Shawn Christopher
Encyclopedia
Shawn Christopher is a female African American
dance music
singer
from Chicago
, Illinois
.
for R&B
singer Chaka Khan
from 1982 to 1985. She is also a former member of the industrial
dance band
known as My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
, and sang with the group Sonia Dada
. She is the sister
of the R&B singer, keyboardist
, and producer
, Gavin Christopher
.
She sang the lead vocals
on a song
by deejay
and record producer
, Lil Louis
, titled "French Kiss
", in 1989. The song became a #1 hit
on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
chart
that year.
During the 1990s, she also scored three #1 singles
on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in her own right: "Another Sleepless Night", in 1991 (which also reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, and #50 on the UK Singles Chart
); "Don't Lose the Magic", in 1992 (which peaked at #71 on the Hot 100, and UK
chart
#30); and "Sweet Freedom", in 1998. In addition, she sang backing vocals on Jimmy Somerville
's #1 Hot Dance Club Play track from 1995, "Heartbeat
".
She also recorded
a song entitled "Thinking About the Way" in the early 1990s, and reached #57 in the UK in 1994 with "Make My Love".
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Career
She was a touring backing vocalistBacking vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer 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...
from 1982 to 1985. She is also a former member of the industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
dance band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
known as My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
, and sang with the group Sonia Dada
Sonia Dada
Sonia Dada is a Chicago-based rock/soul/rhythm and blues band, which tours with anywhere from six to eight members. The band formed in 1990, when founding member Daniel Pritzker heard three future members singing in a subway station...
. She is the sister
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
of the R&B singer, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, and producer
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...
, Gavin Christopher
Gavin Christopher
Gavin Christopher is a R&B singer and musician, born on March 5, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois where he started out playing music at a very early age. Having been schooled by the likes of Oscar Brown Jr., Donny Hathaway and later on Curtis Mayfield, he honed his writing and singing skills and began his...
.
She sang the lead vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
on a 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...
by deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
and record producer
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...
, Lil Louis
Lil Louis
Lil Louis is the stage name used by Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ Louis Sims. He scored a number of hits on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1980s and 1990s, three of which hit #1....
, titled "French Kiss
French Kiss (song)
"French Kiss" is a 1989 house-music single that became a European and American hit for American artist Lil Louis. The song also was a hit in dance clubs around the world, and it spent two weeks at #1 on the American dance chart in October 1989. It was a crossover pop hit as well, peaking at number...
", in 1989. The song became a #1 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
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....
that year.
During the 1990s, she also scored three #1 singles
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...
on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in her own right: "Another Sleepless Night", in 1991 (which also reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, and #50 on 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 ...
); "Don't Lose the Magic", in 1992 (which peaked at #71 on the Hot 100, and 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...
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....
#30); and "Sweet Freedom", in 1998. In addition, she sang backing vocals on Jimmy Somerville
Jimmy Somerville
James William Somerville is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career. He is known in particular for his falsetto singing voice...
's #1 Hot Dance Club Play track from 1995, "Heartbeat
Heartbeat (Jimmy Somerville song)
"Heartbeat" is the title of a 1995 song by British pop singer Jimmy Somerville, former lead singer of the bands Bronski Beat and Communards. Released as a single from his 1995 solo album, Dare to Love, "Heartbeat" peaked at #24 on the UK singles chart in February of that year...
".
She also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a song entitled "Thinking About the Way" in the early 1990s, and reached #57 in the UK in 1994 with "Make My Love".
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart