Skyy (band)
| Skyy | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York, United States |
| Genres | R&B, funk, boogie |
| Labels | SalSoul, Capitol, Atlantic |
| Past members | Solomon Roberts, Jr. Anibal "Butch" Sierra Gerald Lebon Tommy McConnell Larry Greenburg Denise Dunning Wilkinson Bonnie Dunning Williams Delores Dunning Milligan |
Skyy (a.k.a. New York Skyy) was an American R&B/funk/disco band based in New York. They are perhaps best known for their 1981 hit, "Call Me", as well as their 1989 "comeback" hits, "Start of a Romance" and "Real Love".
Contents
Career
The seeds for Skyy were sown in Brooklyn, New York in 1973, when sisters Denise, Delores, and Bonne Dunning first met musician Solomon Roberts, Jr. The record producer/keyboardist Randy Muller (who was also a member Brass Construction and an arranger for B.T. Express) soon became involved with the project. By 1976, the Skyy lineup of the three Dunning sisters as vocalists, Roberts as the male vocalist/guitarist, Anibal Anthony Sierra on guitars and keyboards, Larry Greenberg on keyboards, Gerald Lebon on bass, and Tommy McConnell on drums had solidified.
In the late 1970s, Skyy signed to Salsoul Records. After several albums that saw moderate success in the R&B market, the group crossed over to the mainstream in a big way with the release of the Skyy Line album in late 1981. Featured on this album was the single "Call Me", which gave the group their first (and only, to date) top 40 hit on the pop charts, peaking at number 26 in 1982. It also became the first of several number one R&B hits for Skyy. Meanwhile, the group continued to record for the Salsoul label up through the release of their 1984 Inner City album (Salsoul would fold in 1985), scoring several additional hits on the R&B chart during that time.
In the mid-1980s, the group signed with Capitol Records and released their next album, From the Left Side in 1986. Apart from the top ten R&B single, "Givin' It (to You)", the album saw limited success, and the group left Capitol soon thereafter.
Things were looking rather bleak for the band by the late 1980s. However, after signing to Atlantic Records, Skyy launched a major comeback in 1989 with the release of their successful Start of a Romance album. This release spun off two number one R&B singles, with both the title track ("Start of a Romance") and the quiet storm classic, "Real Love" claiming the top spot. "Real Love" also became the group's second and final crossover pop hit peaking at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1990. The second single released from the album (between the title track and "Real Love"), "Love All the Way" also cracked the R&B top 50. By the release of the Nearer to You album in 1992, the hits had again dried up, and the band has not released a new studio album since then. Although Skyy is one of very few bands to release 12 studio albums in 12 years (two compilation albums), which turned out multiple hits, they often go unnoticed and unsung. In 2014, the French Nu-Disco act Solidisco released an updated version of Skyy's 1980 single "Here's To You", in which the group received credits due to the original version being used.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Record label | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] |
US R&B [1] |
NZ [2] |
UK [3] |
|||||||||||
| 1979 | Skyy | 117 | 40 | — | — | Salsoul | ||||||||
| 1980 | Skyway | 61 | 17 | — | — | |||||||||
| Skyyport | 85 | 16 | 40 | — | ||||||||||
| 1981 | Skyy Line | 18 | 1 | — | — |
|
||||||||
| 1982 | Skyyjammer | 81 | 22 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1983 | Skyylight | 183 | 44 | — | — | |||||||||
| 1984 | Inner City | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1986 | From the Left Side | — | 33 | — | 85 | Capitol | ||||||||
| 1989 | Start of a Romance | 155 | 16 | — | — | Atlantic | ||||||||
| 1992 | Nearer to You | — | 52 | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
- Skyy Flyy (1982, Salsoul)
- Skyy High (1984, Rams Horn)
- Greatest Hits (1987, StreetSounds)
- Best Of (1994, ZYX)
- Greatest Hits (1996, The Right Stuff)
- The Best of Skyy (1997, Charly)
- The Best (2003, Toshiba EMI)
- The Anthology (2006, Suss'd)
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] |
US R&B [1] |
US Dan [1] |
CAN [5] |
NLD [6] |
UK [7] |
|||||||||
| 1979 | "First Time Around" | — | 20 | 50 | 49 | — | — | Skyy | ||||||
| "Let's Turn It Out" | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "This Groove Is Bad" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1980 | "High" | 102 | 13 | 26 | — | — | — | Skyway | ||||||
| "Skyyzoo" | — | 32 | 41 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Here's to You" | — | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | Skyyport | |||||||
| 1981 | "Superlove" | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "For the First Time" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Call Me" | 26 | 1 | 3 | — | 34 | — | Skyy Line | |||||||
| 1982 | "Let's Celebrate" | — | 16 | — | — | — | 67 | |||||||
| "When You Touch Me" | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Movin' Violation" | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | Skyyjammer | |||||||
| 1983 | "Let Love Shine" | — | 39 | 41 | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Bad Boy" | — | 33 | — | — | — | — | Skyylight | |||||||
| "Show Me the Way" | — | 35 | 10 | — | — | 97 | ||||||||
| "Married Man" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1984 | "Dancin' to Be Dancin'" | — | 49 | — | — | — | — | Inner City | ||||||
| 1986 | "Givin' It (To You)" | — | 8 | 42 | — | — | 83 | From the Left Side | ||||||
| "Non-Stop" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Love Illogical" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1989 | "Start of a Romance" | — | 1 | 41 | — | — | — | Start of a Romance | ||||||
| "Love All the Way" | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Real Love" | 47 | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1992 | "Up and Over (Stronger and Better)" | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | Nearer to You | ||||||
| "Nearer to You" | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 2014 | "Top Of The World" (Solidisco featuring Skyy) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
References
- Dewhirst, Ian. Liner notes from The Anthology (Salsa CD 030), 2006.
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External links
- Skyy at AllMusic
- Ladies of Skyy website
- More Extensive Biography
- {/www.billboard.com/artist/279562/skyy}
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