Tony! Toni! Toné!

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Tony! Toni! Toné!


Img_capt = Clockwise from top: D'wayne Wiggins, Timothy Christian Riley and Charlie Ray Wiggins, collectively known as Tony! Toni! Toné!
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Oakland, California, United States
Genre = R&B/Soul
Years_active = 1988-1997
2003-present
Label = Grass Roots Entertainment
Wing/Mercury Records
Associated_acts = Lucy Pearl
URL =
Current_members = D'wayne Wiggins
Timothy Christian Riley
Amar Khalil
Past_members = Raphael Saadiq
Elijah Baker
Carl Wheeler
Randall Wiggins
Antron Haile

Tony! Toni! Toné! was a new jack swing/R&B group from Oakland, California popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. It was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Charlie Ray Wiggins (also known as Raphael Saadiq) on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums. Other members were Elijah Baker, Carl Wheeler, Randall Wiggins, Amar Khalil, and Antron Haile.

Their name is a play on the name of the World War II movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!".

History

1988

Their first album, "Who?", was released in 1988. The album went gold and had several hit singles. The first of these, "Little Walter" went to #1 on the R&B charts. While none of the singles went gold, the next three singles, "Born Not To Know", "For The Love Of You" and "Baby Doll" were all Top 10 R&B singles.

1990

The group's second album "The Revival" was released in 1990 and reached platinum status. The album spawned several #1 R&B hits with "It Never Rains In Southern California", "Feels Good", "The Blues", and "Whatever You Want" all topping the R&B charts. "Feels Good" was the group's first single to breach the Top 10 of the Hot 100 and managed to go gold. The single "Me & You" appears on the soundtrack to the movie Boyz N The Hood.

1993

Furthering the group's success, they released their best selling album to date, "Sons of Soul", in 1993. The album went double platinum and had hit singles "If I had No Loot" which hit #7 on the Hot 100, "Anniversary" which reached #10 on the Hot 100, and "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow" which reached #4 on the R&B charts.

1996

In 1996, the group released their last album to date, "House of Music". The album lacked the strong singles of earlier entries, only getting "Thinking Of You" & "Let's Get Down" into the top 10 on the R&B charts, with "Thinking Of You" hitting #22 on the Hot 100. The album still managed to reach platinum status.

Other endeavors

Raphael Saadiq released his first solo effort, the Top 20 "Billboard" hit "Ask of You" for the "Higher Learning" soundtrack, in 1995. Around the same time, Saadiq became a much-sought-after R&B producer, scoring hits for D'Angelo, Total, The Roots, and others. Later in the 2000s, he started a solo career, releasing two albums, "Instant Vintage" (2002) and "Ray Ray" (2004).

Lucy Pearl was an R&B supergroup formed in 1999 as the brainchild of Raphael Saadiq. The other members of Lucy Pearl were Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). They released their self-titled debut album in 2000. After two singles, "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man", Dawn Robinson left and was replaced by Joi. The new line-up released the track "Without You". The group split up shortly after, releasing no other material.

In 2005, Dwayne Wiggins became the band leader for the "Weekends at the D.L." television show hosted by comedian D. L. Hughley, which airs on the Comedy Central cable network.

Personal life

Dwayne Wiggins is married to the owner of a popular Oakland coffee shop Jahva House. Jahva House eventually closed with a company to distribute the coffee in the works. Together they have 3 children, 1 girl and 2 boys.

Reunions

In 2003, members of Tony! Toni! Toné! except for Saadiq were invited by Alicia Keys to guest on her album "The Diary of Alicia Keys". The song that resulted from that session was called "Diary", and when it was released as a single in the fall of 2004, it gave them their first Top 10 US hit in eleven years.

In 2006, the group reunited for the New Jack Reunion Tour, running throughout the U.S.

Current Projects

The group is working on their reunion album with an album planned for release in 2009.

Discography

tudio Albums

ee also

*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

*imdb name|id=0927775|name=Dwayne P. Wiggins