Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

. She is credited as " The First Lady of House Music".Kym Mazelle biography
Telegraph UK. Retrieved December 5, 2016.

Biography

Early life

Mazelle was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

. She lived on the same street as the

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

family and knew

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

and uncle. In 1981, she attended Mundelein College in Chicago. In 1982, she transferred to

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and gradua ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arts and Entertainment Media Management in 1986. During college, she worked part-time as an intern and secretary at

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

Career

In 1987, she worked with record producer

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

on the single "Taste My Love", released on Police Records label. In 1988, she released the single "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)", a hit on the club charts which reached at No. 53 on the UK singles chart. Her next release, "Wait," a duet with Robert Howard from The Blow Monkeys in 1989, peaked at No. 7 in the UK. In 1989, Mazelle's debut album ''Crazy'' was released in the UK and featured the single "Love Strain". With the single "Was That All It Was" returned Mazelle to the UK Top 40 and "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" was remixed by

Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist ...

. In 1990, Mazelle joined British music group

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

. Her lead vocals on the single "Missing You" on their second album '' Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade'' achieved major success worldwide. She also toured with the group throughout the year and their concert DVD '' A New Decade: Live from Brixton Academy'' was released in September 1990. In 1991,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

Records repackaged Mazelle's debut album as ''Brilliant!!'' with remixes of her singles, two new tracks and remixes of "No One Can Love You More Than Me" and "Crazy 'Bout The Man". Mazelle also appeared as "Pattie Roman" on the show Trainer, a sitcom originating from Great Britain.Read, M. (September 30, 2014). ''Seize the Day''. Biteback Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com In 1994, she scored a No. 13 hit in the UK with a cover on "

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a 1979 song recorded by American singers Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. It was written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Gary Klein. The song was recorded for Streis ...

", with

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

. Two years later, in 1996, Mazelle released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of the song "

Young Hearts Run Free "Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American soul singer Candi Staton in 1976. In 1996, it was covered by American house music singer Kym Mazelle for the triple-platinum selling soundtrac ...

", which appeared in the 1996

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film ''

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'' and also appeared on the director's remix album ''

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''. The soundtrack went triple platinum in the United States of America. The success of the single re-invited Mazelle to perform on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

. She has appeared on two live albums by

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

, ''Life on Planet Groove'' and ''My First Name is Maceo''. Mazelle released her second album ''The Pleasure Is All Mine'' in June 2004 and undertook a

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

in the UK. The album spawned two singles: "Love Magic" and "On My Own". In 2005, Mazelle took part in the British version of the reality TV show, '' Celebrity Fit Club''. In April 2007, she appeared in the

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

's tribute show "I Can't Stop Loving You". In July 2010, Mazelle joined the cast of UK theatre production of '' Smokey Joe's Cafe''. She also appeared on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

series, ''

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''. In September 2010, she released an extended play titled ''Destiny''. She headlined Liverpool Pride on August 6, 2011. On November 3, 2011, she headlined Prince Charles's Prince's Trust Ambassador Ball in Glasgow and helped to raise £93,000.00 for the charity on the night. On April 6, 2013, her appearance on ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'' was broadcast on the BBC.Soul singer Kym Mazelle falls at the first hurdle as The Voice auditions continue
Metro News UK. Retrieved on October 8, 2017 In 2017, Mazelle embarked on her 30th Anniversary Tour, celebrating thirty years in the music industry.

Discography

Albums

* ''Crazy / Brilliant!'' (1989) * ''The Pleasure Is All Mine'' (2004) * ''Destiny'' (2010)

Compilations

* ''Brilliant!!'' (1991) – European remix compilation, with 3 new tracks * ''The Gold Collection'' (1996)

Singles

Solo singles

As featured artist

Filmography

Television

Tours

* A New Decade Tour (1990) (with

) * 25 Year Anniversary Tour (2011–12) (with

) * Kym Mazelle 30th Anniversary Tour (2017)

References

External links

Kym Mazelle
official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazelle, Kym 1960 births Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American dance musicians American expatriates in England American women pop singers American house musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul singers American women in electronic music Capitol Records artists Columbia College Chicago alumni Musicians from Gary, Indiana The Voice UK contestants 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Indiana Soul II Soul members