En Vogue

At the end of the year, En Vogue's holiday album The Gift Of Christmas appeared. The Fortunes continue to attract rave reviews and new fans wherever they appear. Meanwhile, Robinson's first solo CD Dawn was released in early 2002. The group remain as popular as ever, and are constantly in demand to do TV and radio shows, along with their live concerts. The next year, "Masterpiece Theater" came out. As a testament to the Fortunes' continued popularity you need look no further than to the Gold Disc they were awarded in 1987 for over 100,000 sales of the All The Hits and More album. The group's first compilation, The Best Of En Vogue, came to be in the summer of 1999. Although the Fortunes' show concentrates on the hits of Yester-year, the combination of Rod and Bob’s alternating lead vocals together with the group's dynamic musical versatility allows them to stretch their repertoire over a wide range of material; thus giving them the luxury of performing many of the great songs from the beginnings of rock and roll to the present day.

Before it was issued in 1997, they contributed one of the CD's tracks "Don't Let Go (Love)" to the "Set It Off" soundtrack, which became a #2 single. During the Fortunes set, apart from sharing vocal duties with Rod, Bob leads the band through a tribute to his former group, including a version of the Badfinger-penned classic "Without You", made famous by Nillson, and more recently Mariah Carey. The rest over En Vogue went on to record EV3. Bob was no stranger to fame as he was previously a member of Badfinger when they were on the Beatles' Apple Records label. Dissatisfied with the treatment of the group's props and royalties, Robinson left the group for a solo career in 1996, but she joined Tony! Toni! Toné!'s Raphael Saadiq and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad to form the group Lucy Pearl before that. In March 1995 vocalist/keyboard/guitar player Bob Jackson was added to the Fortunes' ranks. Ellis made her solo debut with the release of "Southern Gal" in 1995. This ensures that the Fortunes' performances exude class and professionalism.

The group took a three-year recess from recording as a group before their next LP would come out. Longstanding members Paul Hooper (drums) and Michael Smitham (guitar) ensure the group's unique blend of harmonies is backed up with a high standard of musical ability honed by many years of experience. The group made a television guest appearance on an episode of the series "A Different World" and played hookers in the 1995 film Batman Forever. His powerful, versatile voice is unmistakeable, and in the view of many fellow artists and fans alike, considered to be exceptional, if not the best on the circuit. They struck an endorsement deal to be in a Sprite commercial, won awards at the Soul Train and Lady of Soul Awards shows. Founding member Rod Allen has been fronting the Fortunes as lead vocalist since 1963. En Vogue opened doors for future girl groups as the first black female New Jack R&B group to appear on the front cover of Vogue magazine. During this period, the Fortunes were also the voices for the US Coca Cola adverts ("It's The Real Thing") still to be seen and heard in the US today.

Another LP, Runaway Love, came out that year. From the initial success in 1964 of "Caroline", used as the signature tune for the influential Pirate Radio station Radio Caroline, the Fortunes had a steady succession of world-wide hits culminating in 1972 with the release of "Storm in a Teacup". They returned to the top ten again in 1993, backing the female pop-rap trio Salt-N-Pepa on their hit "Whatta Man". The Fortunes remain as one of the UKs premier harmony groups, and are constantly in demand worldwide. The first three singles, "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" (a remake of one of Aretha Franklin's songs and borrowed from Curtis Mayfield), and "Free Your Mind" (using George Clinton's chorus line with permission), all reached the top ten. These songs have stood the test of time, becoming household favourites permanently on playlists everywhere. Though the group is influenced mainly by the genre R&B, other influences include pop, rap, reggae, and rock. The result was a succession of distinctive and distinguished hit records including "You've Got Your Troubles", "Here It Comes Again" and, continuing into the seventies with more successful releases such as "Storm in a Teacup" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go".

The 1992 sophomore attempt "Funky Divas" was more successful than the first, going multi-platinum and garnering positive reviews. Following on in the wake of Merseybeat, and the R&B of the Rolling Stones, etc., the Fortunes added another dimension to the sound of the classic pop song with their special ingredients of sophisticated orchestration, dual lead vocals and stylish counter-melodies. A notable feature of the group is that they all shared in singing lead, purposely designating no particular singer as the "star." Herron appeared in the film Juice (1992) between albums. Hailing from Birmingham, England, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim during that Golden Era of Popular Music - the 'swinging' mid-sixties. Some have compared En Vogue to The Supremes. A remix album, "Remix To Sing" followed later within the next year.

The single aided the debut album "Born To Sing", released in 1990, in going platinum. That first single became a crossover, pop smash hit, reaching #2 on the pop charts and making #1 on the R&B charts. But Foster had a better idea,to write and produce an original, answer song called "Hold On". The girls liked the catchy,funky beats that it made and thought it would be a great idea to sing the lyrics over them.

They were in Foster's car, getting warmed up as they prepared to sing "Who's Lovin' You?" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Suddenly, Foster turned on the drum machine accidentally. Before the work and recording of their debut album began, one day, they had a singing session. The group lived together for a while. Robinson suggested that they enter singing contests to remain active. After they found their women, the new group performed a song or two on Foster and McElroy's FM2 album.

They shifted to Vogue and ultimately En Vogue after learning of another group having a very similar name. Prior to the group's official name, they were primarily called For You. The two held auditions and resolved on the official membership of Herron, Jones, Robinson, and Ellis. They were looking for singers who could display lasciviousness and intelligence, as well as vocal anabasis.

After Foster and McElroy studied various girl groups, they chose to experiment with welding the female R&B/soul group heritage with hip-hop/new jack swing rhythms. Their story began when the production duo brainstormed on the concept of putting together a modern-day, original R&B girl group for the 1990s. The group was formed in Herron's home state, California, in 1988. November 28, 1968, Connecticut), and Terry Ellis (b. September 5, 1966, Texas).

January 16, 1966, New Jersey), Dawn Robinson (b. September 26, 1965, California, United States), Maxine Jones (b. The original members were former Miss Black California Cindy Herron (b. Members of En Vogue:.

En Vogue is an all-female new jack R&B, club/dance, and urban soul vocal quartet assembled by the hit music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy (formerly of the disco group Club Nouveau). Rhona Bennett. Amanda Cole. Dawn Robinson.

Cindy Herron. Maxine Jones. Terry Ellis.