Jump to content

Teddy Riley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 167.79.56.136 (talk) at 18:50, 21 July 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other people named Teddy Riley (disambiguation), see Teddy Riley (disambiguation) (disambiguation).
Teddy Riley

Edward Theodore "Teddy" Riley (born October 8, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, keyboardist, and record producer credited with the creation of New Jack Swing.[1] Through his production work and membership of the groups Guy and Blackstreet, Riley is considered to have had a seminal influence on the formation of modern R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop since the 1980s.[2][3]

Career

Teddy Riley was raised in St. Nicholas Houses, Harlem, New York. At the age of seventeen, Riley produced Kool Moe Dee's 12" single, "Go See the Doctor".[1] Released on an independent label in 1986, the song became a crossover hit, reaching #89 on The Billboard Hot 100.[4] Riley also worked on the production of Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew's "The Show" in 1985.[5]

In 1987, Riley, Aaron Hall, and Timmy Gatling formed the R&B group Guy. Riley's work with Guy helped to pioneer the New Jack Swing style of R&B, which had been showcased in Riley's productions for Johnny Kemp ("Just Got Paid"), Bobby Brown ("My Prerogative"), and Keith Sweat (Make It Last Forever), among others. The term "new jack swing" was coined by writer-filmmaker Barry Michael Cooper (screenwriter for the films New Jack City, Above the Rim, and Sugar Hill) in a cover story in the Village Voice titled, "Teddy Riley Groove Master: Harlem Gangsters Raise a Genius", dated October 18, 1988.

In 1991, Riley co-produced half of Michael Jackson's album Dangerous, after Jackson parted ways with Quincy Jones. Featuring the Riley co-produced singles "Remember the Time", "Jam", and "In the Closet", Dangerous is the most successful New Jack Swing album of all time with 32 million copies sold.[6][7]

In 1992, Riley formed a second group, Blackstreet, with Chauncey Hannibal as lead singer. The group released several major hits, including "Don't Leave Me" (1997), the number one single "No Diggity" (1996, featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen), and "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999, with Janet Jackson, Eve, and Ja Rule). By 2005, following several lineup changes, Riley had disbanded and reformed Blackstreet. Riley also worked on an album with Outsiderz 4 Life, producing "Wil' Out" and other songs. He also was one of few people to use the talkbox as effectively as Roger Troutman did.

At the start of 2006, he was part of the New Jack Reunion Tour, featuring Riley's own Blackstreet and Guy, in addition to After 7, SWV, and Tony Toni Toné. In May 2006 Riley announced that he would be working on two key projects: a new Blackstreet album and a new Guy album.

In June 2008, a fire destroyed Riley's Virginia Beach recording studio. Fire investigators said that an electrical problem caused the blaze that burned the abandoned recording studio. The Virginia Beach Fire Department said lightning in the area also could have been a factor, although there was no direct strike. The empty studio was for sale and was insured for $336,000.[8]

In 2009, Riley performed with Guy at the BET Awards.[9]

Riley has worked with Amerie, Robin Thicke and Lady Gaga on their upcoming albums.

Speaking in March 2010 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis - Deputy Editor of the award-winning Blues & Soul - Riley confirmed that he was no longer affiliated with Guy and that the current line-up of BLACKstreet comprised himself, Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister and Sherman 'J-Stylez' Tinsdale. He also confirmed that he was working on a new BLACKstreet album, though intended to release his own album - entitled 'TRX' - first. Artists he could possibly be working with for the project included Stevie Wonder, Elton John, plus his own new, upcoming acts.[2]

Teddy Riley has eight children: Dante Horne (26), Dejanee (Deja) Riley (22), Nia Riley (20),Taja Riley (18), Tiarra (Bobbie) Riley (15), Lil Teddy (7), Samar Riley (4), and TJ Riley (9).

Albums

Solo: Black Rock (Unreleased)
Guy: Guy discography
Blackstreet: Blackstreet discography

References

  1. ^ a b Hogan, Paul. "Teddy Riley biography" Allmusic Retrieved on September 19, 2009 Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Teddy Riley interview by Pete Lewis, March 2010
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Bush, John. "Kool Moe Dee > Biography". Allmusic.
  5. ^ BET Teddy Riley Profile, 1999 "
  6. ^ "Michael Jackson sulla sedia a rotelle". AffarItaliani.it. 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  7. ^ Carter, Kelley L. (2008-08-11). "New jack swing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  8. ^ http://www.wvec.com/news/vabeach/stories/wvec_local_071608_riley_studio_fire_.5f16b374.html
  9. ^ BET Awards website "[2]"
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teddy_Riley&oldid=374718325"