Funky Divas
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
| Funky Divas | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Studio album by En Vogue | ||||||||||
| Released | March 24, 1992 | |||||||||
| Recorded | August 1991—January 1992 | |||||||||
| Genre | Contemporary R&B, New Jack Swing, Funk | |||||||||
| Length | 52:18 | |||||||||
| Label | eastwest | |||||||||
| Producer | Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster | |||||||||
| Professional reviews | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| En Vogue chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Funky Divas is the second album by the U.S. female vocal group En Vogue. Released in 1992, it became their highest selling album to date and one of the top selling albums of the year, shifting over 5 million copies worldwide.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The lead single, "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", became an instant hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard's Hot 100 and No.4 in the UK. The accompanying video for "My Lovin'" won two MTV Video Music Awards.
The second single, "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" (a cover of the Aretha Franklin hit from the film Sparkle), also became a Top 10 hit on the US Hot 100 (and also their fifth No.1 single in the US R&B chart). Another Franklin song from Sparkle, "Hooked on Your Love", is also on the album, as is a rendition of The Beatles' hit "Yesterday".
The third single, the rock-infused "Free Your Mind", became another Top 10 hit. In the UK, the single made the Top 20 and was backed with "Giving Him Something He Can Feel", which had failed to make the UK Top 40 by itself earlier that year. The video for "Free Your Mind" won three MTV Video Music Awards in 1993.
By the time the fourth single, "Give It Up, Turn It Loose", was released in early 1993, the Funky Divas album was already certified triple platinum in the US by the RIAA. The single gave the group another UK Top 40 hit (#22).
The fifth and final single released from Funky Divas was "Love Don't Love You", which was remixed for its release. The video for the single consists of clips from previous En Vogue videos "Giving Him Something He Can Feel", "Free Your Mind", as well as two of their 1990 videos "Lies" and "You Don't Have To Worry".
A second edition of the album containing the later hits "Runaway Love" and "Whatta Man" (with Salt-N-Pepa) was released in the UK in 1994. This edition of Funky Divas also includes remixed versions of "Hip Hop Lover", "It Ain't over Till the Fat Lady Sings", and "Love Don't Love You" (a different remix from the U.S. single release in 1993), along with slightly altered artwork inside the CD booklet.
As with En Vogue's first album, Born to Sing, Funky Divas includes lead vocals by each member of the group on different songs.
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Lead | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is Your Life" | 5:05 | Terry (spoken intro by En Vogue) | Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy |
| 2. | "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" | 4:42 | Maxine/Dawn | Foster, McElroy |
| 3. | "Hip Hop Lover" | 5:13 | Maxine/Terry (background leads by Dawn) | Foster, McElroy |
| 4. | "Free Your Mind" | 4:52 | Cindy/Dawn/Terry/Maxine (spoken intro by Terry) | Foster, McElroy |
| 5. | "Desire" | 4:01 | Cindy | Foster, McElroy |
| 6. | "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" | 3:56 | Dawn | Curtis Mayfield |
| 7. | "It Ain't over Till the Fat Lady Sings" | 4:13 | Dawn (background leads by Maxine) | Foster, McElroy |
| 8. | "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" | 5:13 | Maxine (spoken intro by En Vogue) | Foster, McElroy |
| 9. | "Yesterday" | 2:30 | Cindy | Lennon, McCartney |
| 10. | "Hooked on Your Love" | 3:35 | Terry | Mayfield |
| 11. | "Love Don't Love You" | 3:56 | Terry/Cindy (spoken words by Cindy) | Foster, McElroy |
| 12. | "What Is Love" | 4:19 | Maxine/Cindy (spoken words by Terry) | Foster, McElroy |
| 13. | "Thanks (Prayer)" | 0:43 | Cindy (backgrounds by Maxine, Terry & Dawn) | Foster, McElroy |
[edit] Personnel
[edit] En Vogue
- Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robertson: Lead, Backing & Harmony Vocals
[edit] Additional Musicians
- Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy: Keyboards & Drum Programming, Talking & Spoken Word
- Jinx Jones: Electric, Acoustic & Bass Guitars
- Michael Fellows: Drums
- Jon Bendich, Juan Escovedo, Peter Michael: Percussion
- Chuckii Booker: Talking, Spoken Word
- Wayne Jackson: Rap
- Tony George: Trumpet
- Les Harris: Saxophone
- Chris Mondt: Trombone
[edit] Charts
Album
| Chart | Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 8 | 3 x Platinum |
| UK Album Chart | 4 | Gold |
