Club Nouveau | |
|---|---|
 Club Nouveau in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B,soul,go-go,dance |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros. (1986–1991) Cleopatra Records[1] |
| Spinoff of | Timex Social Club |
| Members | Jay King Valerie Watson English Samuelle Prater |
| Past members | Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Kevin Irving David Agent Roque LaCrosby Walter Phillips James L. Richard II Mario Corbino |
| Website | clubnouveau |
Club Nouveau (/nuːvoʊ/) is an AmericanR&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 inSacramento, California, following the breakup of theTimex Social Club.[2] The group's name (French for "Club New") was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed byWarner Bros. Records, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version ofBill Withers's song "Lean on Me" won aGrammy Award forBest R&B Song in 1987.[3]
From its debut album,Life, Love & Pain, which was released in 1986,[2] the group scored four consecutive hits: "Jealousy" (essentially ananswer song responding to Timex Social Club's hit "Rumors"), "Situation #9", "Lean on Me" and "Why You Treat Me So Bad". The latter two both made it to #2 on theBillboard R&B chart the next year, with "Lean on Me" going on to become a bigBillboard Hot 100 hit.[2] "Jealousy" also made an appearance on the soundtrack for the filmModern Girls. "Why You Treat Me So Bad" wasinterpolated by the hip-hop duoLuniz, on its hit single "I Got 5 on It", and subsequently by rapper/record producerPuff Daddy on his #1 R&B single "Satisfy You".
The group's original lineup consisted ofJay King, Valerie Watson,Samuelle Prater,Denzil Foster, andThomas McElroy.[2] Foster and McElroy soon left to form their own production team and focus on working with other acts. Prater, who had performed lead vocals on "Lean on Me," eventually left as well[4] to pursue a solo career but reunited with the group in 2009.
The group's next albums — beginning withListen to the Message — were laced with an evolving social consciousness.[5] Notable recordings include "You Ain't No Friend of Mine" fromUnder A Nouveau Groove; adancehall-influenced version of theGospel classic "Oh, Happy Day," fromA New Beginning; "Let It Go" fromEverything Is Black; and "What Kind of Love" fromThe Collection Volume I. The group also recorded "Step by Step" for theWho's That Girl soundtrack.
Club Nouveau was nominated for a Grammy forBest R&B Performance in 1987. The group's version of "Lean on Me" was its most celebrated hit, resulting in a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in addition to winning the Grammy forBest R&B Song that same year.[3] "Lean on Me" was also nominated for twoAmerican Music Awards, nominated and won aBammy Award, a BRE Drummer award, a Bay Area Star award and it won twoNARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) awards.
The 2015 lineup consists of King, Watson, and Prater.
In 2017, as part ofWarner Music's divestment requirements as a result of its purchase of Parlophone, the group's Warner Bros. recordings were acquired byTommy Boy Records, which worked 12-inch singles from its first album to clubs as a result of its emerging relationship with Warner and from being an expert in the format.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | US R&B [6] | AUS [7] | CAN [8] | GER [9] | NL [10] | NZ [11] | ||||||||
| 1986 | Life, Love & Pain
| 6 | 2 | 90 | 13 | 65 | 69 | 9 | ||||||
| 1988 | Listen to the Message
| 98 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1989 | Under a Nouveau Groove
| — | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1992 | A New Beginning
| — | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1995 | Everything Is Black
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2015 | Consciousness
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | US R&B [6] | US Dan [6] | AUS [7] | CAN [8] | GER [9] | IRE [13] | NL [10] | NZ [11] | UK [14] | |||||
| 1986 | "Jealousy" | — | 8 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 80 | Life, Love & Pain | ||
| "Situation #9" | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1987 | "Lean on Me" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |||
| "Why You Treat Me So Bad" | 39 | 2 | 22 | — | — | — | — | 96 | — | — | ||||
| "Let Me Go" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Heavy on My Mind" | — | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | "It's a Cold, Cold World!" | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Listen to the Message | ||
| "For the Love of Francis" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Envious" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | "No Friend of Mine" | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Under a Nouveau Groove | ||
| 1990 | "Under a Nouveau Groove" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Momentary Lover" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | "Oh Happy Day" | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A New Beginning | ||
| 1993 | "When Will You Come Back to Me?" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Ghetto Swang" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Everything Is Black | ||
| 1995 | "Let It Go"(featuring Thrill Da Playa of the69 Boyz) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | "What Kind of Love (Secret Rendezvous)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Collection Volume 1 | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
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