Kenny Lattimore

Kenny Lattimore
Born April 10, 1970
Washington, D.C.
Genres R&B, gospel, jazz
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1988–present
Labels Epic (Maniquin, 1988)
Columbia (1995–2000)
Arista (2000–2004)
LaFace (2004–2007)
Verve (2008–2009),
SincereSoul / EMI (2011-)
Associated acts Chanté Moore, Maniquin, William Becton
Website KennyLattimore.com

Kenny Lattimore (born April 10, 1970) is an American R&B singer.

Biography

Early career

Lattimore first developed his interest for music in the high school band program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. He often acknowledges Dr. Barbara Baker for setting him on his current path. Lattimore spoke at the 2005 Eleanor Roosevelt High School Graduation.[1] He is an alumnus of Howard University in Washington, DC.

A stint as session vocalist for R&B group Maniquin led to an official place in the group as lead singer. D'Extra Wiley of the 90's R&B group II D Extreme was also a member of Maniquin, briefly before signing to MCA records. The group released a lone self-titled album for Epic Records in 1989. Its lead single "I Wanna Ride" was an answer to the hit single "Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles in both sound and lyric. Both artists' singles were produced and co-written by Charlie Wilson of Gap Band fame.[2] Lattimore soon left Maniquin to pursue a solo career, and the group subsequently disbanded.[3]

His own debut album Kenny Lattimore materialized on Columbia Records in 1996 to much fanfare. That set boasted a pair of Top 20 hits: "Never Too Busy" and the Grammy-nominated perennial wedding favorite "For You," written by high school friend Kenny Lerum. The huge success of the album earned Lattimore a win for Best New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards in 1996,[4] and eventually achieved Gold sales status.

He followed up his debut with From the Soul of Man, another critically acclaimed set of classically styled soul music in 1998, yielding the hits "Days Like This" and "If I Lose My Woman" along with a standout cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." After a short hiatus, the singer re-emerged on Arista Records when, then president Clive Davis signed him to a new contract. He eventually released a more contemporary R&B album, 2001's Weekend under L.A. Reid's regime as Davis was only allowed to take a small defined number of artists to his next venture, J Records. The title track and first single was anchored by a sample of Blondie's "Rapture" and became a radio favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.[5] Davis may have had a different vision for his career, but, he ended up recording three albums for Arista Records as Reid also had a vision that included a modern day version of a classic soul duo with his new bride, the Gold level artist, Chante Moore whom he recorded two duet albums that were both critically and commercially acclaimed.

In keeping with the "lover man" image that came to the fore with the hits that launched his career, Lattimore is known for his dramatic stage shows, vocal agility, and romantic ambiance. The New York Times hailed him as a "modern soul man" on stage.[6] The singer has long established in interviews his personal mission to show the "strong, but sensitive and caring side of Black men."[7]

Career as a duo

He married R&B singer Chanté Moore on January 1, 2002.[8] In 2003, he and his wife recorded a duet album entitled Things That Lovers Do consisting of classic soul songs from the '70s and '80s plus two new original songs. The standout singles were the smooth and contemporary "Loveable (From Your Head To Your Toes)" and an upbeat funky cover of René & Angela's "You Don't Have To Cry". The music video for the latter featured a very pregnant Chanté Moore shortly before she gave birth to the couple's son Kenny Jr. on April 10, 2003; Lattimore's 33rd birthday. Lattimore and Moore continued promoting the album with a hugely successful touring stage show.

Following the success of Things That Lovers Do, Kenny released another album of duets with his wife. This time, the duo bested the previous effort with a double-CD of gospel and R&B love songs entitled Uncovered/Covered. The set was led by dual singles, a slick Bryan Michael Cox production "Figure It Out", and "Make Me Like The Moon", a stirring gospel ballad co-written by Kenny and Chanté, and produced by Fred Hammond. Uncovered/Covered was released in stores October 10, 2006 on LaFace/Verity/Zomba Music Group and debuted at #10 on the Billboard R&B Charts and #2 on the Billboard Gospel charts its first week in stores. One reviewer called the album a "mood motivator appropriately set to ruffle the covers of the marriage bed."[9]

Lattimore and Chanté Moore recorded a cover version of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet "You're All I Need to Get By". It serves as the theme song for the BET reality series The Family Crews. In a July 27, 2011 statement on Chante's Facebook page confirmed that her and Kenny were officially divorced.

New music as a solo artist

In 2008, Lattimore released a cover album with Verve Records entitled Timeless on September 9, 2008. The lead single "You Are My Starship" was originally performed by Norman Connor featuring Michael Henderson.[10] Kenny was also featured on the uptempo dance song "Another Love" by Brian Culbertson.

Kenny Lattimore began his own record company SincereSoul Records in 2012. He released his album Back 2 Cool on January 22, 2013.[11] The album's first single "Find a Way" produced by Ivan "Orthodox" Barias & Carvin "Ransum" Higgins will hit radio on Valentine's Day 2012. The second single is "Back 2 Cool" featuring Kelly Price.

Discography

Albums

Year Artist Album Label Charts/Sales Info
1989 Maniquin Maniquin Epic
1996 Kenny Lattimore Kenny Lattimore Columbia Chart Peak: US Pop #92, R&B #19, Heatseekers #1. RIAA Description: Gold.
1998 Kenny Lattimore From the Soul of Man Columbia Chart peak: US Pop #71, R&B #15.
2001 Kenny Lattimore Weekend Arista Chart Peak: US Pop #64, R&B #25.
2003 Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore Things That Lovers Do Arista Chart Peak: US Pop #31, R&B #3.
Worldwide sales: 1 million copies.
2006 Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore Uncovered/Covered LaFace/Verity Chart peak: US Pop #95, R&B #10, Gospel #2.
2008 Kenny Lattimore Timeless Verve
2015 Kenny Lattimore Anatomy Of A Love Song eOne Music

Compilations

Year Artist Album Label
2004 Kenny Lattimore Days Like This:
The Best Of Kenny Lattimore
Columbia/Legacy
2006 Kenny Lattimore For You (compilation) Sony Music
Special Products

Singles

Year Artist Title Album US US R&B
1989 Maniquin "I Wanna Ride" Maniquin
Maniquin "Funny Feeling" b/w "Why Do You Lie" Maniquin
1996 Kenny Lattimore "Never Too Busy" Kenny Lattimore 89 19
Kenny Lattimore "Just What It Takes" Kenny Lattimore - 55
1997 Kenny Lattimore "For You" Kenny Lattimore 33 6
1998 Kenny Lattimore "Days Like This" From the Soul of Man - 84
1999 Kenny Lattimore "If I Lose My Woman" From the Soul of Man - 50
Kenny Lattimore "Heaven & Earth" From the Soul of Man - -
Kenny Lattimore "Love Will Find a Way"
(Duet with Heather Headley)
From the Soul of Man - -
2001 Kenny Lattimore "Weekend" Weekend - 51
Kenny Lattimore "Don't Deserve" Weekend - -
2003 Kenny Lattimore & Chanté Moore "Loveable (From Your Head To Your Toes)" Things That Lovers Do - -
Kenny Lattimore & Chanté Moore "You Don't Have To Cry" Things That Lovers Do - -
2005 Kenny Lattimore & Chanté Moore "Tonight [2 Step]" Uncovered/Covered - -
2006 Kenny Lattimore & Chanté Moore "Figure It Out" Uncovered/Covered - -
Kenny Lattimore & Chanté Moore "Make Me Like The Moon" Uncovered/Covered - -
2008 Kenny Lattimore "You Are My Starship" Timeless - -
2012 Kenny Lattimore "Find a Way" Back 2 Cool - 55
Kenny Lattimore "Back 2 Cool"
(Featuring Kelly Price)
Back 2 Cool - -
2013 Kenny Lattimore "Heart Stops" Back 2 Cool - -
2015 Kenny Lattimore "Love Me Back" Back 2 Cool - -

Album appearances and collaborations

Year Song Artist Album
1996 "The Time Of Year" Kenny Lattimore Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas
1997 "Can't Get Enough" Kenny Lattimore Love Jones
"Everything You Want" Ray J Everything You Want
"The Promise"
"Because Of You"
"River" (featuring Kenny Lattimore) Peter White Songs of the Season
1998 "Love Will Find A Way" Kenny Lattimore & Heather Headley The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
1999 "Just To Keep You Satisfied" Kenny Lattimore Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album
"Beautiful Girl" Kenny Lattimore The Best Man
"Miracles" Kenny Lattimore Touched By An Angel: The Christmas Album
2001 "Someone" (featuring Kenny Lattimore) Brian Culbertson Nice & Slow
"Someone (Bonus Mix)" (featuring Kenny Lattimore)
2002 "Nobody Knows You" Heather B. Eternal Affairs
2003 "thereason" Musiq Soulstar
2010 "One More…" (featuring Kenny Lattimore) Kim Waters Love Stories
"Another Love" (featuring Kenny Lattimore) Brian Culbertson XII

Discography References:[12]

References

External links