Song:I'm Ready
Album:I'm Ready
As a teenager in the 90s, Tevin Campbell had a string of R & B hits and also crossed over to pop. He worked with some of the top producers in the music industry. By 1999, he was already in decline when an arrest for lewd behaviour killed his career. He is now on the comeback trail. He was born Nov. 12, 1976 in Waxahachie, TX and he grew up singing in church. Though uber-producer Quincy Jones is frequently credited with discovering Campbell, he was actually discovered in 1988 when he auditioned over the phone for flute player Bobbi Humphrey. She took his demo to Warner Bros. exec Benny Medina and he introduced Campbell to Jones. Campbell debuted on the Jones album Back On The Block singing the number one R & B hit Tomorrow in 1990. Then Campbell appeared in the Prince film Graffiti Bridge and the single Round and Round reached #3 on the R & B Singles chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album T.E.V.I.N. was certified Platinum and Tell Me What You Want Me To Do was his first number one R & B hit. His 1993 album I'm Ready did even better and was certified 2XPlatinum. Can We Talk topped the R & B Singles chart and I'm Ready reached #2. Both songs reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm Ready was written and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and on that album he also worked with Prince and Narada Michael Walden. His 1996 album Back To The World did not do as well and the decline continued with his 1999 album Tevin Campbell. The thing I noticed about those two albums is Campbell had more input into the songwriting and production. I guess some singers should stick to singing. Then in Sept. 1999, Campbell was arrested in Van Nuys, CA for soliciting a lewd act from an undercover police officer. It was part of a sting operation. He was also in possession of a small amount of marijuana. He was fined when he pled no contest and attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Of course Warners dropped him. They released a Tevin Campbell comp in 2001 that is out of print. But I'm Ready is still available on CD. Campbell appeared in the 2005 Broadway revival of Hairspray and also appeared in the 2010 Australian production of the show. On a 2010 episode of The Mo'Nique Show, he said he was planning a comeback and this will be updated on an upcoming episode of the TV One reality show Life After. I'm sure he sounds much different from his chart topping days. Here's the video for I'm Ready by Tevin Campbell. This video is not on Youtube.
Tevin Campbell - I'm ready by welcomeback
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