Calloway is an
R&B duo of
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
brothers Reggie (born January 23, 1955) and Vincent (born January 5, 1957) Calloway. They had a major
hit in 1990 with "
I Wanna Be Rich".
Biography
The brothers grew up around music with a father who played the
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
, an uncle who played
keyboards, and an aunt who sang
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
. As teenagers, they began writing
song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
s and forming
bands, and when attending
Kentucky State University, they formed
Midnight Star, a
synth-
funk outfit that hit big in the early to mid 1980s. The Calloways were instrumental in orchestrating the band's 1983 multi-platinum breakthrough album, ''
No Parking on the Dance Floor'', and Midnight Star would continue to experience mainstream success throughout the brothers' tenure in the group.
After Midnight Star ran its course, the two left to focus on
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity
* Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character
* Napoleon Solo, fr ...
work. During their time with Midnight Star, they had also written and produced hits for
acts like
Klymaxx ("Meeting in the Ladies Room") and
The Whispers ("Contagious"). Following their exit from Star, they continued writing for other musicians, such as
Teddy Pendergrass ("Joy"),
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...
("Love Overboard"),
Natalie Cole ("Jump Start"), and
Levert ("Casanova"), before forming their own eponymous group, Calloway, in the late 1980s. As Calloway, the duo scored a number two
''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit and number five soul hit with "I Wanna Be Rich". After scoring with the follow-ups "Sir Lancelot" (Top 20 R&B), "All the Way" and "Let's Get Smooth" (both R&B
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hits), the hits dried up and the Calloways concentrated on production work. Reginald Calloway is now the
Music Director of
Royalty fund for Sound Royalties.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
Callowayat
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
.
{{Authority control
American pop music groups
American contemporary R&B musical groups
Sibling musical duos
Musical duos from Ohio
Contemporary R&B duos
SOLAR Records artists
Epic Records artists
Musical groups established in 1987