Gary Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Gary "Lil G" Jenkins is an American musician. Born and raised in Nashville
, Tennessee
, he is the youngest of seven children.
's The Bobby Jones Gospel Show for many years. By the age of nine, Gary had mastered the guitar after only a few lessons and had self taught an assortment of keyboards, drums and guitars.
While attending Tennessee State University
(TSU) in Nashville, Gary majored in music, with an emphasis in piano and voice. As a member of the prestigious TSU Jazz Collegians, he was selected to accompany Dizzy Gillespie
on piano during Gillespie's visit to the school. He also appeared in several opera
productions and performed with the TSU marching band
.
In 1992, Gary answered an audition call and earned the role as lead singer for Keith Sweat
's newly-formed R&B group, Silk
. Their career began with the success of "Freak Me" and "Lose Control" from Silk's 1992 debut album Lose Control. Their career spanned the globe for nearly ten years, with more than five million records sold. The success of their second album, Silk, led to the follow-up, Tonight. Remaining consistent, they released their fourth album, Love Session in 2001. The group gained national recognition with his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kathi Lee
, MTV
, BET, Soul Train
, Jenny Jones
, Ricki Lake
, Moesha
, Showtime At The Apollo
and Motown Live among others. Achieving international acclaim, Gary has toured throughout the world in such countries as Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
With unresolved dissension among the group members mounting after the folding of their record label, Elektra
, Gary resigned from the group in 2002. Over the following 18 months, Gary wrote, recorded and produced (with live instruments) his first independent solo project, The Other Side.
Gary also studied theater in school, co-starring in Hello, Dolly!
and Harvey
. He made his professional debut in 1997 in the production of Sneaky. He has since appeared in numerous nationally touring stage plays including Fake Friends, Perilous Times, Secret Lovers, Tyler Perry
's Madea's Family Reunion
, What Men Don't Tell, Whatever She Wants and Love Unbreakable by Lavarious A. Slaughter.
Gary is a member of the R&B supergroup, Blayse
, along with Marc Nelson
and Tony Grant
formerly of Az Yet
and Terrell Phillips
formerly of Blackstreet
. The group has yet to release a single.
After appearing with Silk during Keith Sweat's "Sweat Hotel" tour in 2006 and subsequent release of the concert footage on the DVD "Sweat Hotel", Jenkins reunited with Silk and began touring and recording in late 2007.
and he was associated with Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, he is the youngest of seven children.
Musical career
Gary began singing in church at the age of seven, which earned him a role as a featured soloist on BETBet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's The Bobby Jones Gospel Show for many years. By the age of nine, Gary had mastered the guitar after only a few lessons and had self taught an assortment of keyboards, drums and guitars.
While attending Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
(TSU) in Nashville, Gary majored in music, with an emphasis in piano and voice. As a member of the prestigious TSU Jazz Collegians, he was selected to accompany Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
on piano during Gillespie's visit to the school. He also appeared in several opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
productions and performed with the TSU marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
.
In 1992, Gary answered an audition call and earned the role as lead singer for 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:...
's newly-formed R&B group, Silk
Silk (group)
Silk is an American R&B group, formed in 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia.-Career:Silk are best known for their hit singles, "Happy Days", "Freak Me" from their debut album, Lose Control. Another hit from Lose Control, "Girl U For Me", helped the album reach double platinum status...
. Their career began with the success of "Freak Me" and "Lose Control" from Silk's 1992 debut album Lose Control. Their career spanned the globe for nearly ten years, with more than five million records sold. The success of their second album, Silk, led to the follow-up, Tonight. Remaining consistent, they released their fourth album, Love Session in 2001. The group gained national recognition with his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kathi Lee
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, BET, 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...
, Jenny Jones
The Jenny Jones Show
The Jenny Jones Show is an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
, Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake is an American actress, producer, and television host. She is best known for her starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray, her ground-breaking documentary film The Business of Being Born, and her talk show which was broadcasted internationally from...
, Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, 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...
and Motown Live among others. Achieving international acclaim, Gary has toured throughout the world in such countries as Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
With unresolved dissension among the group members mounting after the folding of their record label, Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, Gary resigned from the group in 2002. Over the following 18 months, Gary wrote, recorded and produced (with live instruments) his first independent solo project, The Other Side.
Gary also studied theater in school, co-starring in Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
and Harvey
Harvey (play)
Harvey is a 1944 play by American playwright Mary Chase. Produced by Brock Pemberton and directed by Antoinette Perry, the play premiered on 1 November 1944 at the 48th Street Theatre on Broadway where it was staged for 1,775 performances before closing on January 15, 1949. The original production...
. He made his professional debut in 1997 in the production of Sneaky. He has since appeared in numerous nationally touring stage plays including Fake Friends, Perilous Times, Secret Lovers, Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
's Madea's Family Reunion
Madea's Family Reunion
Madea's Family Reunion is a 2006 comedy-drama film adaptation of the stage production of the same name written by Tyler Perry and sequel to Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was written and directed by Perry, who also played several characters, including Mabel "Madea" Simmons...
, What Men Don't Tell, Whatever She Wants and Love Unbreakable by Lavarious A. Slaughter.
Gary is a member of the R&B supergroup, Blayse
Blayse
Blayse, an American R&B supergroup, which consists of Terrell Phillips formerly of Blackstreet, Marc Nelson and Tony Grant formerly of Az Yet and Gary "Lil G" Jenkins formerly of Silk...
, along with Marc Nelson
Marc Nelson
Marc Nelson is an American singer. His mother was the late R&B/Dance singer Phyllis Nelson, known for the songs 'I Like You' and 'Move Closer'. He was an original member of Boyz II Men while still attending Philadelphia's High School of Performing Arts...
and Tony Grant
Tony Grant
Tony Grant may refer to:* Tony Grant * Tony Grant * Tony Grant , American singer and stage actor* Toni Grant, American psychologist and radio talk show host...
formerly of Az Yet
Az Yet
Az Yet is an American R&B group from Philadelphia, best known for their hit "Last Night" and their cover of the Chicago song "Hard to Say I'm Sorry."-Formation:...
and Terrell Phillips
Terrell Phillips
Terrell Phillips is an American music artist, recording producer and engineer, R&B vocalist, actor and former member of the R&B/New Jack recording group, Blackstreet. After the departure of Mark Middleton, Terrell was recruited by Blackstreet group leader Teddy Riley...
formerly of Blackstreet
Blackstreet
Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by Thomas Taliaferro and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. Chauncey Hannibal and Levi Little were signed under production and management contracts with Thomas Taliaferro and were merged into what...
. The group has yet to release a single.
After appearing with Silk during Keith Sweat's "Sweat Hotel" tour in 2006 and subsequent release of the concert footage on the DVD "Sweat Hotel", Jenkins reunited with Silk and began touring and recording in late 2007.
Albums
- The Other SideThe Other Side (Gary Jenkins album)-Track listing:#Interview#The Other Side#Friday Night#Ev'rybody Dreams#The Sound#So Sexy#Lovin' U#Dance With Me#Goes / Comes#So Free#Boojyghettoness#The Door#Moved On#Change Gone Come...
(Anaphora Records, 2007)
and he was associated with Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion.
External links
- Official website
- Biography at Blayse's homepage
- Gary Jenkins on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....