Born & Raised:
Name: Calvin Richardson. Born and raised in Monroe, N.C.
Early Life:
Calvin Richardson is the fifth of nine children and the son of a Gospel singer. His life as a performer goes back to childhood: as a kid, Calvin's mother led a Gospel act called The Willing Wonders and Calvin was the group's youngest member. He grew up listening to such 1970s Soul acts as Bobby Womack, Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway, all of whom influenced his vocal style. He also grew up as friends with Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey & Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey, the brothers who eventually went on to join the R&B group Jodeci. (It has been reported that Calvin is related to K-Ci & JoJo, but this has not been verified.)
"Undacova" Country Boy:
After Jodeci hit the big time, their success inspired Calvin, who helped form a R&B vocal group called Undacova. Undacova had a song called "Love Slave" appear on the soundtrack to the 1995 urban film New Jersey Drive, but the group didn't last long and never released an album. Richardson eventually went on to become a solo artist and landed a deal with the Uptown/Universal music label. His first solo album, Country Boy, was released in 1999 and featured the singles "True Love" (featuring Chico DeBarge) and I'll Take Her (featuring K-Ci Hailey). Do to poor sales, however, Calvin was dropped by Universal Records.
The Hollywood Records Years:
After being dropped by Universal, Calvin eventually rebounded and landed another record deal, this time with Hollywood Records. In September 2003, he released his second album, 2:35 PM. The album, which was named after the time that his son Souljah was born, featured one hit, the Grammy-nominated "More Than A Woman" featuring Angie Stone. Other songs released as singles from the album were "You've Got Me High" (featuring Slum Village) and "Keep On Pushin'." Despite the success of "More Than A Woman," however, sales of 2:35 PM were poor. In 2004, Calvin asked for and received his release from Hollywood Records.
Currently:
After being released from his Hollywood Records contract, Calvin subsequently signed with Shanachie Records. His first Shanachie single, "Sang No More," was released to radio stations in March 2008. And the full album, When Love Comes came out May 27, 2008.
Quote:
"I would like to be remembered as the number one artist of my time who brought back the movement of real music." Calvin Richardson, to soulismsofficialblog, October 2007.
