Unique (band)
| Unique | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York, United States |
| Genres | Post-disco, garage house |
| Years active | 1982–1984 |
| Labels |
Prelude (US) CBS (UK) |
| Past members |
Deems J. Smith Darryl K. Henry Mona M. Norris |
Unique was a short-lived post-disco studio act from New York, best known for their crossover number "What I Got Is What You Need" released in 1983 for a well-established dance label, Prelude Records. The group was formed by producer/songwriter Deems J. Smith in 1982 and consists of Smith, Mona Norris, and Darryl K. Henry.[1] The said hit song somewhat established itself on the Billboard Dance Singles and Black Singles charts and even scored over the atlantic reaching No. 27 on UK Singles Chart.[2][3][4][5]
History
Around 1982, record producer Deems J. Smith hired studio musicians to appear in a project he named Unique. He was signed to dance record label Prelude and under this name released two singles: "What I Got Is What You Need" in 1983[6] and "You Make Me Feel So Good" in 1984.[6] Other people involved in the group were Mona Maria Norris and Darryl K. Henry who co-wrote "What I Got Is What You Need." Smith wrote the second song alone and it was mixed by an aspiring dance-pop producer Shep Pettibone.
Chart performance
| Year | Title | Label | Peak chart positions[4][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. Dance | U.S. R&B | UK | |||
| 1983 | "What I Got Is What You Need" | Prelude CBS |
― | 30 | 78 | 27 |
| 1984 | "You Make Me Feel So Good" | Prelude | ― | ― | ― | ― |
Discography
Singles
- "What I Got Is What You Need"
| U.S., UK 12" single |
|
|---|
- "You Make Me Feel So Good"
| U.S. 12" single |
|
|---|
Compilation appearances
Their song "What I Got Is What You Need" has been reissued on various compilation albums well into the 21st century including, but not limited to:
- Dance Mix - Dance Hits Volume 2 (1983, CBS),
- Essential 80's Garage Dancefloor Classics Volume 1 (1994, Deepbeats),
- Ferry Maat's Soul Show: Saturday Night Grooves (2005, Disky),
- Prelude's Greatest Hits - Volume 3 (Unidisc).
Legacy
Japanese rock musician Toshiki Kadomatsu's adopted portions of "What I Got Is What You Need" into "Step Into the Night," a B-side to "Girl In The Box 〜22時までの君は…I."[7] It was a Japan-only release by the Victor-RCA label RVC. The song can be found on his 1984 album AFTER 5 CLASH.
English acid house/electronic music group 808 State's song "Anacodia" samples vocals of "What I Got Is What You Need." The song is on their 1989 album 90.[8]
References
- ↑ Unique at AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2009
- 1 2 "'What I Got Is What You Need' at ChartStats". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ↑ "search for "Unique" chart performance on EveryHit.com". EveryHit. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- 1 2 "AMG: Unique - Billboard charts". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/hip-hop singles, 1942-2004 (5th ed.). California, U.S.: Record Research Inc., 2004 (originally) the University of California). p. 598. ISBN 0-89820-160-8.
- 1 2 "Unique discography". Discogs. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ↑ JAPANESE SOUL（ニッポンの魂） . STEP INTO THE LIGHT / 角松敏生. Retrieved 2014-08-07
- ↑ "What I Got Is What You Sample" 4 WhoSampled.com Limited. Retrieved 2014-08-07.