Keni Burke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Keni Burke | ||
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 Keni Burke on the cover of his 1981 album, You're The Best
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Kenneth M. Burke | |
| Born | September 28, 1953 (age 53) Chicago, USA |
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| Genre(s) | R&B, Jazz, Soul | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, keyboard, synthesizer | |
| Years active | 1966-present | |
| Label(s) | Buddah, Dark Horse, RCA, Expansion | |
| Associated acts |
The Five Stairsteps | |
Kenneth M. Burke (b. Sep 28, 1953, Chicago, Illinois), better known as Keni Burke, is an R&B singer and musician, who began his career as a member of the 1970s soul outfit, The Five Stairsteps.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Five Stairsteps
As a member of the Five Stairsteps, Burke wrote the group's first minor hit "You Waited Too Long" in 1966, but the group would see their biggest success with the million selling song "O-o-h Child" in 1970. The group went on to sign with George Harrison's Dark Horse Records in 1970, and had their next hit with the Burke-penned "From Us to You", off their album 2nd Resurrection, released in 1976. The group disbanded soon after.
[edit] Solo career and session work
Skilled as a guitarist, and bass player, Burke continued to work for the Dark Horse label as a session musician, while burgeoning a solo career of his own. In 1977, he released his self-titled debut album, which featured the songs ""Keep on Singing", "Shuffle", and "From Me to You".
During this period he contributed instrumentation to songs by a diverse range of artists such as Sly & the Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Billy Preston, Terry Callier, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross, and Gladys Knight.
Burke's next release was 1981's self-produced You're the Best. The next year, Burke followed this with his best selling album to date, Changes, which contained the singles "Hang Tight" and his signature hit "Keep Rising To The Top" - a big success in Chicago. The song has become a popular sampling choice for Hip Hop artists, having been borrowed by artists such as LL Cool J ("Around The Way Girl"), Pete Rock & CL Smooth ("Take You There"), Mary J. Blige ("Love No Limit"), and once again by LL Cool J for the song "Paradise", with Amerie.
Throughout the 80s and into the 90s, Burke continued his session and production work for artists such as Peabo Bryson, and Keith Sweat, and in 1998 released his last album to date Nothin' But Love, which contained the hit "Indigenous Love", which was popular in Britain.
[edit] Discography
- Keni Burke (1977)
- You're The Best (1981)
- Changes (1982)
- Nothin' But Love (1998)
