Jon B.
Jon B. |
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Jon B. (born Jonathan David Buck November 11, 1974 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA) is a Grammy nominated American R&B singer and songwriter.
Early Life
Born in Rhode Island and raised in Pasadena, California on Mendicino Street, Buck comes from a musical family, with his father David, a professor of music, his mother Linda, a concert pianist and his siblings Deborah, a violinist and his brother Kevin, a cellist. He first started singing at the age of four, and learned piano and keyboard by nine. By 16, he played bass and drums as well. Because his grandparents also owned a record store, Buck was raised on a varied musical diet that included influences like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
Career
In 1992, Jon B. was shipping demos around when he caught the attention of Tracey Edmonds, then President and CEO of Yab-Yum Records. He was contracted as a songwriter for Edmonds and her husband, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and wrote songs for After 7, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Color Me Badd and others.
Bonafide
On May, 23 1995, his debut album, Bonafide, was released by Yab Yum/Sony 550/Epic Records. The album contained the top ten hit "Someone To Love," a duet with Babyface that gained wide exposure on the Bad Boys soundtrack, peaking at #10 on the U.S. charts. The Grammy-nominated track highlighted his dulcet tenor voice and garnered Jon comparisons to Babyface himself. Later in the year, his second single "Pretty Girl" became a top forty hit, peaking at #25. The album also featured funk bassist/singer Bootsy Collins.
Cool Relax
On September 16, 1997, Jon's second album, Cool Relax, was released. The album contained three of Jon's biggest hits; the Tim & Bob produced "They Don't Know", "Are U Still Down" (which featured the late Tupac Shakur), and "I Do (Whatcha Say Boo)". Videos were shot for all three songs, including a video for the remix of "Cool Relax" featuring the late rapper Guru and "Don't Say". Actress Sanaa Lathan appeared in the video as Jon's girlfriend. Cool Relax was hailed as one of the best R&B albums released that year and was certified platinum. This was his most successful album and "They Don't Know" was his highest chart topping single of his career.
Pleasures U Like
His third album, Pleasures U Like was released on March 20, 2001, with the sole single and video being "Don't Talk". The song rose as high as #3 on the US R&B charts. The album was well received critically and publicly, going gold, but poor promotion spurred Jon to leave Epic after its release. Jon said of the situation: "It was time for new energy. My last album [for Sony] ... we did a gold [selling] album, which is really cool, off of one single... I worked really hard on that album. I had Nas on there, Faith on there, AZ, Cuban Link - it was a full album, as far as having a shot on the market. But I think that it was just a matter of promotion."[1]
Stronger Everyday
On October 5, 2004, his fourth album, Stronger Everyday (originally titled Everday Struggles), was released. For this album, Jon got the help from hit producers Just Blaze, Johnny "J", and Mike City. The first single was the Tank (singer) produced "Lately" with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds on background vocals. The album included appearances by rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard (going by the name Dirt McGirt), Scarface (rapper), Beenie Man, and once again the late Tupac Shakur. Videos were shot for "Lately" and "Everytime (remix)" featuring Beenie Man. Like Pleasures U Like, it was well-received critically, but received sub-par promotion. He then left Sanctuary Urban in late 2005.
Holiday Wishes: From Me To You
In 2006, Jon signed with Arsenal Records. On November 14th of that same year, Jon released his first album on Arsenal/Vibezelect Records, Holiday Wishes: From Me To You, a collection of original compositions and his covers of Christmas classics like "Joy To The World" and Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas". That same year, Mexican pop band RBD released a cover of Jon B's "Tu Amor" as the first single of their English album "Rebels."
Helpless Romantic
Jon released his fifth studio album on October 28, 2008, "Helpless Romantic" (originally titled Back To Love). The first single "Ooh So Sexy" featured southern rapper Paul Wall. This album also received poor label support/promotion, and no music videos were shot or promoted. Jon collaborated on the song "Tonight" off of Paul Wall's 2007 album "Get Money Stay True". In 2009, a remix for "Drops of Rain" was released online. It featured Jonesii, a singer Jon has been working with for over 10 years. She was also featured on background and lead vocals for the song "Ride of Our Lives" off the album.
Other Projects
While on tour promoting Cool Relax, he formed a group with two of his back-up singers, Dominiquinn and Silky Deluxe, named Jack Herrera collectively.[2] A full album, titled Retro Futuristo, was put together, but never officially released. However, two tracks from the project did see release. "Free To Believe" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Light It Up and "High Off You" appeared on Red Star Sounds, Vol. 1: Soul Searching.
In 2009, Jon was featured on a special song by rappper Invinceable called "A Soldier Never Dies", dedicated to fallen Marine, Anthony Vargas. One of the video's leads was portrayed by rising Hispanic actor, Sonny Ayon.[3] The music video was directed by Paolo Ongkeko and produced by Don Le.[4][5]
Soul Food
Several of Jon's songs were featured on the Showtime network hit series Soul Food (TV series). The show was executive produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife, Tracey Edmonds, who was President/CEO of the label Jon was signed to. The songs included "Inside" (Season 1), "Paradise" (Season 1), "Don't Talk" (Season 2), and "Now I'm With You" (Season 2). All songs were from the album Pleasures U Like except "Paradise" which was featured on 2008's Helpless Romantic, although the song was obviously recorded years earlier. On February 13, 2002, Jon himself made an appearance on the season 2 finale titled "This Must Be Love", performing the singles "Don't Talk" and "Now I'm With You".
Current Events
Jon is currently working on his seventh studio album, "Comfortable Swagg". The first single off the album entitled "Body Language" was released on iTunes on September 3, 2010 along with the singles "After The Party" and "Confident". A video for "Body Language" was shot in late September 2010. The video was directed by Chris Martinez in Pasadena, California. On November 30, 2010, Jon made an appearance on BET's late night talk show "The Mo'Nique Show" to promote his upcoming album. This was his first television appearance in years. The album is due to be released spring 2011.
Personal Life
In 1999, Jon married his middle school sweetheart, Musiic Galloway.
In 2002, a fire in his home caused the destruction of his recording studio. Later, his marriage to wife Musiic ended in divorce. These events caused Jon to take time off to regroup, later signing with Sanctuary Urban Records.
In 2007, Jon married his second wife, Danette Jackson. Jon described her in an interview as a "great, great woman" from Victorville, California. "She's not in the music industry. She's just a regular girl. It's cool because she's old-fashioned. I love her,". Jon said he had proposed to her several times in private but shook off the nerves during a Valentine's Day concert in Las Vegas and made it publicly known to fans, probably for the first time, that she was the love of his life. In July 2007, Jon and Danette welcomed their first child, daughter Azure Luna (which means Blue Moon).[6]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | RIAA Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. 200 | U.S. R&B | |||
| 1995 | Bonafide | 79 | 24 | Gold |
| 1997 | Cool Relax | 33 | 5 | Platinum |
| 2001 | Pleasures U Like | 6 | 3 | Gold |
| 2004 | Stronger Everyday | 140 | 17 | - |
| 2006 | Holiday Wishes: From Me to You | - | - | - |
| 2008 | Helpless Romantic | 109 | 11 | - |
Compilations
- 1999: Love Hurts
- 2002: Are U Still Down: Greatest Hits
- TBA: Greatest Hits Live
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Someone to Love" (featuring Babyface) | 10 | 7 | - | Bonafide |
| "Pretty Girl" | 25 | 21 | - | ||
| 1997 | "Don't Say" | 68 | 34 | - | Cool Relax |
| 1998 | "They Don't Know/Are U Still Down" | 7 | 2 | 32 | |
| "I Do (Whatcha Say Boo)" | - | 13 | - | ||
| "Cool Relax" | - | - | - | ||
| 2001 | "Don't Talk" | 58 | 21 | 29 | Pleasures U Like |
| "Now That I'm With You" | - | - | - | ||
| 2005 | "Lately" | - | - | 20 | Stronger Everyday |
| "Everytime" | - | - | - | ||
| 2008 | "Ooh So Sexy" (featuring Paul Wall) | - | - | - | Helpless Romantic |
| 2008 | "Helpless Romantic" | - | 25 | - | Helpless Romantic |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Someone to Love" |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top R&B Artist |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top R&B Artists - Male |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Hot R&B Single for "They Don't Know/Are U Still Down" |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Hot R&B Singles Artists |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Hot R&B Singles Artists - Male |
| 1998 | Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Hot R&B Singles Sales for "They Don't Know/Are U Still Down" |
| 1998 | Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best Male Single for "They Don't Know/Are U Still Down" |
References
- ^ EURweb.com - Black Entertainment | Black News | Urban News | Hip Hop News. EURweb.
- ^ MTV News - Articles - 1430674 - 02101999. MTV.
- ^ "Rap memorializes Marine, cousin". The Press Enterprise. 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
- ^ "A Soldier Never Dies". Global Grind. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ "Rapper INVINCEABLE, R&B Crooner JON B. and Producer BATTLECAT Collaborate On "A Soldier Never Dies"". BlackVibes. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ Cazawa.Biz Jon B. Bring the Love Back. Cazawa.Biz Jon B. Bring the Love Back
- ^ Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Jon B.. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ^ allmusic ( Jon B. > Discography > Singles & EPs ). Retrieved November 6, 2007.