Deee-Lite
Encyclopedia
Deee-Lite was an American
house
and club/dance
group, formed in New York City
, United States
. The group's best-known single
was "Groove Is in the Heart
", from their 1990 debut album
, World Clique
. However, Deee-Lite achieved longer lasting success on the U.S. Billboard
Hot Dance Club Play chart
, where they scored six number-one hits
.
support, Deee-Lite still managed to tour for a year after the release of Dewdrops in the Garden. Consequently, Dewdrops in the Garden sold more records than Deee-Lite's second release, Infinity Within.
The tune "Groove is In the Heart" featured lyrics from Q-Tip
of A Tribe Called Quest
, and bass guitar
and vocals by Bootsy Collins
.
Since his exit from the group, Tei has recorded several albums as a solo artist and since Deee-Lite's disbanding Kier, Dmitry and Ani have maintained successful club DJ
careers. In a 2011 interview, Tei dismissed the chances of Deee-Lite reforming, citing the creative and personal differences that prompted him to depart.
In early 2003, Kirby initiated a lawsuit
against Sega
corporation for allegedly stealing her Lady Miss Kier persona and using it as the basis of a character named Ulala in the video game Space Channel 5
, after she had declined their invitation to participate in the game's development. In 2006, the court ruled against Kirby. In 2008, the band's single "Groove is in The Heart" was licensed for use in the Sega video game Samba de Amigo
for the Nintendo Wii console, appearing in a stage featuring Ulala.
☼ "Groove Is in the Heart" and "What Is Love?" charted together on the U.S. Dance chart as they were issued on the same 12-inch single. Both songs were released as a double A-side in the UK and charted as such.
§ "Power of Love" and "Deee-Lite Theme" charted together on the U.S. dance chart, as did "Runaway" and "Rubber Lover"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and club/dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
group, formed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The group's best-known single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
was "Groove Is in the Heart
Groove Is in the Heart
"Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by dance music band Deee-Lite from their debut album, World Clique. Released as a single in late 1990, it was a hit in many countries, including in Australia where it was a number-one hit.-Background:...
", from their 1990 debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, World Clique
World Clique
World Clique is the first and best-known album by the dance-music band Deee-Lite, which was released in 1990. The album's first single, "Groove is in the Heart", was a top-five success on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart as well as a number-one hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club...
. However, Deee-Lite achieved longer lasting success on the U.S. 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...
Hot Dance Club Play chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, where they scored six number-one hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
.
Band members
The members of Deee-lite were:- Super DJ Dmitri (Dmitry Brill, born June 4, 1964, originally from KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) - Lady Miss KierLady Miss KierKierin Magenta Kirby , better known by her professional name Lady Miss Kier, is an American singer and DJ.-Personal life:Kirby was born in Youngstown, Ohio and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
(Kierin M. Kirby, born August 15, 1963, YoungstownYoungstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States) - Towa TeiTowa Teiis a DJ, artist and record producer in Yokahoma, Japan.Tōwa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the U.S. label Elektra Records in 1990, and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart"...
(Dong-hwa Chung, born September 7, 1964, originally from TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) - DJ Ani (Ani Q. Schempf, born December 14, 1973, Kansas CityKansas City, KansasKansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States)
Career
Prior to the release of the group's third album, Dewdrops in the Garden, Tei left the band (appearing only on the track "Call Me") and was replaced with DJ Ani. Even with a roster change and minimal record labelRecord label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
support, Deee-Lite still managed to tour for a year after the release of Dewdrops in the Garden. Consequently, Dewdrops in the Garden sold more records than Deee-Lite's second release, Infinity Within.
The tune "Groove is In the Heart" featured lyrics from Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
of 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...
, and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals by Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
.
Since his exit from the group, Tei has recorded several albums as a solo artist and since Deee-Lite's disbanding Kier, Dmitry and Ani have maintained successful club DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
careers. In a 2011 interview, Tei dismissed the chances of Deee-Lite reforming, citing the creative and personal differences that prompted him to depart.
In early 2003, Kirby initiated a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
corporation for allegedly stealing her Lady Miss Kier persona and using it as the basis of a character named Ulala in the video game Space Channel 5
Space Channel 5
Space Channel 5 is a music video game developed by United Game Artists under the direction of Tetsuya Mizuguchi and published by Sega. The gameplay features a system where the player must copy sequences of dance steps performed by the computer...
, after she had declined their invitation to participate in the game's development. In 2006, the court ruled against Kirby. In 2008, the band's single "Groove is in The Heart" was licensed for use in the Sega video game Samba de Amigo
Samba de Amigo
Samba de Amigo is a rhythm game originally developed by Sonic Team and released in 1999 by Sega in arcades, 2000 for the Dreamcast video game console, and developed by Gearbox Software and Escalation Studios in 2008 for the Wii. The player uses controllers shaped like maracas with the goal of...
for the Nintendo Wii console, appearing in a stage featuring Ulala.
Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. 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... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | World Clique World Clique World Clique is the first and best-known album by the dance-music band Deee-Lite, which was released in 1990. The album's first single, "Groove is in the Heart", was a top-five success on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart as well as a number-one hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club... |
20 | 14 |
| 1992 | Infinity Within Infinity Within Infinity Within is the second album by the band Deee-Lite. Released in 1992 on Elektra, the album's lyrical content, instrumentation, and overall tone showcases the band's political activism as a more literal part of the music than on its debut, World Clique... |
67 | 37 |
| 1994 | Dewdrops in the Garden Dewdrops in the Garden Dewdrops in the Garden is an album by the house-music group Deee-Lite, released in July 1994 via Elektra Records. Its third and last album moved away from the overtly political lyrical content of the previous album.-Background:... |
127 | – |
| 1995 | Dewdrops in the Remix | – | – |
| 1996 | Sampladelic Relics & Dancefloor Oddities | – | – |
| 2001 | The Very Best of Deee-Lite | – | – |
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Club Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
U.S. Hot 100 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... |
UK Singles Chart 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 ... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Groove Is in the Heart Groove Is in the Heart "Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by dance music band Deee-Lite from their debut album, World Clique. Released as a single in late 1990, it was a hit in many countries, including in Australia where it was a number-one hit.-Background:... " ☼ |
1 | 4 | 2 | World Clique |
| "What Is Love?" ☼ | - | ||||
| "Power of Love" § | 1 | 47 | 25 | ||
| "Deee-Lite Theme" § | - | - | |||
| 1991 | "E.S.P." | 7 | - | - | |
| "How Do You Say...Love" / "Groove Is in the Heart" (remix) | - | - | 52 | ||
| "Good Beat" | 1 | - | 53 | ||
| 1992 | "Runaway" § | 1 | - | 45 | Infinity Within |
| "Rubber Lover" § | - | - | |||
| "Thank You Everyday" | - | - | - | ||
| "Pussycat Meow" | 6 | - | - | ||
| 1994 | "Party Happenin' People" | 30 | - | - | Dewdrops in the Garden |
| "Picnic in the Summertime" | - | - | 43 | ||
| "Bring Me Your Love" | 1 | - | - | ||
| 1995 | "Call Me" | 1 | - | - |
☼ "Groove Is in the Heart" and "What Is Love?" charted together on the U.S. Dance chart as they were issued on the same 12-inch single. Both songs were released as a double A-side in the UK and charted as such.
§ "Power of Love" and "Deee-Lite Theme" charted together on the U.S. dance chart, as did "Runaway" and "Rubber Lover"
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- The Garden of Deee-Lite The Ultimate Deee-Lite site
- Deee-Liteful Experience Deee-Lite fan site
- Deee-Lite Discography at Discogs.com
- MusicBlob: Archivio documenti This Italian website has archived some legal documents including the "Kirby v.Sega" case involving Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite