Robert Clivillés Robert Manuel Clivillés (; born July 30, 1964
from

David Cole (1962–1995), known collectively as Clivillés and Cole, were American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s, songwriters, and remixers active from the late 1980s who achieved success in the 1990s.

Career

Beginnings

David Cole and Robert Clivillés both performed in club Better Days (Clivillés as DJ and Cole as keyboardist) in the late 1980s. They become friends following a joint DJ session at Better Days club. Their first official released collaboration was a 1986 remix of the song "It's Too Late (For Love)" by Stardom Groove, featuring Tonya Wynne. In the late 1980s, Clivillés and Cole were active in the groups 2 Puerto Ricans, a Blackman, and a Dominican and

The 28th Street Crew The 28th Street Crew was a short-lived house-music group featuring David Cole and Robert Clivillés, who previously used the alias The Done Properly Posse! In 1989, the group released a single and album (the latter of which was titled ''I Need ...

. At the time they were the driving force of the short-lived

Brat Pack ''Brat Pack'' is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. The term ''Brat Pack'', a play on ''Rat Pack'' from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a ...

. The duo were also responsible for the formation of pop group

Seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

, for whom they wrote and produced a string of Top-10 hits. They contributed to the career of former The Weather Girls vocalist

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the The Weather Girls, Two Tons O' Fun, along with Izora Armstead, as they sang b ...

, who at the same time was one of the lead vocalists for the dance act

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

. In 1990, Clivillés and Cole released a single featuring later C+C Music Factory rapper

Freedom Williams Frederick Brandon "Freedom" Williams (born February 13, 1966) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter, who gained fame as the lead rapper on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits. Career Born in Brooklyn in 1966, Williams went to school to becom ...

, called "Get Dumb! (Free Your Body)", as The Crew. The duo's biggest success, however, was the group

C+C Music Factory C+C Music Factory was an American musical group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. The group is best known for their five hit singles: " Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", " Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)", " Things ...

, which became a worldwide sensation in 1991.

Production and songwriting work

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

worked extensively with Clivillés + Cole, hiring the duo to produce songs for her albums and remix her singles. Clivillés + Cole produced and co-wrote the album versions and remixes of her hit singles "

Emotions Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

" and " Make It Happen". Additionally, they produced the album tracks "You're So Cold" and "To Be Around You" (all from the album ''

''). They also produced the remixes of her hit " Anytime You Need a Friend", the originals "Now That I Know" and "I've Been Thinking About You" (from the album ''

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

'') and the original and remixes to "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...

" (from the album ''

Merry Christmas The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

''). The single "

One Sweet Day "One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and American vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on , as the second single from the former's fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995) by Columbia Records. The artis ...

" was written in memory of David Cole after his death in 1995. Among the hits remixed by the duo Clivillés & Cole were

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

's cover of " Pink Cadillac",

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer who rose to fame after her first two albums ('' Tell It to My Heart'' and '' Can't Fight Fate'') were both certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of ...

's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love",

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/ bassist Alex "Sp ...

's "Let the Beat Hit 'Em",

The Cover Girls The Cover Girls are a New York City based American freestyle music girl group whose original line-up consisted of Angel Clivillés, Louise "Angel Clivilles" Sabater, Caroline Jackson, and Sunshine Wright. Formed in 1986, The Cover Girls peaked ...

' "My Heart Skips a Beat" and "All That Glitters Isn't Gold", Pajama Party's "Hide and Seek", Sandée's "Notice Me", and

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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

Black or White "Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...

". They left their mark on the progressive synth-pop scene with a complete reworking of

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and English musician Richard Coles. They are best known for their cover versions of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes fe ...

' "There's More to Love Than Boy Meets Girl." The group

was one of Clivilles + Cole's most successful side projects. In the summer of 1991, Clivillés + Cole produced several tracks for a

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had ...

remix album titled '' No More Games: The Remix Album''. In 1992, Clivillés + Cole produced

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

's top 10 single " I'm Every Woman", originally by

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

. In 1994, the duo produced a radio version of

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

's performance of "Cuban Pete" from the movie '' The Mask''.

"A Deeper Love"

In 1991, as Clivillés + Cole, the duo released an LP-single

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

featuring a cover of U2's "

Pride (In the Name of Love) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on the band's 1984 album, ''The Unforgettable Fire'', and was released as its lead single in September 1984. The song was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel ...

", but it was the B-side, " A Deeper Love", featuring vocals by

Deborah Cooper Deborah Cooper is an American professional dancer, musician, singer, backup singer, award-winning composer and entertainer, with several number one and top charting dance music and house music hits. Biography Early career Cooper started as a f ...

(a longtime Clivillés and Cole vocalist) and

Paul Pesco Paul Pesco (born May 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer and record producer. Biography Pesco was born in Canandaigua, New York, to a Sicilian father (an opera singer and voice instructor) and ...

, that proved to be a hit, peaking at No. 15 in the UK. Deborah Cooper performed "Deeper Love" various times, including on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' with Clivillés and Cole's

. Both sides charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the spring of 1992: "A Deeper Love" peaked at #44, while "Pride (In the Name of Love)" reached #54. The video for these songs was actually one long featurette, beginning with "Deeper Love" and then continuing into "Pride (In the Name of Love)" halfway through the video. The video was labelled "Pride (A Deeper Love)". Some networks preferred to show the videos separately while others played the whole length. In 1992 as Clivillés + Cole, an album was released called '' Greatest Remixes Vol. 1'', featuring remixes by the duo of their own songs along with other artists' songs. In 1994,

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

covered "A Deeper Love" from the film '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit''. Franklin actually hired Clivillés + Cole to produce the album version as well as the remixes. Thus, the song was a hit for the duo twice in two different incarnations within a 3-year time span.

Other projects

In 1992, as Clivillés + Cole, an album was released, titled '' Greatest Remixes Vol. 1'', featuring remixes by the duo of their own songs along with other artists' songs. Also in 1992, the duo assembled the R&B/dance group The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.; only one song by this group was ever released, titled "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day", which featured on the #1 soundtrack album "The Bodyguard". An uptempo vocal club remix of the song was released as a promo single by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. Clivillés and Cole released a new single under the moniker

called ''O'' in 1994. That same year, the duo produced a song for

El General Edgardo Armando Franco (born 27 September 1969), better known as El General, is a Panamanian former reggae artist considered by some to be one of the fathers of ''reggae en Español.'' During the early 1990s, he was one of the artists who initi ...

titled "Las Chicas", which borrowed heavily from the song "Boriqua Anthem" off the C+C Music Factory album '' Anything Goes!''. Since David Cole's death, Robert Clivillés has continued to produce on his own, including work for the group

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, an album release in 1996 on Columbia under the moniker Robi Rob's Club World, and various other releases under different names.

Discography

Compilations

Singles

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clivilles and Cole Record production duos American remixers C+C Music Factory members