Zelma Davis
Zelma Davis is a Liberian-born American singer-songwriter. She is primarily known for her number-one dance hits "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." and "Just a Touch of Love" with C+C Music Factory. She has won four American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Grammy Award nomination with the group.
Zelma Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Liberia |
| Genres | R&B, house, dance, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actress |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Columbia |
Career
Upon C+C Music Factory's emergence onto the scene in late 1990, Davis was marketed as the principal vocalist of the ensemble—despite there having been several other female vocalists, in addition to her, who had provided the vocals to various tracks on the group's debut album, Gonna Make You Sweat. Davis appeared in the music video for the album's number-one Hot 100-charting title track, where she lip-synched to vocals which had, in fact, been sung by Martha Wash.
Wash (who had also provided vocals to Black Box during the same period, and also saw that group use models to lip-sync to her voice in the music videos) did not appreciate the perception of Davis being the voice behind the hit song, and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the group. With this happening during the height of the Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal, Davis found herself being accused of being a "no talent" who was being featured by the group only because of her looks – despite her having actually performed a number of songs on their studio album Gonna Make You Sweat.
In 1992, she made an appearance on the American sitcom "Blossom".[1] In 1993, Davis performed a rendition of Dennis Edwards's song "Don't Look Any Further" for Dave Koz's album Lucky Man. In 1994, Davis reunited with C+C Music Factory to record their second album, Anything Goes!.[2] The album's lead single "Do You Wanna Get Funky", which featured Davis and Martha Wash, peaked at number-one on Billboard's Dance chart.[2] Davis also appears on the song "I Found Love".[2]
In 1997, she released a song called "I'm Calling (Say It Loud)" on the soundtrack for the documentary film, When We Were Kings.[3] In 2000, Davis released a single called "Power", which peaked at number-one on Billboard's Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales.[4]
In June 2008, Davis appeared on DJ Heavygrinder's single "Mind Reader".[5] In August 2008, Zelma Davis and Amber released a remake of Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand's "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)".[6] In 2009, she released another single with DJ Heavygrinder called "Chains of Love". In 2010, she released three singles: "Free Love",[7] "Touch the Sky",[8] and "Summer of Love".[9]
In January 2015, she released a single with Dank called "1994 (Rhythm Is Right)".[10] In 2017, Davis appeared in the TV series "Dr. Ken".[11]
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US R&B [12] |
US Dance [12] |
BEL [13] |
CAN [14] |
FIN [15] |
GER [16] |
IRE [17] |
NLD [18] |
NZ [19] |
SWI [20] |
UK [21] | ||||
| "Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)" (with C+C Music Factory) |
1991 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 20 |
|
Gonna Make You Sweat |
| "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." (with C+C Music Factory) |
4 | 31 | 1 | — | 1 | 10 | 27 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 4 |
| ||
| "Just a Touch of Love" (with C+C Music Factory) |
50 | 83 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 47 | 21 | 21 | 31 | |||
| "Do You Wanna Get Funky" (with C+C Music Factory, Martha Wash, and Trilogy) |
1994 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 38 | 1 | — | 41 | — | 18 | 2 | — | 27 | Anything Goes! | |
| "I Found Love" (with C+C Music Factory) |
1995 | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 26 | ||
| "Power" | 2000 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Mind Reader" (DJ Heavygrinder featuring Zelma Davis) |
2008 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (with Amber) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Chains of Love" (DJ Heavygrinder featuring Zelma Davis) |
2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Free Love" | 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Touch the Sky" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Summer of Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "1994 (Rhythm Is Right)" (with Dank) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Awards and nominations
- American Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result[22] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "C+C Music Factory" | Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group | Won |
| "C+C Music Factory" | Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist | Won | |
| "C+C Music Factory" | Favorite Dance New Artist | Won | |
| "C+C Music Factory" | Favorite Dance Artist | Won | |
- Grammy Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "C+C Music Factory" | Best New Artist | Nominated |
- MTV Video Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" | Best Dance Video | Won |
| Best Choreography in a Video | Won | ||
| Video of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best New Artist in a Video | Nominated | ||
| Viewer's Choice | Nominated | ||
| "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." | Best Art Direction in a Video | Nominated | |
- Note: These are nominations Davis shares with the C+C Music Factory.
See also
References
- Blossom – Full Cast & Crew. IMDb. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (April 2, 1994). Clivilles and Cole retool C+C Music Factory. Billboard, Vol. 106: No. 14, Page 24. Retrieved from https://books.google.com
- When We Were Kings – Soundtrack | Overview. All Music Guide. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (October 21, 2000). The Dance Trax Hot Plate. Billboard, Vol. 112: No. 43, Page 33. Retrieved from https://books.google.com
- Heavygrinder — Mind Reader (feat. Zelma Davis). iTunes. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Amber & Zelma Davis — No More Tears (Enough Is Enough). iTunes. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Zelma Davis — Free Love (Maxi-Single). iTunes. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Zelma — Touch the Sky. Discogs. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Zelma — Summer of Love. Discogs. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Dank & Zelma Davis — 1994 (Rhythm Is Right). iTunes. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- Dr. Ken – Full Cast & Crew. IMDb. Retrieved on June 5, 2017
- "C and C Music Factory – Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- "Radio2 top 30: 1 oktober 2016". C and C Music Factory – Chart history. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- "Gonna make you sweat (everybody dance now) in Canadian 10 Dance Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- "GER Charts > C & C Factory". Media Control Charts. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- "Gonna make you sweat (everybody dance now) in Irish Chart". IRMA. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- "NLD Charts > C+C Factory and Martha Wash". MegaCharts. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- "NZ Charts > C+C Factory". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- "SWI Charts > C+C Factory". Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- "UK Charts > C+C Music Factory". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- Winners Database|American Music Awards. American Music Awards. Retrieved on June 11, 2017
- C + C Music Factory | The Recording Academy. Grammy. Retrieved on June 11, 2017
- MTV Video Music Awards: MTV VMAs 1991. Awards and Shows. Retrieved on June 11, 2017