Naturally 7

Naturally 7

Naturally 7
Background information
Origin New York City
Genres Vocal play
Years active 1999–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website naturallyseven.com
Members
  • Roger Thomas
  • Warren Thomas
  • Rod Eldridge
  • Rickey Cort
  • Dwight Stewart
  • Garfield Buckley
  • Kelvin Mitchell
Past members
  • Jamal Reed
  • Marcus Davis
  • Andre Edwards
  • Armand "Hops" Hutton
  • Napolien "Polo" Cummings
Notable instruments
  • Vocals
  • instrument mimicry

Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play" which according to group leader Roger Thomas is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound". They simulate the sounds of an instrumental band using only their voices, mouths and distortion effects. The group was formed in 1999 in New York City. It currently consists of the Thomas brothers (Roger (musical director, arranger, first baritone, rapping) and Warren (drums, guitar, third tenor)), Rod Eldridge (first tenor, scratching, trumpet), Rickey Cort (fourth tenor, guitar), Dwight Stewart (second baritone, vocals, trombone), Garfield Buckley (second tenor, harmonica), and Kelvin "Kelz" Mitchel (bass guitar, trumpet).[1]

History

Early Years

Naturally 7 was founded in 1999 by brothers Roger and Warren Thomas, who recruited five other singers the brothers had come to know over the years of singing around the city. Roger Thomas developed his singing quality after being in an out of several and traditional male groups over the years. When the group was invited to sing at a major a cappella competition in New York City, they won and moved onto the nationals before they took two more wins in the competition. Riding their new-found success and still having made no decision whether to have Naturally 7 as an a cappella group or a traditional band, Roger had the novel idea that the group would become both.[2][3]

Ready II Fly

Naturally 7 has released a number of albums over the years since the formation at New York City in 1999, including their first debut studio album entitled Non-Fiction released in 2000, What Is It released in 2003, Christmas... It's a Love Story released in 2004, and Ready II Fly in 2006, released through Virginia Records. The group gained success by the partial cover of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight", titled as "Feel It (In the Air Tonight)", which contains additional lyrics from the group. The performance of the song at a subway has received over four and a half million hits on YouTube alone, and a number of people discovering the group, which adds to a figure daily. The single itself has turned into a Top 3-chart- success in countries outside North America, such as France, Belgium and South Africa, and also made the single charts in other European countries.[3]

Wall of Sound

In January 2009, the group released Wall of Sound as an exclusive special album in the United Kingdom and Ireland to commemorate their participation at the Royal Variety Performance. It contains known material from their previous albums, as well as five brand new tracks, which entered the British Album-Charts in the first week after release at #29. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, performing "Stardust" with Michael Bublé. In November 2009, the group travelled to Bermuda, as they took part in Quincy Jones's 2009 Bermuda Music Festival performing before an enthusiastic crowd.[3]

Vocal Play

The CD/DVD version of Vocal Play, which was released in 2010, contains original self-made tracks, such as "SOS (Anybody Out There)", the power ballad of "Love Me", the Motown-influenced “Ready or Not”, the Latin 768 and a duet with Michael Bublé on the Dinah Washington classic, “Relax Max”. The DVD includes HD live material from their performance at Madison Square Garden, extensive interviews with each group member, as well as their video clips. In fall 2010, the group, along with American rapper Ludacris, were featured on a track that appeared in Quincy Jones's album, Soul Bossa Nostra, which led them to a performance at The View in November, before continuing on touring with Bublé. Naturally 7 contributed a few songs for the soundtrack of the 2010 German/English dub film Animals United, including "King of the Road", "Splish Splash", "Hokey Pokey", and "Move On Up".[3]

Members

Current

Name Voice part Primary vocal play role Secondary vocal play roles Years present
Roger Anthony Thomas 1st baritone, leader rap keyboard, synth, trumpet, strings 1999 ~ present
Warren Andrew Thomas 3rd tenor drums, percussion guitar, trumpet, string 1999 ~ present
Roderick Lowell Eldridge 1st tenor DJ scratching, loop pedal percussion, guitar, trumpet, string, flute 1999 ~ present
Dwight Martindale Stewart 2nd baritone trombone rhythm guitar 1999 ~ present
Garfield Rolando Buckley 2nd tenor harmonica trumpet, strings, rhythm guitar 1999 ~ present
Lee Ricardo Cort (Ricky Cort) 4th tenor guitar trumpet, strings, synth 2015 ~ present
Kelvin "Kelz" Mitchell bass bass guitar contrabass, trumpet 2015 ~ present

Former

Name Voice part Primary vocal play role Secondary vocal play roles Years present
Napoleon “Polo” Cummings 4th tenor guitar trumpet, strings, synth 2010 ~ 2015
Armand “Hops” Hutton bass bass guitar contrabass, bass synth 2006 ~ 2014
Jamal Mackram Reed 4th tenor guitar, flute string, trumpet, synth 2000 ~ 2010
Andre Edwards bass bass guitar 2006 ~ 2006
Marcus H. Davis bass bass guitar 1999 ~ 2006
David LaRoche 4th tenor 1999 ~ 2000

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Peak chart positions[4]
AUS FRA UK
2000 Non-Fiction – – –
2003 What Is It – – –
2006 Ready II Fly 14 64 –
2009 Wall of Sound – – 29
2010 Vocal Play – – –
2012 Live – – –
2015 Hidden in Plain Sight – – –

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions[5]
AUT BEL (Vl) BEL (Wa) FRA GER ITA SWI
2003 "Music Is the Key"
(with Sarah Connor)		 6 3 11 – 1 – 2
2006 "Feel It (In the Air Tonight)" – – 3 15 55 14 –

Other songs

The following songs are included on the soundtrack for the 2010 German/English dub film, Animals United:

References

  1. ↑ Naturally 7 Biography
  2. ↑ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi Naturally 7 - Biography Billboard Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Naturally 7 Biography Naturally 7 Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ GER single chart positions AUS FRA single chart positionsUK single chart positions
  5. ↑ GER single chart positions AUT FRA ITA SWI BE single chart positions
  6. ↑ Animals United (Original Soundtrack) iTunes Retrieved September 2, 2014
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.