The Rude Boys
Encyclopedia
Group
Band members: Joe N Little III (lead singer), Edward (Buddy) Lee Banks (lead singer), Larry (Bingo) Marcus and Melvin SephusHistory
BeginningsJoe 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
Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone is an American music industry executive who served as president of Universal Motown Records until 2011.She has overseen a roster of artists in the Universal Motown lineup including Lil Wayne and the Cash Money artists Nicki Minaj, Drake, Kid Cudi, Nelly, Melanie Fiona, Akon, Erykah...
then Senior VP of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
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 FaceWritten All Over Your Face
"Written All Over Your Face" is a song by American R&B group The Rude Boys, released as the second single from their debut album Rude Awakening. Featuring extra vocals from their mentor, the late Gerald Levert , it became the group's signature song and spent one week at number one on the U.S....
" that made the group a sensation, as the single topped the R&B charts and , The song showcased the vocals of Joe Little III
Joe Little III
Joe N Little III a.k.a. Joey Beanz or Casino Joe is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and American entrepreneur most known as lead singer of the internationally known group The Rude Boys most known for 1991 Billboard R&B Song of the year "Written All Over Your Face", along with...
and Edward Buddy Banks, with a cameo appearance by Gerald LeVert
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and 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
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...
chart, It also won 1991 Billboard Music Award
Billboard Music Award
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
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
Are You Lonely for Me
"Are You Lonely for Me" is the title of a number-one R&B single by group The Rude Boys. The song spent one week at number one on the US R&B chart, despite not having a music video to back up its success. "Are You Lonely for Me" was the group's second number-one single....
" 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
LeVert
LeVert is a R&B/pop music singing group, formed in Ohio in 1984, comprising Sean and Gerald Levert, the sons of O'Jays founder Eddie Levert, as well as Marc Gordon.-Biography:The group released their first single, "I'm Still", for Harry Coombes' Tempre label...
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 jackNew jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
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
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
a hip hop DJ and record producer from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
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
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, This move propelled "My Kinda Girl" in the Hip Hop underground scene in New York and abroad,also to support the single Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
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
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
better R&B releases of 1992. Label mates and peers R&B group LeVert
LeVert
LeVert is a R&B/pop music singing group, formed in Ohio in 1984, comprising Sean and Gerald Levert, the sons of O'Jays founder Eddie Levert, as well as Marc Gordon.-Biography:The group released their first single, "I'm Still", for Harry Coombes' Tempre label...
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
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
and run with mentor Gerald LeVert
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and 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 RecordsAtlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
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
Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:...
, LSG
LSG
LSG was an urban R&B musical supergroup, composed of R&B artists Gerald Levert from Cleveland, Ohio, Keith Sweat from Harlem, NY and Johnny Gill from Washington DC. The group's name "LSG" is derived from the first letter in the last name of each artist .In 1997, LSG released their début album...
, and stable mates Men at Large
Men at Large
Men at Large was an American R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio, whose members, David Tolliver and Jason Champion, frequently self-referenced their obesity. They scored several US hits in the mid-1990s and were discovered by the late soul singer Gerald Levert....
, 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
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and 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
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
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
Florence Ballard
Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown group The Supremes. From 1963 until 1967, Ballard sang on 16 Top 40 hit Supremes' singles, ten of which hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided to remove Ballard from...
as Richard Morris a Motown records staff writer responsible for discovering The Surpremes and Film his own Reality T.V Show The Rebirth of an R&B Singer.
TV appearances
Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
, Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
, The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
, Party Machine.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Billboard Music Award Billboard Music Award The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011... 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