Dinky Bingham
Encyclopedia
Dinky Bingham is an African-American singer, musician
, songwriter
, producer
, and engineer
.
Raised in Jamaica, Queens and now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Bingham is the son of a preacher. He started in the music industry as a pianist and vocalist in 1982 for the then-new Phonogram studios, where he recorded several tracks on the White Soul album project with underground jazz
artists. In 1985, he joined the Christian
group New Witness.
A few years later, Bingham was called to replace lead vocalist Mark Stevens into the Queens-based funk trio The Jamaïca Boys
, which also included Marcus Miller
and Lenny White
. After hit singles such as "Move It", "Shake It Up", or "Pick Up The Phone", the group disbanded and Bingham became a full-time producer.
Bingham is the CEO of Dinky B. Music, a production/publishing company based in Philadelphia. He has produced gold and platinum hits for artists such as Changing Faces, New Edition
, Kylie Minogue
, and Jaheim
, in addition to creating several remixes for artists such as Chaka Khan
, Zhané
, Paula Abdul
, and Bobby Brown
. Bingham also served as musical director for the R&B group Guy
, and has been the mentor to several current successful hip-hop/R&B producers such as Supa Dave West, Rockwilder
and Jimi Kendrix.
Bingham was married to his wife Sonya in 1997. He has three sons and two daughters, including singer-songwriter Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
.
Raised in Jamaica, Queens and now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Bingham is the son of a preacher. He started in the music industry as a pianist and vocalist in 1982 for the then-new Phonogram studios, where he recorded several tracks on the White Soul album project with underground jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artists. In 1985, he joined the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group New Witness.
A few years later, Bingham was called to replace lead vocalist Mark Stevens into the Queens-based funk trio The Jamaïca Boys
Jamaica Boys
The Jamaica Boys was an American, Queens-based, funk trio, that existed in the late 1980s.One of their number, Marcus Miller, was Luther Vandross' writing partner on several of the latter's hits.-Members:* Mark Stevens...
, which also included Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
and Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
. After hit singles such as "Move It", "Shake It Up", or "Pick Up The Phone", the group disbanded and Bingham became a full-time producer.
Bingham is the CEO of Dinky B. Music, a production/publishing company based in Philadelphia. He has produced gold and platinum hits for artists such as Changing Faces, New Edition
New Edition
New Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, and Jaheim
Jaheim
Jaheim Hoagland is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, was released a year later,...
, in addition to creating several remixes for artists such as Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Zhané
Zhane
Zhané was an American R&B/hip hop soul duo, best known for their 1994 hit "Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached #6 in the U.S. Other popular hits include "Groove Thang" and minor hit "Sending My Love," both released in 1994...
, Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
, and Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
. Bingham also served as musical director for the R&B group Guy
Guy (band)
Guy are a hip hop, R&B and soul band most closely associated with the new jack swing style of the 1980s and 1990s.-Origins :Guy was formed in Harlem, New York in 1987 by R&B singer-songwriters Aaron Hall, young musician/record producer Teddy Riley and Timmy Gatling...
, and has been the mentor to several current successful hip-hop/R&B producers such as Supa Dave West, Rockwilder
Rockwilder
Rockwilder is an American hip hop and R&B record producer, rapper, and R&B Singer. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast Hip Hop artists in the mid 1990s. In 1999 Rockwilder produced Method Man & Redman's hit single "Da Rockwilder"...
and Jimi Kendrix.
Bingham was married to his wife Sonya in 1997. He has three sons and two daughters, including singer-songwriter Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham.
Discography
- 2010 - 9th Life - Cost of Living (Producer)
- 2006 - Black SheepBlack sheepIn the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
- 8wm (Producer) - 2006 - Yummy BinghamYummy BinghamElizabeth T. Wyce Bingham a.k.a. Yummy is an American R&B/hip hop singer, songwriter. She sings soprano with a 4 octave range.-Biography:Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham was born on January 7, 1986 to Dinky Bingham and Patricia Wyce...
- The First Seed (Producer) - 2005 - Kindred the Family SoulKindred the Family SoulKindred the Family Soul, also referred to as Kindred, are an American R&B, soul, and neo soul duo consisting of the married couple of Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon...
- In This Life Together (Producer, Engineer) - 2005 - Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
- Genius & Friends (Engineer) - 2004 - Patti LabellePatti LaBellePatricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
- Timeless Journey (Producer, Engineer) - 2004 - The TemptationsThe TemptationsThe Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
- Legacy (Producer) - 2004 - Pete Belasco - Deeper (Organ)
- 2003 - Tha' RayneTha' RayneTha' Rayne was an American R&B singing girl group that was formed in 2000 and disbanded in mid-2005. Tha' Rayne was a trio composed of two singing members and a DJ...
- Reign Supreme (Producer) - 2003 - NajeeNajeeJerome Najee Rasheed , known professionally as Najee, is an urban jazz saxophonist and flautist.He attended New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with George Russell and Jaki Byard....
- Embrace (Producer) - 2003 - Mya - Moodring (Keyboards)
- 2002 - NextNext (group)Next is an American R&B musical group, popular during the late 1990s. They are best known for their hit singles "Too Close" and "Wifey".-History:...
- The Next Episode - (Producer) - 2002 - JaheimJaheimJaheim Hoagland is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, was released a year later,...
- Still Ghetto - (Producer) - 2002 - Lil' Rowdy - Harlem's Heart - (Arranger, Mixing)
- 2002 - WarriorWarriorA warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
- Perfect Weapon - (Producer) - 2002 - JoiJoiJoi are British Bangladeshi alternative dub/dance music DJ team, originally composed of London brothers Farook and Haroon Shamsher. Haroon died at the turn of the century, and the remaining brother has continued Joi alone.-Background:...
- Star Kitty's Revenge - (Keyboards) - 2001 - DamageDamage (British band)Damage were a British R&B boy band who achieved success in the 1990s with eleven hit singles, including four Top 10 successes in the UK Singles Chart.-Biography:...
- Since You've Been Gone - (Producer) - 2001 - Alana DavisAlana DavisAlana Davis is an American singer-songwriter. Her father, Walter Davis, Jr., was an African-American pianist who played alongside such jazz greats as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie....
- Fortune Cookies - (Keyboards) - 2001 - Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
- Light Years - (Producer) - 2000 - Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
- Best Of - (Vocals) - 1999 - Dr Dre - 2001 - (Keyboards)
- 1999 - Calvin RichardsonCalvin RichardsonCalvin Richardson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. In 1999 he released his debut solo album Country Boy.-Background:...
- Country Boy - (Producer, Back vocals) - 1999 - BrixxBrixxBrixx was a Danish pop group which represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, in which it sang "Video, Video".The group members were Brixx Hawthorne, Jens Brixtofte, John Hatting, Torben Jacobse, Steen Eljer Olsen and Bjørn Holmgård Sørensen....
- Everything Happens... - (Keyboards) - 1998 - JKJK-Entertainment:* Juuni Kokki, a series of light novels on which the animated television series The Twelve Kingdoms was based* JK Wedding Entrance Dance, a popular July 2009 viral video emulated in an October 2009 episode of The Office-Events:...
- What's The Word - (Keyboards, Vocals) - 1998 - Fat JoeFat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
- Cartagena - (Keyboards) - 1998 - Soundtrack - Street Is Watching - (Producer)
- 1998 - Lionel RichieLionel RichieLionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
- Time - (Producer) - 1997 - Yvette MicheleYvette MicheleYvette Michele is an American R&B singer who released her debut album, My Dream, on August 26, 1997 on the RCA record label, which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200...
- My Dream - (Producer) - 1997 - Farley & Heller - Journeys By DJ - (Producer)
- 1997 - Bobby BrownBobby BrownRobert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
- Forever (+ bonus tracks) - (Remix) - 1997 - Rashaan Patterson - (Producer, Vocals)
- 1996 - New EditionNew EditionNew Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...
- Home Again - (Producer) - 1996 - Lord FinesseLord FinesseLord Finesse is a Hip hop artist and producer, hailing from The Bronx, New York, best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. rap crew.- Career :...
- The Awakening - (Keyboards) - 1996 - Nu Colours - (Producer)
- 1996 - France GallFrance GallFrance Gall is a popular French yé-yé singer.Gall was married to, and had a successful singing career in partnership with, French singer-songwriter Michel Berger....
- France - (Vocal Arrangements, Vocals) - 1995 - Subway - Good Time - (Producer)
- 1995 - Adina HowardAdina HowardAdina Howard is an American R&B singer who rose to prominence during the mid 1990s with her debut album, Do You Wanna Ride? and her debut single, "Freak Like Me". Howard is known for her sexual image and provocative songs...
- Do You Wanna Ride - (Producer) - 1994 - Eric GableEric GableEric Gable is an American R&B singer. He released three albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and had a #1 US Billboard R&B hit in 1989 with "Remember "...
- Process Of Elimination (Back Vocals) - 1994 - 2 Technocal : The 2nd Wave - (vocals)
- 1994 - Changing Faces - (Producer)
- 1994 - Debelah MorganDebelah MorganDebelah Morgan is an American Singer and Songwriter. Morgan is best known for her hit single "Dance with Me," off of her third album, which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100...
- Debelah - (Piano) - 1992 - Milira - Back Again !!! - (Piano)
- 1992 - Big Bub - Comin' At Cha - (Producer)
- 1992 - Miki HowardMiki HowardAlicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B/jazz singer and actress who had a string of Top 10 hit songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Howard's string of hits also included Baby,Be Mine", "Come Share My Love" and "Love Under New Management"...
- Femme Fatale - (Piano) - 1991 - Nicki RichardsNicki RichardsNicki Richards is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor based in Manhattan, New York City. She is also known as a backing singer for a number of renowned artists and on a big number of studio recordings. Her father was a high ranking African-American naval officer and her mother, Donna...
- Naked - (Keyboards) - 1990 - Jamaica BoysJamaica BoysThe Jamaica Boys was an American, Queens-based, funk trio, that existed in the late 1980s.One of their number, Marcus Miller, was Luther Vandross' writing partner on several of the latter's hits.-Members:* Mark Stevens...
- J Boys - (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) - 1989 - Pieces of a DreamPieces of a Dream"Pieces of a Dream" is a song by American pop singer-songwriter Anastacia from her first greatest hits album, Pieces of a Dream . Written by Anastacia, Glen Ballard, and David Hodges, it was produced by Hodges and released as the album's lead single in Europe on November 11, 2005...
- Bout Dat Time - (Producer, keyboards, Back Vocals)