CeCe Peniston (born Cecelia Peniston, September 6, 1969 in Dayton, Ohio) is a female American dance music singer who scored an international hit single in 1991 with her signature hit "Finally".
CeCe Peniston |
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Biography
Cecelia Peniston was born in Dayton, Ohio and moved to Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 9. She attended South Mountain High School in Phoenix and later took to entering beauty pageants where she was crowned Miss Black Arizona in 1989. CeCe's music career in 1990 she signed to A&M Records and got her initial exposure doing featured vocals on female rapper Overweight Pooch's 1991 single "I Like It".
Finally
CeCe released her debut album Finally in 1992. The album sold over three million copies worldwide. Her first single, "Finally," achieved #1 chart status on three Billboard charts and also hit No. 2 in the UK. In the U.S. her album went No. 70 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 in the UK. "Finally" (the single) was re-released in Europe in 1997 as a remix, reaching No. 26 on the UK singles chart. "Finally" was also used in the cult Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert as well as the television show The L Word (Season 2, Episode 5) and over 30 compilations of hit dance music. [1]
"We Got A Love Thang" (co-written by Chantay Savage) was Peniston's second single from the album. It reached #1 on Billboard's dance chart, as did her third single "Keep On Walkin'," co-written by recording artist Kym Sims and produced by Steve Hurley. Both singles were also Top 10 hits in the UK, with "We Got A Love Thang" reaching #1 on the UK R&B chart. She also released the singles "Inside That I Cried," which peaked at #10 on the Billboard R&B chart, and "Crazy Love," which hit #31. She won the Billboard Awards for Top Dance Artist and Top New Artist of 1992 and at the end of 1993 Finally (the album) was certifed Gold or Platinum in the UK, U.S., Germany, Spain, Korea, Australia, South Africa and Italy.
Thought 'Ya Knew
CeCe's long awaited followup Thought 'Ya Knew arrived January 25, 1994. The set spawned three #1 dance/club play hits with "I'm In the Mood," "I'm Not Over You," and "Hit By Love." She was named Billboard Magazine's #1 Dance/Club Play artist of 1994. Though the album contained several club-rocking uptempo numbers like the ones that made her debut a hit, CeCe was intent on not being pigeonholed into the dance genre. For this reason, ballads like "I Will Be Received," "If You Love Me, I Will Love You," and the Brian McKnight-produced "Forever In My Heart" were included on the album. However, the album largely fell victim to record company mismarketing[2] and did not become the major hit in the US that it could have been. Overseas however, the set did well, spawning an additional single "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" which was included on the US soundtrack of the movie Ready To Wear (Pret-A-Porter).
Between releases, CeCe made a classy jazz cameo on "Don't Forget The Love" from Jeff Lorber's West Side Stories album and recorded the gospel album Good News In Hard Times as a member of The Sisters of Glory.[3] The Sisters of Glory included Albertina Walker, Thelma Houston, Phoebe Snow, Lois Walden and CeCe. The album featured CeCe's solo performances of "How I Got Over" and "Precious Memories". Good News was so well received that the group was invited to perform at 1995's Woodstock Music Festival as well as Pope John Paul II's Christmas at the Vatican concert.[4]
Movin' On
Her third album I'm Movin' On pointedly aimed for the R&B audience. Released in September 9, 1996, the set featured a noticeably slimmed-down Peniston adorning the cover. A similarly sleek sound marked its lead single "Movin' On", which was produced by Dave Hall (the hit maker behind Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover"). "Movin' On" cracked the Top 40 on the R&B charts and its music video and remixes both featured rapper Suga T.
Despite insistence from CeCe's management to release "Somebody Else's Guy" as a followup single, A&M chose "Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy)" as the 2nd single from the album. The midtempo R&B song produced by and performed with CeCe's then-beau JoJo Hailey of K-Ci and JoJo only peaked at #52 on Billboard's R&B charts.[5] As with the previous release, while the album's progress stalled out in the US, a David Morales remix of "Somebody Else's Guy" became a surprise hit in the UK the following year. Two remixes of the song, originally popularized by Jocelyn Brown, spawned the imported Best Of CeCe Peniston album in 1998.
Career To Date
Following the release of I'm Movin' On, CeCe took to the stage as Glinda the Good Witch in an all-star cast of The Wiz.[6] In addition to this success, CeCe also toured with the stage plays Treat Her Like A Lady and When A Woman Is Fed Up.[7] CeCe released her next single in early 2001. "Lifetime To Love," penned by dance diva Kristine W was a massive club hit reaching #2 on Billboard's dance chart. The single was to be offered for free download via Napster[8], but timing prevented the deal's followthrough.[9] CeCe's career quieted somewhat until 2005 which held a full slew of guest appearances on record, film, and television.
Among them, CeCe was featured on "Deeper Love", the first single from trumpeter David Longoria's 2005 album Terra Pax which climbed into the top 20 of Billboard's Dance charts.[10] In June 2005, CeCe appeared on NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time singing Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" and her own "Finally". [11] In the final quarter of the year, she starred as Pamela Matthews in the Maverick Entertainment independent film Don't Touch If You Ain't Prayed, [12] as well as taking a small role in another independent film, Pastor Jones.
Discography
Albums
- Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Finally | A&M | #70 US Billboard 200, #10 US R&B, #10 UK |
| 1994 | Thought Ya' Knew | A&M | #96 US Billboard 200, #20 US R&B, #31 UK |
| 1996 | I'm Movin' On | A&M | #48 US R&B |
- Compilations
| Year | Title | Label | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Remix Collection | Japan-only release | |
| 1998 | The Best Of CeCe Peniston | ||
| 1999 | Essential | Spectrum | Later re-released in 2004 on Universal International |
| 2001 | 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection | A&M |
Singles
| Year | Title | Artist | Label | US Pop | US Dance | UK Pop | Add'l Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "I Like It" | Overweight Pooch featuring CeCe Peniston | A&M | - | #16 | #58 | |
| 1991 | "Finally" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #5 | #1 | #2 | #2 AUS, #26 US R&B |
| 1992 | "We Got A Love Thang" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #20 | #1 | #6 | #38 US R&B |
| 1992 | "Keep On Walkin'" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #15 | #1 | #10 | #3 US R&B, #19 US Rhy Top 49 |
| 1992 | "Inside That I Cried" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #94 | - | #42 | #31 US R&B |
| 1992 | "Crazy Love" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #97 | - | #44 | |
| 1994 | "I'm In The Mood" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #32 | #1 | #16 | #7 US R&B, #20 US Rhy Top 40, #24 US Top 40 Mainstream |
| 1994 | "I'm Not Over You" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #41 | #2 | - | #10 US R&B, #20 US Rhy 40, #24 US Top 40 Mainstream |
| 1994 | "Hit By Love" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #90 | #1 | #33 | #47 US R&B |
| 1995 | "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" | CeCe Peniston | A&M/Columbia | - | #4 | #36 | #40 US Rhy Top 40, #40 US Top 40 Mainstream |
| 1996 | "Movin' On" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | #83 | #10 | - | #29 US R&B |
| 1996 | "Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy" | CeCe Peniston featuring JoJo Hailey | A&M | - | - | #52 US R&B | |
| 1997 | "Finally (Remix)" | CeCe Peniston | AM:PM | - | - | #26 | UK-only |
| 1998 | "Somebody Else's Guy" | CeCe Peniston | A&M | - | - | #13 | UK-only |
| 1998 | "Nobody Else" | CeCe Peniston | Silk Entertainment | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | "He Loves Me 2" | CeCe Peniston | Silk Entertainment | - | #24 | - | |
| 1998 | "My Boo (The Things You Do)" | CeCe Peniston | Silk Entertainment | - | - | - | |
| 2001 | "Lifetime To Love" | CeCe Peniston | 4 Play Records | - | #2 | - | |
| 2001 | "Reminiscin'" | Saison featuring CeCe Peniston | - | - | #30 | ||
| 2003 | "For My Baby" | Full Flava featuring CeCe Peniston | - | - | - | ||
| 2004 | "Eternal Lover" | Bibi featuring CeCe Peniston | RLPMix Records | - | - | - | France-only |
| 2005 | "Deeper Love" | David Longoria featuring CeCe Peniston | - | - | #20 |
Other
- Music Videos
- "Finally"
- "We Got A Love Thang"
- "Keep On Walkin"
- "Inside That I Cried"
- "Crazy Love"
- "I'm In The Mood"
- "I'm Not Over You"
- "Hit By Love"
- "Movin' On"
- Non-Album Tracks
- "All That I Need" from the movie soundtrack The Associate (Motown, 1994)
- "Don't Forget The Love" from Jeff Lorber's West Side Stories album (Verve Forecast, 1994)
- Overweight Pooch: Female Preacher (1991) (backup & supporting vocals on 3 tracks)
- Full Flava: Colour Of My Soul (2003) (lead voals on 2 tracks)
- Various Artists: Good News In Hard Times (2001) (two solo tracks, various ensemble performances)
- Remixes
Her first single, "Finally" was remixed by Grammy Award-winning remixer David Morales, as were her later singles "I'm In The Mood", "Hit By Love", "Keep Givin Me Your Love", and "Somebody Else's Guy". The Morales remix of her song "Lookin For A Love That's Real" was only released as a bonus track on the Japan edition of her "I'm Movin On" album.
Junior Vasquez remixes were released for her singles "Hit By Love", "I'm Not Over You", "Movin On", "He Loves Me 2", and "Deeper Love".
Four time Grammy Award-nominated Steve Hurley aka Steve "Silk" Hurley produced several remixes for Peniston, some were singles, and some were bonus tracks. "We Got A Love Thang", "Keep On Walkin", "I'm In The Mood", "I'm Not Over You", "Nobody Else", "He Loves Me 2", and "My Boo" were all released as 12" singles. Hurley also remixed her song "Searchin", which was a bonus track on the CD single for "I'm Not Over You", and featured on her Japan only "Remix Collection" album. Hurley's house mix of "Don't Know What To Do" was a bonus track on the Japan edition of her "Movin On" album. E-Smoove produced remixes for the singles of "Keep on Walkin", "We Got A Love Thang", and "Nobody Else", as did Grammy Award-winning remixer Maurice Joshua.
Little Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales, otherwise known as Masters At Work, produced half of the remixes on Peniston's single "Crazy Love".
Eric Kupper and Sharp produced the 1997 re-remixes of "Finally" released on AM:PM that brought the song back onto the worldwide dance charts. Her 2001 single "Lifetime To Love" was produced by Nikolas And Sibley, and remixed by Nic Torriero & Rob Milo.
Filmography
- NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time (2005)
- Don't Touch If You Ain't Prayed (2005)
- Pastor Jones (2005) [13]
Trivia
- Among the list of those who have personally requested CeCe at private engagements are Aretha Franklin at her private birthday celebration in Detroit, Michigan, Pope John Paul II in Rome at The Vatican, and President Bill Clinton at both of his inauguration ceremonies in Washington, DC.[7]
- Following the abolition of apartheid, CeCe was the first female entertainer to visit and perform in South Africa.[7]
Awards & Honors
- Billboard Best New Artist
- Best New Song of The Year
- ASCAP Song of The Year
- ASCAP Pop Songwriter of The Year
- ASCAP Most Performed Song of The Year
- Annual Winter Music Conference's Best New Dance Artist
- Annual Winter Music Conference's Best Dance Artist Solo
- Annual Winter Music Conference's Best 12" Dance Record
- BMI Urban Award of Achievement
- Governor's Key to The State of Arizona
- Phoenix College Hall of Fame
References
- ^ "CeCe Peniston Biography". CeCePeniston.com.
- ^ Template:Amg
- ^ "'Good News In Hard Times' Review". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Template:Amg
- ^ Template:Amg
- ^ Jaques, Damien (June 8, 1997). "Embarrassing backdrop mars star-filled, wonderful `Wiz'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The.
- ^ a b c "Locolobo Events: CeCe Peniston".
- ^ "Napster Connects With 4 Play Records & CeCe Peniston on ``Lifetime to Love". Business Wire. January 11, 2001.
- ^ Bartlett, Michael (January 12, 2001). "Napster Closes Deals With CDNow, Dave Matthews Band - Company Business and Marketing". Newsbytes News Network.
- ^ Zilincik, Jerome M. "David Longoria featuring CeCe Peniston - Deeper Love". About.
- ^ "Hit Me Baby One More Time". Answers.com.
- ^ Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- ^ 'Pastor Jones' Maverick Entertainment.