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Black Box (band)

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Black Box

Black Box (later Blackbox) was an Italo-house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are arguably best known for their hit song "Ride on Time". The members of the group included a trio made up of a club DJ (Daniele Davoli), a classically trained clarinet teacher (Valerio Semplici) and a keyboard and electronic music "wiz" (Mirko Limoni.) The three had previously joined to form a group called Groove Groove Melody, producing dance music under names such as Starlight and Wood Allen. They went on to record music under many other aliases.

History

In 1989, the trio teamed up with singer/model Catherine Quinol (a.k.a. Katrin) and formed Black Box. By early 1990, Martha Wash was engaged to perform vocals on a number of tracks which, Ms. Wash was apparently told, were ostensibly for club consumption and weren't for mass-release. One would be "Everybody Everybody" which would become one of their two top-ten hits in North America. The album Dreamland was released.

The first single "Ride On Time" was an international hit, making Top 10 in many countries and No. 1 in the UK, soon becoming the UK's best-selling single of 1989. The song heavily sampled "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway, a 1978 disco hit. The Black Box title may derive from a misunderstanding of the lyrics "Cause you're right on time".

Dan Hartman's permission was not sought for the sampling of the vocals to his song and soon after the international success of "Ride on Time," questions arose as to the true vocalist on the song. Legal proceedings revealed that Loleatta Holloway actually sang the vocals on "Ride on Time" from the "Love Sensation" samples and Black Box surrendered a large percentage of the royalties from the song to Dan Hartman and Loleatta Holloway. The song eventually did make it onto the Dreamland album when it was released later in 1990 as well as the Hits and Mixes compilation, and numerous other compilations. A new version of the track with vocals by Heather Small appeared soley as a single. Subsequent releases, as well as the album tracks, also featured a then-uncredited Martha Wash as vocalist. Quinol lip-synched the vocals in "live" performances and in music videos. Martha Wash sued Black Box, RCA and then C+C Music Factory for performing vocals on their respective songs and not receiving due credit. These legal actions led to the legal recognition of vocalists who perform songs for other artists, including samplings. Wash received full vocal credit on "Strike It Up" but still featured Quinol lip synching in the music video.

A megamix featuring cuts already released and entitled "The Total Mix" performed well in the charts towards the end of 1990. Various minor hits followed in the UK throughout the decade. In America, they are best remembered for their early '90s singles "Everybody Everybody", "I Don't Know Anybody Else", and "Strike It Up", their biggest hit in the United States, where all three of their hits are still heard on rhythmic radio and in clubs on a fairly regular basis to this day. They were also featured in two Jock Jams albums respectively.

Black Box remains one of the few piano-house groups to reach success. Dreamland earned a gold disc in both the UK and the US and achieved double-platinum status in Australia where it spent eight weeks at #1 during early 1991. Along the way, it also spawned six massive hit singles, both on the mainstream charts and in the clubs.

Black Box is now widely considered to be the major single force to instigate the digital remastering of the Salsoul Records catalogue (which began in the early 1990s and has led to an entire British website devoted to an extensive catalogue of vintage Salsoul albums, remix compilations, and rare/unreleased material). It is highly unlikely this work would have proceeded without the public interest sparked by "Ride on Time"; the success of which placed some operating capital back into the Salsoul coffers.

Discography

Albums

  • Dreamland (1990) #1 Australia, #14 UK, #57 US, #45 Germany
  • Mixed Up! / Remixland (1991)
  • Positive Vibration (1995)
  • Hits & Mixes (1998)

Singles

  • "Ride on Time" (1989) #1 UK, #1 Ireland, #2 Australia, #5 Germany
  • "I Don't Know Anybody Else" (1990) #2 Ireland, #4 UK, #6 Australia, #12 Germany, #23 US, #10 US R&B.
  • "Everybody Everybody" (1990) #6 Ireland, #8 US, #2 US R&B #16 UK, #35 Australia, #41 Germany
  • "Fantasy" (1990) #3 Ireland, #3 Australia, #5 UK, #16 Germany
  • "The Total Mix" (1990) #10 Ireland, #12 UK, #24 Australia, #33 Germany
  • "Strike It Up" (1991) #16 UK, #8 Ireland, #8 US, #16 US R&B, #26 Germany
  • "Open Your Eyes" (1991) #48 UK, #44 Germany
  • "Bright on Time" (1991)
  • "Hold on" (1992)
  • "Rockin' to the Music" (1993) #39 UK
  • "Not Anyone" (1995) #31 UK
  • "I Got The Vibration/A Positive Vibration" (1996) #21 UK
  • "A Native New Yorker" (1997) #46 UK
  • "Everybody Everybody (Benny Benassi Remix)" (2007) # 86 WDC

See also

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