Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group

New Edition New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...

and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever (song), Make It Last For ...

. Gill has released eight solo albums, three albums with New Edition, two albums with LSG, and one collaborative album with Stacy Lattisaw. Gill has sold over 15 million copies worldwide as a solo artist.

Early life

Gill was born on May 22, 1966, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the son of Johnny Gill Sr., a Baptist minister, and his wife, Annie Mae Gill, who had four boys. He started singing at the age of five, performing in church in a family gospel group called Little Johnny and "Wings of Faith". The group included his brothers Bobby, Jeff, and Randy Gill, a solo recording artist and member of the group II D Extreme. Gill attended Kimball Elementary, Sousa Junior High, and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. His career dictated that he complete his high-school education through the services of a tutor. Gill planned to attend college to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, but decided to focus on his singing career.

Music career

Early career

Gill's recording career began in 1982, at the age of 16, when his childhood friend Stacy Lattisaw convinced him to record a demo. This demo fell into the hands of the president of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, and his first self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter on Atlantic subsidiary

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for soul, R&B, funk, pop, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About ...

. Gill then teamed up with Stacy for the duet album '' Perfect Combination''. A second solo album on Cotillion Records, ''

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

'', was released in 1985.

New Edition

Gill began a new chapter in his career in 1987, when he was recruited by

Michael Bivins Michael Lamont Bivins (born August 10, 1968) is an American singer, rapper, manager, and producer, and a founding member of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. Biography Bivins was born and still lives in Boston. He and his wife, Teasha, have four ...

to join

. Bobby Brown had been voted out of the group and Gill was brought in to replace lead singer

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album '' Ralph Tres ...

, who was rumored at the time to be leaving to pursue a solo career. Gill became the only member of New Edition who was not from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. With Gill, the oldest member, as one of the lead singers (along with Tresvant, who ended up staying with New Edition and delaying the launch of his solo career) on the album '' Heart Break'', the group developed a more mature, adult sound, hitting the charts with songs such as "Can You Stand The Rain", "N.E. Heartbreak", "If It Isn't Love", and the Gill-led "Boys to Men".

Solo career

Continuing his role as a romantic balladeer while emerging as a

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

star, he released a self-titled third album in 1990, which included the hits " My, My, My", " Rub You the Right Way", "Fairweather Friend", and " Wrap My Body Tight". In 1993, Gill released another solo project, '' Provocative'', which included the songs "Quiet Time to Play", "A Cute, Sweet, Love Addiction", and the gospel song, "I Know Where I Stand". In 1996, Gill released '' Let's Get the Mood Right'', which included the song, "Love In an Elevator", and the single "Maybe". The same year, Johnny reunited with New Edition and recorded the album '' Home Again''.

LSG

In 1997, he collaborated with Gerald Levert and

to form the supergroup '' LSG'' (Levert-Sweat-Gill), which yielded the multi-platinum debut album '' Levert.Sweat.Gill'' and the trio’s final album ''LSG2'' in 2003. In 2004, he reunited with New Edition; it signed with Bad Boy Records and released the album '' One Love'', which included the single "Hot 2Nite".

Return to solo career

In 2011, 15 years after recording his last solo album, Gill returned with '' Still Winning'', which included "In the Mood", "Just the Way You Are", "It Would Be You", and "2nd Place". In 2014, Gill left Fontana Records and started his own label, J Skillz Records, on which he released the album '' Game Changer''. The album produced several adult R&B radio hits, including the singles "Behind Closed Doors" and the title track, "Game Changer". His New Edition bandmates appear on "This One's for Me and You". Gill joined Fantasia as an opener for Charlie Wilson's In It to Win It tour, which kicked off in February 2017. On September 6, 2019, Gill released his album '' Game Changer II''. Beginning in 2023, Gill enjoyed a resurgence of popularity with his song, "Rub You the Right Way" on the popular social media app TikTok, with various influencers using the song for their videos.

Acting career

Gill has had over 80 television and film appearances as a singer and actor. He had a cameo role on the TV show '' Family Matters'', and sang "You For Me" in the 2006 movie '' Madea's Family Reunion''. Gill starred in the 2009 stage play ''A Mother's Prayer'', alongside Robin Givens, Shirley Murdock, and Jermaine Crawford.

Awards and accolades

Grammy Awards Gill has received two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations: one with New Edition and one as a solo artist. In 1991, Gill won two Soul Train Awards: for Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album of the Year – Male (for '' Johnny Gill'') and for Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single (for " My My My"). In 2019, Gill won the SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award for Album of the Year (for ''Game Changer II'').

Discography

Studio albums * '' Johnny Gill'' (1983) * ''

'' (1985) * '' Johnny Gill'' (1990) * '' Provocative'' (1993) * '' Let's Get the Mood Right'' (1996) * '' Still Winning'' (2011) * '' Game Changer'' (2014) * '' Game Changer II'' (2019) Collaboration albums * '' Perfect Combination'' with Stacy Lattisaw (1984) * '' Heart Break'' with New Edition (1988) * '' Home Again'' with New Edition (1996) * '' Levert.Sweat.Gill'' with LSG (1997) * '' LSG2'' with LSG (2003) * '' One Love'' with New Edition (2004)

Tour

*Johnny Gill Tour 1990–1991 * Provocative Tour 1993 (1993) *Let's Get the Mood Right Tour (1996–1997) *21 Nights in Japan: Still Winning (2011) *Game Changer Tokyo Live (2015) *Charlie Wilson's In It to Win It Tour (2016) *Culture Tour New Edition (2022) *Legacy Tour New Edition (2023)

References

External links

* *
Johnny Gill
at

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Johnny 1966 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American contemporary R&B singers Songwriters from Washington, D.C. African-American songwriters American soul musicians New jack swing musicians Living people Atlantic Records artists Cotillion Records artists Interscope Records artists MCA Records artists Motown artists Singers from Washington, D.C. New Edition members LSG (band) members 21st-century African-American musicians