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rose royce

Rose Royce

Rose Royce comprised of:

Gwen Dickey a.k.a. Rose Norwalt (lead vocalist)

Kenji Brown (guitar/lead vocals)

Lequeint 'Duke' Jobe (bass/vocals)

Kenny Copeland (trumpet/lead vocals)

Freddie Dunn (trumpets)

Michael Moore (saxophone)

Henry Garner (drums/vocals)

Michael Nash (keyboards)

Victor Nix (keyboards)

and

Terral 'Terry' Santiel (congas)

Rose Royce were originally based in Los Angeles and recorded under the name of Total Concept Unlimited.

In 1973, the group toured the U.K. and Japan, supporting Edwin Starr.

Norman Whitfield norman whitfield

Edwin Starr had recommended the group to Norman Whitfield, who in turn, signed them to his own label under their new group name, Magic Wand.

Norman teamed the group up with Yvonne Fair, also becoming the studio and show band for The Undisputed Truth.

It was Joe Harris (from The Undisputed Truth), who discovered a singer called Gwen Dickey during a tour date in Miami, who was singing with a group called The Jewels at that time.

Gwen travelled to L.A. to audition for Norman, who in turn gave her the stage name of Rose Norwalt.

Rose Royce came into being, co-inciding with a project which Norman Whitfield was currently working on, namely, the movie 'Car Wash'.

Car WashIn Full Bloom

car wash - 1976 / rose royce II - in full bloom - 1977

The film launched the group, who had immediate success on the R&B and pop charts in 1976, with the singles 'Car Wash', 'I Wanna Get Next To You' and 'I'm Goin' Down', all achieving various chart positions.

'Car Wash' made number one on the Billboard charts, whilst 'I Wanna Get Next To You' reached number 10.

The group released their follow up set 'Rose Royce 2 - In Full Bloom', the following year, which featured the chart topping ballad 'Wishing On A Star', along with two other top ten singles, 'Ooh Boy' and 'Do Your Dance'.

Strikes AgainRainbow Connection

rose royce III - strikes again - 1978 / rainbow connection - 1979

1978 saw the group's third release 'Rose Royce 3 - Strikes Again', which featured 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore', 'I'm In Love (And I Love The Feeling)' (both reaching the Billboard top 5) and 'Let Me Be The First To Know'.

A year later, the album 'Rainbow Connection' featured the dancer 'Is It Love You're After' (U.K. Top 20), which was sampled heavily by the group S-Xpress in the early nineties.

Golden TouchJump Street

golden touch - 1981 / jump street - 1981

In 1980 Gwen Dickey left the group and they temporarily disbanded, however, the backbone of the musicians adjusted the line-up, resulting in the album release 'Golden Touch' in 1981.

Later that year, the group released the album 'Jump Street', which featured the epic dancer 'Rose Royce Express', a track loosely based around the earlier dancer 'Nytro Express' by the group Nytro, another Norman Whitfield vehicle.

Stronger Than EverMusic Magic

stronger than ever - 1982 / music magic - 1984

After leaving Norman Whitfield's label, the group signed to the Epic imprint, resulting in 1982's 'Stronger Than Ever' album, which became a sought after album, due to the popularity of the song 'Still In Love', which was hugely popular on the U.K. club circuit.

In 1984, Rose Royce released the album 'Music Magic', which featured the song 'New Love', followed by 'Fresh Cut', which saw the light of day in 1987 (and featured their own version of the Norman Whitfield evergreen, 'Just My Imagination').

Fresh CutPerfect Lover

fresh cut - 1987 / perfect lover - 1990

Rose Royce continued to release albums, with varying degrees of success, including 1990's 'Perfect Lover' for Atlantic Records, along with a 'Live In Hollywood' album in 2003.

Gwen Dickey gwen dickey

Gwen Dickey now performs as a solo artist in the U.K.

Rose Royce

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Albums:

Car Wash (MCA Records 1976)

Rose Royce In Full Bloom (Whitfield Records 1977)

Rose Royce III Strikes Again! (Whitfield Records 1978)

Rose Royce IV Rainbow Connection (Whitfield Records 1979)

Golden Touch (Whitfield Records 1981)

Jump Street (Warners Records 1981)

Stronger Than Ever (Epic Records 1982)

Music Magic (Streetwave Records 1984)

The Show Must Go On (Streetwave Records 1985)

Fresh Cut (Carrere Records 1987)

Perfect Lover (Atlantic Records 1990)

Live In Hollywood (FYD Records 2003)

Rose Royce (United Audio Entertainment Records 2006)

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