Heaven " was a natural soulful vocally with a peppy rhythm and peaked at the # 15 spot on the Billboard R&B chart,The Album "Rude Awakening" would peak at #10 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and # 68 Billboard 200 he Rude Boys also toured that year with Levert and The Ojays. The album itself was just one spot below the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums top 10 spot, where it sat comfortably at #11 in the spring of 1990.

Rude House

Riding on the success of their two laid-back number one singles from their debut release, the boys followed up their debut album with Rude House in 1992, they came flying back with the up-tempo "My Kinda Girl" (a underground new jack hit) which was energetically complemented by the superb vocals of Little and Banks, who admirably improvise their way through the vamp. The song also was remixed by then director of A&R at Atlantic Records Clark Kent a hip hop DJ and record producer from New York at the time Clark was pushing an unknown rapper from the Marcy housing projects in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY who would come to be known to the world as Jay-Z, This move propelled "My Kinda Girl" in the Hip Hop underground scene in New York and abroad,also to support the single Jay-Z would go on to perform with the Rude Boys live at one of the Big Apple's premiere underground Hip Hop Clubs. Falling short of the number one ranking, the single peaked at number # 2 after 18 weeks on the Billboard R&B chart. and the next single to be released , "Go Ahead and Cry" peaked at # 43 on the Billboard R&B charts.The excellent singing by,Banks, Little and company could not disguise the fact that the R&B world was moving closer to the parlance of hip hop. That change rendered "Rude House" hopelessly old-fashioned despite the fact that it was one of Atlantic Records better R&B releases of 1992. Label mates and peers R&B group LeVert ran into a similar problem in this period, and never truly recovered. Still, "Rude House" was a solid production, peppered with great songs,loaded with one great song after another, most of them soulful ballads.when the album "Rude House" came out in 1992, it's lack of commercial success highlighted the public's shift away from the new jack era. and marked the beginning of the sound scan era.This would mark the end of the Rude Boys stint with Atlantic Records and run with mentor Gerald LeVert.The Rude Boys follow-up album without Little or LeVert's guidance "Rude As Ever" was the latest album released to date.

New beginnings

Staying under Gerald LeVert's tutelage, Little went on to do a solo album up under Atlantic Records entitled Puttin It Down in 1994, and with minimal promotion sold a little over 250,000. Little also went on to team up with LeVert as a writing team on multiple occasions, writing and Producing for Levert's solo projects and on other notable artist such as The Ojays, Temptations, Keith Sweat, LSG, and stable mates Men at Large, where LeVert, Little, Nicholas and Banks teamed up to write and produce "So Alone", which peaked at # 5 spot on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop Chart and # 31 Billboard's Hot 100.

R.I.P Gerald LeVert

The group did reunite again when Gerald LeVert died due to an accidental overdose of over-the-counter and prescription drugs in November 2006.[2] The talks started after they performed at their mentor's funeral. All four original members performed. Larry (Bingo) Marcus, who had already decided to pursue a gospel career did not continue performing with the Rude Boys.

Where are they now

The remaining trio of Joe N Little III, Edward "Buddy" Banks, and Melvin Sephus decided to move on and have been performing shows across the U.S. In 2011 Joe signed a new solo recording deal with G2K Entertainment/Spirit of Life Films and has been slated to appear in the biopic "Blondie" The story of Florence Ballard as Otis Williams of The Temptations and Film his own Reality T.V Show The Rebirth of an R&B Singer.

TV appearances

Soul Train, Showtime at the Apollo, The Arsenio Hall Show, Party Machine.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award
1991	Billboard Music Award win for No. 1 R&B Single of the Year ("Written All Over Your Face").

1991 "Are You Lonely For Me" #1 Billboard R&B Charts