I apologize for the lack of posts, but the summer has been really busy so far! And since I like to research the acts I post and not just post album links, it takes a bit more time to put together posts. But I will when I can, and to tide you over here is another often requested group that is also in keeping with the 'new Jill swing' vibe of the last couple posts. Good 2 Go were brought together in Los Angeles by manager Hiriam Hicks and consisted of Kathy Webb, Melissa Miller, Missy Newman, Natalie Fernie and Cindy Shows. Hicks had a deal with Giant Records to create a female group, and clearly the idea was to create a female version of Giant Records' biggest act at the time, Color Me Badd, the all-male and mostly all-white new jack swing group (and, according to Natalie, a rival for the Good Girls). The majority of the album was produced by Dr. Freeze, who was behind CMB's biggest hit "I Wanna Sex You Up" and Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison", another act that Hicks managed. The other tracks were produced by a variety of lesser-known R&B producers that had also worked with those bands. The girls' first single, "Never Satisfied", reached #64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten R&B hit, thanks to the fact that, like I mentioned with previous postees Rainbow Girls, the single was initially released without their picture on the cover. Black audiences just assumed that they were black artists, which was the label's intent. Once the audience made the song popular, the video was released to reveal that it was a bunch of white girls. A second single, "He Thinks He's All That", was released soon after and failed to make a similar impact, likely due in part to the label's refusal to make a video, though perhaps the fact that the ladies were revealed to be white worked against them. Giant wanted the group to be a major pop crossover success, and when that didn't happen they dropped them. The girls broke up and went their own ways, though some still keep in touch and work sporadically in the music world. To hear a great interview with Natalie Fernie from a few years ago about the group's career, go HERE.Video for Never Satisfied
Download Good 2 Go
| 1 | | Good 2 Go | | |
| 2 | | Go With The Flow | | |
| 3 | | Notice Me | | |
| 4 | | Money Can't Buy Love | | |
| 5 | | White House | | |
| 6 | | Never Satisfied | | |
| 7 | | He Thinks He's All That | | |
| 8 | | Don't Want To Change You | | |
| 9 | | Romance You | | |
| 10 | | Oooooo Song |
I have to disagree. The fact that these girls were White didn't hurt them with the R&B audience. Look at Teena Marie and even George Michael. Both these artists had continued success in this genre.
ReplyDeleteGood 2 Go's situation was just handled poorly. From single selection to promotion. "Never Satisfied" was a strong showing for a first single but "He Thinks He's All That" was definitely not single-worthy. At that time, artists were following up their uptempo songs with ballads and for some reason, the situation worked. For serious vocalists like Good 2 Go, following this formula could have definitely helped them since the had two great ballads on the album. But the powers-that-be chose a song that did not show the true vocal talents of these ladies. This is often the case with one-hit-wonder situations and Good 2 Go's situation fits, thanks to Giant's poor handling of the situation.
Giant was also experiencing financial problems which, didn't do the girl's situation any favors.