Artist:Donna Allen
Song:Serious
Album:Perfect Timing: Bonus Tracks
For most of her career, Donna Allen has been a backup singer. But she scored a top five R&B hit with the 1986 single Serious. It crossed over to pop. She was born May 15,1958 in Key West, FL. but she grew up in Tampa. A one time Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader, Donna sang backup for Miami Sound Machine while performing in the bands Hi-Octane, Trama and Maxx. After getting together with producer Lou Pace, Donna signed with 21 Records with PolyGram distribution. Donna knew Pace from his remix and production work with Miami Sound Machine. 21 Records was owned by Golden Earring's manager Fred Haayen. Serious was the first single from the 1986 album Perfect Timing. It reached #5 on the R&B Singles chart and #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #8 on the British Singles chart. So that was pretty good. Donna and Pace wrote the song with studio musicians known as The Blitz. They played on the album. They are Emridge Jones on keyboards, Gary King on guitar, Reggie White on bass and Harry King on drums. They also sang backup vocals on the album with the legendary Betty Wright. The male vocalist in the video is not credited but it must be one of the Blitz guys. The vocoder is by Jimmy Magnoli. Subsequent singles did OK on the R&B charts. Perfect Timing was released in 2013 with bonus tracks by the British label Big Break Records which is a subsidiary of Cherry Red. For Donna's 1988 album Heaven on Earth, Pace started his own label Oceana with Atlantic distribution. Donna's cover of the Maze classic Joy and Pain reached #3 on the R&B Singles chart. After that Donna returned to backup singing. She toured with Gloria Estefan for years. Her 1995 single Real from the film The Specialist was a modest dance hit. Donna appeared on the 2013 season of The Voice. She lost in round two. And she self released an album in 2015. Here's the video for Serious by Donna Allen.
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