Robin Beck
Encyclopedia
Robin Beck is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer. She topped the singles chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1988, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1989 with her single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 "First Time
First Time (Robin Beck song)
"First Time" is singer Robin Beck's first significant chart hit, released in 1988. It was originally recorded for a Coca-Cola commercial the same year and subsequently released as a single...

", which had come to the public's attention via its use in a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

.

Career

Prior to this achievement, she had spent time as a backing singer
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

, supporting the efforts of Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....

, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, and Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...

. She also sang on radio jingles for Jam Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American pop culture....

, in particular "the ultimate one" for BBC Radio One in the UK. Her first album was released in 1979, and featured Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...

 and Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...

 on backing vocals. However, her subsequent debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

's song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s failed to achieve commercial success in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, although it later spawned "Save Up All Your Tears
Save Up All Your Tears
"Save Up All Your Tears" is a song written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, and originally released by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. The song was subsequently covered by other artists including Robin Beck and Cher....

" which hit the Top 10 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Her major hit coincided with a unique chart confluence; after waiting thirty-five years for the first instance of three consecutive female vocalists at the top of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, she completed the second such occurrence in under a year. The first sequence was Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...

, Tiffany
Tiffany (singer)
Tiffany Renee Darwish , known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as the second single from her eponymous album, Tiffany,...

 and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

 in 1988; the second threesome consisted of Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

, Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...

 and Robin Beck. She qualifies as a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...

 in the UK, as "First Time" is her only single to reach their chart. This is not the case in Germany, where "Save Up All Your Tears" reached number 10, and she had at least three other chart singles. The German success of "First Time" won Beck a 1990 RSH Gold award, given annually by a German radio station since 1988 on the basis of major regional airplay success.

Her album Trouble Or Nothin was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 by Desmond Child
Desmond Child
Desmond Child is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Career:...

 and featured songs by Child, Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...

, Holly Knight
Holly Knight
Holly Knight is a songwriter, vocalist and musician of pop and rock music.- Biography :She was born in New York City and started playing classical piano as a young child. She soon became interested in rock music, and left home at about sixteen to pursue her dreams...

, Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly (musician)
Thomas F. Kelly is an American musician, best known for his songwriting partnership with Billy Steinberg. Steinberg and Kelly co-wrote numerous hit songs for popular music artists, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Top 100 chart in the 1980s....

 and Billy Steinberg
Billy Steinberg
William Endfield "Billy" Steinberg is an American songwriter. He has achieved most of his success as part of a song writing team, most notably with Tom Kelly. He has also co-written several hit songs with Rick Nowels.-Biography:...

. Despite their track record of success in the US, Beck's material did not find success. The song, "Hide Your Heart", charted in both the US and the UK as a single by KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

 the same year as Beck's version was released. It was also recorded that year by Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...

 and Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet is an American southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1975. They are widely known for their hit song "Flirtin' with Disaster" from the album of the same title. The band, founded by Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, took its name from a prostitute who allegedly mutilated...

, and was the title track of Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

's album of the previous year. Two other songs from the Beck album were released as singles by Tyler — "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" (1986) and "Save Up All Your Tears
Save Up All Your Tears
"Save Up All Your Tears" is a song written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, and originally released by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. The song was subsequently covered by other artists including Robin Beck and Cher....

" (1988) — and one by John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...

, "Don't Lose Any Sleep" (1987). Despite the songwriters' hit track records, none of those songs were major hits in the US in any of their versions. "A Crazy World Like This", co-written by Neil Giraldo, had been an album cut for Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...

.

Beck went on to record further solo work with noted writers, which was best received in Germany, and continued to do guest vocal spots on other artists' albums, including a duet with Stan Bush
Stan Bush
Stan Bush is an American singer-songwriter and musician whose most notable work includes the songs "Dare" and "The Touch" from the soundtrack to the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie, and "She's Got the Power", featured in the American voice dub of the animated series Sailor Moon...

. After a hiatus, she returned in 2003 with her first album in nine years, and has followed that up with a new album every couple of years since.

In 2006, the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 dance outfit Sunblock
Sunblock (band)
Sunblock is an electronic music group from Sweden, consisting of Magnus Nordin and Martin Pihl with dancers Oksana Andersson, Rebecca Simonsson and Pernilla Lundberg being the focal point of the group....

 sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 "First Time" for their dance track "First Time". Beck could be seen performing this song, which was released on the 21 May, and reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart. 2007 saw the release of Livin' On a Dream.

Her album Trouble Or Nothing - 20th Anniversary Edition, was released in February 2009, which featured new recordings of original album tracks, plus four new songs co written with Tommy Denander who also handles guitars on the whole album as well as co producing the new tracks.
Robin and her husband James Christian sang a duet on the song "Easy's Getting Harder" on Tommy Denander's 3rd Radioactive album "Taken" in 2005.

In 2009, she recorded three tracks as special guest on Impulsia's debut album Expressions: "Fly Away", "Alone" and "Seas To Cross".

Beck's most recent accomplishment is her album, The Great Escape.

In 2010, she also recorded a track as lead vocalist for the debut album of the Italian project Shining Line.

Personal life

Beck has been married to James Christian
James Christian
James Christian is a Connecticut-based musician and songwriter who is perhaps best known for being the frontman of the band House of Lords.-Career:...

 of the hard rock band House of Lords
House of Lords (band)
House of Lords is a hard rock/AOR band from Los Angeles, California.-History:House of Lords was formed in 1987 by former Angel member and keyboardist Gregg Giuffria from his solo project Giuffria...

 since 1996. They have a daughter together.

Singles

  • "Sweet Talk" (1979)
  • "First Time
    First Time (Robin Beck song)
    "First Time" is singer Robin Beck's first significant chart hit, released in 1988. It was originally recorded for a Coca-Cola commercial the same year and subsequently released as a single...

    " (1988) West Germany
    West Germany
    West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

     #1, UK #1, Austria
    Austria
    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

     #1, Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     #1, Norway
    Norway
    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

     #1, Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

     #2, France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

     #4
  • "Save Up All Your Tears
    Save Up All Your Tears
    "Save Up All Your Tears" is a song written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, and originally released by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. The song was subsequently covered by other artists including Robin Beck and Cher....

    " (1989) Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     #10, Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     #5, Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

     #17, Austria
    Austria
    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

     #27, UK #84
  • "Tears in the Rain" (1989) Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     #22, Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     #21
  • "Don't Lose Any Sleep" (1990)
  • "Hide Your Heart" (1990)
  • "In My Heart to Stay" (1992) Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     #55
  • "Gonna Take a Lifetime" (1993)
  • "Love Yourself" (1993)
  • "Close to You" (1994) Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     #79
  • "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" (1994)
  • "Jewel in My Crown" (1999)
  • "Shut Up and Kiss Me" (1999)
  • "First Time" (DJ Unique) (2003) Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     #61
  • "My Life" (2003)
  • "First Time" - Sunblock
    Sunblock (band)
    Sunblock is an electronic music group from Sweden, consisting of Magnus Nordin and Martin Pihl with dancers Oksana Andersson, Rebecca Simonsson and Pernilla Lundberg being the focal point of the group....

     featuring Robin Beck - (2006), Finland
    Finland
    Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

     #6, Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     #8, UK #9, Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

     #10, Netherland
    Netherland
    Netherland is a critically acclaimed novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.-Plot summary:...

     #13, Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

     #23

Albums

  • Sweet Talk (Mercury 1979) - (Debut album featuring Irene Cara
    Irene Cara
    Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...

     and Luther Vandross
    Luther Vandross
    Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...

     on backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

     with some of the song
    Song
    In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

    s)
  • Trouble or Nothin'
    Trouble Or Nothin'
    Trouble or Nothin' is an 1989 album by female artist Robin Beck. It was produced by Desmond Child and recorded and mixed by Sir Authur Payson.-Track listing:...

      (Mercury 1989) Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     #18, Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     #16, Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

     #23,
  • Human Instinct (DSB 1992), Austria
    Austria
    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

     #23
  • Can't Get Off (Eastwest 1994)
  • Wonderland (Reality/Sony 2003)
  • Do You Miss Me (2005)
  • Livin' on a Dream
    Livin' On A Dream
    Livin' on a Dream is the most recent album by female artist Robin Beck. It was produced and engineered by James Christian, co-produced by Tommy Denander, and mastered and mixed by Dennis Ward. Serafino Perugino served as the executive producer of the album. It was released by Frontiers Records in...

     (2007)
  • Trouble or Nothing - 20th Anniversary Edition (2009) [re-recordings plus four new songs]
  • The Great Escape (2011) Europe/UK/US

Guest appearances/collaborations

  • Impulsia - Expressions (2009)
  • Shining Line
    Shining Line
    Shining Line is the collaboration between the italian musicians Pierpaolo "Zorro 11" Monti and Amos Monti , and guest stars such as Erik Martensson, Robin Beck, Harry Hess, Mikael Erlandsson, Michael Voss and Michael Bormann, as lead vocalist, and Vinny Burns as lead guitarist.-Track...

     - Shining Line (2010) - Lead Vocals: Track 5: "Heat of the Light"
  • Shanghai - Bomb's Away (2001) - Lead Vocals Duet: Track 3: "Through These Eyes"

Awards

RSH-GOLD - Radio Schleswig-Holstein-Musikpreis (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

)
  • Best Newcomer 1989 for "First Time"


IFPI (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) http://www.musikindustrie.de/
  • "First Time" Gold Single 1989
  • "First Time" Platinum Single 1989


SNEP (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) http://infodisc.fr/
  • "First Time" Silver Single 1989


IFPI (Swiss) http://swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=robin+beck
  • "First Time" Gold single 1989


BPI (UK) http://www.bpi.co.uk/
  • "First Time" Silver Single 1988

External links

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