Cecelia Peniston was born in Dayton, Ohio and moved to Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 9. She attended Trevor Browne High School in Phoenix and later took to entering beauty pageants where she was crowned Miss Black Arizona in 1989. CeCe's music career in 1990 she signed to A&M Records and got her initial exposure doing featured vocals on female rapper Overweight Pooch's 1991 single "I Like It".
Discovered by famed deejay/remixer Manny Lehman, Peniston released her debut album, Finally, in 1992. The album, released on A&M Records, sold over three million copies worldwide. Her first single, "Finally", achieved #1 chart status on three Billboard charts and also hit No. 2 in the UK. In the U.S. her album went No. 70 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 in the UK. "Finally" (the single) was re-released in Europe in 1997 as a remix, reaching No. 26 on the UK singles chart. "Finally" was also used in the cult Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert as well as the television show The L Word (Season 2, Episode 5) and over 30 compilations of hit dance music.[1]
"We Got A Love Thang" (co-written by Chantay Savage) was Peniston's second single from the album. It reached #1 on Billboard's dance chart, as did her third single, "Keep On Walkin'", co-written by recording artist Kym Sims and produced by Steve Hurley. Both singles were also Top 10 hits in the UK, with "We Got A Love Thang" reaching #1 on the UK R&B chart. She also released the singles "Inside That I Cried," which peaked at #10 on the Billboard R&B chart, and "Crazy Love," which hit #31. She won the Billboard Awards for Top Dance Artist and Top New Artist of 1992 and at the end of 1993 Finally (the album) was certifed Gold or Platinum in the UK, U.S., Germany, Spain, Korea, Australia, South Africa and Italy.
Peniston's long awaited followup Thought 'Ya Knew arrived January 25, 1994. The set spawned three #1 dance/club play hits with "I'm In the Mood", "I'm Not Over You", and "Hit By Love". She was named Billboard Magazine's #1 Dance/Club Play artist of 1994. Though the album contained several club-rocking uptempo numbers like the ones that made her debut a hit, Peniston was intent on not being pigeonholed into the dance genre. For this reason, ballads like "I Will Be Received", "If You Love Me, I Will Love You", and the Brian McKnight-produced "Forever In My Heart" were included on the album. However, the album largely fell victim to record company mismarketing[2] and did not become the major hit in the US that it could have been. Overseas however, the set did well, spawning an additional single "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" which was included on the US soundtrack of the movie Ready To Wear (Pret-A-Porter).
Between releases, Peniston made a classy jazz cameo on "Don't Forget The Love" from Jeff Lorber's West Side Stories album and recorded the gospel album Good News In Hard Times as a member of The Sisters of Glory.[3] The Sisters of Glory included Albertina Walker, Thelma Houston, Phoebe Snow, Lois Walden, and Peniston. The album featured Peniston's solo performances of "How I Got Over" and "Precious Memories". Good News was so well received that the group was invited to perform at 1995's Woodstock Music Festival as well as Pope John Paul II's Christmas at the Vatican concert.[4]
Her third album, I'm Movin' On, pointedly aimed for the R&B audience. Released in September 9, 1996, the set featured a noticeably slimmed-down Peniston adorning the cover. A similarly sleek sound marked its lead single, "Movin' On", which was produced by Dave Hall (the hit maker behind Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover"). "Movin' On" cracked the Top 40 on the R&B charts and its music video and remixes both featured rapper Suga T.
Despite insistence from Peniston's management to release "Somebody Else's Guy" as a followup single, A&M chose "Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy)" as the 2nd single from the album. The midtempo R&B song produced by and performed with Peniston's then-beau JoJo Hailey of K-Ci and JoJo only peaked at #52 on Billboard's R&B charts.[5] As with the previous release, while the album's progress stalled out in the US, a David Morales remix of "Somebody Else's Guy" became a surprise hit in the UK the following year. Two remixes of the song, originally popularized by Jocelyn Brown, spawned the imported Best Of CeCe Peniston album in 1998.
Following the release of I'm Movin' On, Peniston took to the stage as Glinda the Good Witch in an all-star cast of The Wiz.[6] In addition to this success, Peniston also toured with the stage plays Treat Her Like A Lady and When A Woman Is Fed Up.[7] Peniston released her next single in early 2001. "Lifetime To Love," penned by dance diva Kristine W was a massive club hit reaching #2 on Billboard's dance chart. The single was to be offered for free download via Napster,[8] but timing prevented the deal's followthrough.[9] Peniston's career quieted somewhat until 2005 when she made several guest appearances on record, film, and television.
Among them, Peniston was featured on "Deeper Love", the first single from trumpeter David Longoria's 2005 album Terra Pax which climbed into the top 20 of Billboard's Dance charts.[10] In June 2005, Peniston appeared on NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time singing Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" and her own "Finally". In the final quarter of the year, she starred as Pamela Matthews in the Maverick Entertainment independent film Don't Touch If You Ain't Prayed, as well as taking a small role in another independent film, Pastor Jones.
Discovered by famed deejay/remixer Manny Lehman, Peniston released her debut album, Finally, in 1992. The album, released on A&M Records, sold over three million copies worldwide. Her first single, "Finally", achieved #1 chart status on three Billboard charts and also hit No. 2 in the UK. In the U.S. her album went No. 70 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 in the UK. "Finally" (the single) was re-released in Europe in 1997 as a remix, reaching No. 26 on the UK singles chart. "Finally" was also used in the cult Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert as well as the television show The L Word (Season 2, Episode 5) and over 30 compilations of hit dance music.[1]
"We Got A Love Thang" (co-written by Chantay Savage) was Peniston's second single from the album. It reached #1 on Billboard's dance chart, as did her third single, "Keep On Walkin'", co-written by recording artist Kym Sims and produced by Steve Hurley. Both singles were also Top 10 hits in the UK, with "We Got A Love Thang" reaching #1 on the UK R&B chart. She also released the singles "Inside That I Cried," which peaked at #10 on the Billboard R&B chart, and "Crazy Love," which hit #31. She won the Billboard Awards for Top Dance Artist and Top New Artist of 1992 and at the end of 1993 Finally (the album) was certifed Gold or Platinum in the UK, U.S., Germany, Spain, Korea, Australia, South Africa and Italy.
Peniston's long awaited followup Thought 'Ya Knew arrived January 25, 1994. The set spawned three #1 dance/club play hits with "I'm In the Mood", "I'm Not Over You", and "Hit By Love". She was named Billboard Magazine's #1 Dance/Club Play artist of 1994. Though the album contained several club-rocking uptempo numbers like the ones that made her debut a hit, Peniston was intent on not being pigeonholed into the dance genre. For this reason, ballads like "I Will Be Received", "If You Love Me, I Will Love You", and the Brian McKnight-produced "Forever In My Heart" were included on the album. However, the album largely fell victim to record company mismarketing[2] and did not become the major hit in the US that it could have been. Overseas however, the set did well, spawning an additional single "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" which was included on the US soundtrack of the movie Ready To Wear (Pret-A-Porter).
Between releases, Peniston made a classy jazz cameo on "Don't Forget The Love" from Jeff Lorber's West Side Stories album and recorded the gospel album Good News In Hard Times as a member of The Sisters of Glory.[3] The Sisters of Glory included Albertina Walker, Thelma Houston, Phoebe Snow, Lois Walden, and Peniston. The album featured Peniston's solo performances of "How I Got Over" and "Precious Memories". Good News was so well received that the group was invited to perform at 1995's Woodstock Music Festival as well as Pope John Paul II's Christmas at the Vatican concert.[4]
Her third album, I'm Movin' On, pointedly aimed for the R&B audience. Released in September 9, 1996, the set featured a noticeably slimmed-down Peniston adorning the cover. A similarly sleek sound marked its lead single, "Movin' On", which was produced by Dave Hall (the hit maker behind Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover"). "Movin' On" cracked the Top 40 on the R&B charts and its music video and remixes both featured rapper Suga T.
Despite insistence from Peniston's management to release "Somebody Else's Guy" as a followup single, A&M chose "Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy)" as the 2nd single from the album. The midtempo R&B song produced by and performed with Peniston's then-beau JoJo Hailey of K-Ci and JoJo only peaked at #52 on Billboard's R&B charts.[5] As with the previous release, while the album's progress stalled out in the US, a David Morales remix of "Somebody Else's Guy" became a surprise hit in the UK the following year. Two remixes of the song, originally popularized by Jocelyn Brown, spawned the imported Best Of CeCe Peniston album in 1998.
Following the release of I'm Movin' On, Peniston took to the stage as Glinda the Good Witch in an all-star cast of The Wiz.[6] In addition to this success, Peniston also toured with the stage plays Treat Her Like A Lady and When A Woman Is Fed Up.[7] Peniston released her next single in early 2001. "Lifetime To Love," penned by dance diva Kristine W was a massive club hit reaching #2 on Billboard's dance chart. The single was to be offered for free download via Napster,[8] but timing prevented the deal's followthrough.[9] Peniston's career quieted somewhat until 2005 when she made several guest appearances on record, film, and television.
Among them, Peniston was featured on "Deeper Love", the first single from trumpeter David Longoria's 2005 album Terra Pax which climbed into the top 20 of Billboard's Dance charts.[10] In June 2005, Peniston appeared on NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time singing Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" and her own "Finally". In the final quarter of the year, she starred as Pamela Matthews in the Maverick Entertainment independent film Don't Touch If You Ain't Prayed, as well as taking a small role in another independent film, Pastor Jones.
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