Tony! Toni! Toné!

At the turn of the 1990s, Tonyy! Toni! Toné! bridged the gap between contemporary R&B and its modern version, New Jack Swing. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1986, it includes singer and guitarist D'Wayne Wiggins, his brother Raphael Saadiq on bass and vocals, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on keyboards and drums. With a strange name derived from a joke, the trio accompanying Prince on his Parade Tour decided to break free and performed in the San Francisco Bay Area, recording their first EP before signing with the Wing label, a subsidiary of the Polygram group. Success was immediate with the debut album Who? (1988), featuring the #1 R&B hit "Little Walter" and three other chart-topping singles. In 1990, Tony! Toni! Toné! scored a major hit with The Revival and its four #1 R&B hits "The Blues", "Feels Good" (#9 pop), "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" and "Whatever You Want". At the height of his popularity with his successor Sons of Soul (1993), certified double platinum, Tony! Toni! Toné! reached a wider audience with the singles "If I Had No Loot" (#7 on the pop chart) and "Anniversary " (#10), as well as four other chart-toppers. Known at the time for their New Jack Swing style, the trio's new album was a pioneer in the neo-soul genre. The critically acclaimed fourth album, House of Music, released in 1996, went platinum, buoyed by the latest hits "Let's Get Down" and "Thinking of You". Busy with his career as a composer and producer before launching his band Lucy Pearl and becoming a leading artist, Raphael Saadiq leaves the group, then maintained by his brother. The three members reunite for a tour in 2023. On March 7, 2025, D'Wayne Wiggins dies of bladder cancer at the age of 64.

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