Tony! Toni! Toné! is a new jack swing/R&B group from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Charlie Ray Wiggins) on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums. Other members were Elijah Baker, Carl Wheeler, Randall Wiggins, and Amar Khalil, who is the current lead singer of the group, and Antron Haile.
The group's name is derived from Andy García's portrayal of an Italian American sharpshooter in The Untouchables. In high school, a friend of D'wayne joked that the teacher would call him "Tony, Tony, Tony" if they saw the way he was dressed. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Tony, Tony" as a joke, until they realized it had a nice ring to it.[1]
History
1988
Their first album, Who?, was released in 1988. The album went gold and had several hit singles. The first of these, "Little Walter" went to #1 on the R&B charts. While none of the singles went gold, the next three singles, "Born Not To Know", "For The Love Of You" and "Baby Doll" were all Top 10 R&B singles.
1990
The group's second album The Revival was released in 1990 and reached platinum status. The album spawned several #1 R&B hits with "It Never Rains In Southern California", "Feels Good", "The Blues", and "Whatever You Want" all topping the R&B charts. "Feels Good" was the group's first single to breach the Top 10 of the Hot 100 and managed to go gold. The single "Me & You" appears on the soundtrack to the movie Boyz N The Hood.
1993
Furthering the group's success, they released their third studio album to date, Sons of Soul, in 1993. The album went double platinum and had hit singles "If I had No Loot" which hit #7 on the Hot 100, "Anniversary" which reached #10 on the Hot 100, and "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow" which reached #4 on the R&B charts.
1996
In 1996, the group released their fourth studio album to date, House of Music. The album lacked the strong singles of earlier entries, only getting "Thinking Of You" & "Let's Get Down" into the top 10 on the R&B charts, with "Thinking Of You" hitting #22 on the Hot 100. The album still managed to reach platinum status.
Other endeavors
Raphael Saadiq released his first solo effort, the Top 20 Billboard hit "Ask of You" for the Higher Learning soundtrack, in 1995. Around the same time, Saadiq became a much-sought-after R&B producer, scoring hits for D'Angelo, Total, The Roots, and others. Later in the 2000s, he started a solo career, releasing two albums, Instant Vintage (2002) and Ray Ray (2004).
Lucy Pearl was an R&B supergroup formed in 1999 as the brainchild of Raphael Saadiq. The other members of Lucy Pearl were Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). They released their self-titled debut album in 2000. After two singles, "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man", Dawn Robinson left and was replaced by Joi. The new line-up released the track "Without You". The group split up shortly after, releasing no other material.
In 2005, D'wayne Wiggins became the band leader for the Weekends at the D.L. television show hosted by comedian D. L. Hughley, which airs on the Comedy Central cable network.
Personal life
Dwayne Wiggins is married to the owner of a popular Oakland coffee shop Jahva House. Jahva House eventually closed with a company to distribute the coffee in the works. Together they have 3 children, 1 girl and 2 boys.
Reunions
In 2003, members of Tony! Toni! Toné! except for Saadiq were invited by Alicia Keys to guest on her album The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song that resulted from that session was called "Diary", and when it was released as a single in the fall of 2004, it gave them their first Top 10 US hit in eleven years.
D'Wayne Wiggins solo album, "Eyes Never Lie", was a disappointment only selling approximately 150,000 units despite its acclaim as some of the most innovative writing and artistry from the Tony's founder.
A reformed Tony! Toni! Toné!, led by D'Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Riley, with Amil Khalil singing lead vocals (in place of Saadiq), has been touring since late 2008.
The group has suffered great losses due to tax issues with the IRS and a slough of former affiliates and other relationships gone south claiming lack of payment for services rendered and royalties paid.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart positions[2][3] |
Album |
| US |
US
R&B |
US
Dance |
UK |
| 1988 |
"Little Walter" |
47 |
1 |
43 |
— |
Who? |
| "Born Not to Know" |
— |
4 |
— |
— |
| "Baby Doll" |
— |
5 |
44 |
— |
| 1989 |
"For the Love of You" |
— |
6 |
— |
— |
| 1990 |
"Oakland Stroke" |
— |
— |
— |
50 |
The Revival |
| "The Blues" |
46 |
1 |
43 |
92 |
| "Feels Good" |
9 |
1 |
3 |
85 |
| "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" |
34 |
1 |
— |
69 |
| 1991 |
"Whatever You Want" |
48 |
1 |
— |
— |
| "House Party II" |
— |
19 |
— |
— |
House Party II OST |
| 1993 |
"If I Had No Loot" |
7 |
8 |
45 |
44 |
Sons of Soul |
| "Anniversary" |
10 |
2 |
— |
— |
| 1994 |
"(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" |
31 |
4 |
— |
— |
| "Leavin" |
82 |
41 |
— |
— |
| 1995 |
"Slow Wine" |
— |
21 |
— |
— |
| "My Ex-Girlfriend" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1996 |
"Let's Get Down" (feat. DJ Quik) |
— |
5 |
— |
33 |
House of Music |
| 1997 |
"Thinking of You" |
22 |
— |
— |
| 2004 |
"Diary" (Alicia Keys feat. Tony! Toni! Toné!) |
8 |
2 |
1 |
— |
The Diary of Alicia Keys |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart |
See also
References
External links
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Raphael Saadiq |
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| Solo albums |
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| Tony! Toni! Toné! |
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| Lucy Pearl |
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| Solo singles |
"Ask of You" (1995) · "Get Involved" (1999) · "Be Here" (2002) · "Still Ray" (2002) · "Rifle Love" (2004) · "Chic Like You" (2004) · "I Want You Back" (2005) · "Love That Girl" (2008) · "Big Easy" (2008) · "100 Yard Dash" (2009) · "Never Give You Up" (2009) · "Let's Take a Walk" (2009)
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| Related articles |
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