Take 6

With roots in gospel, doo wop, and sophisticated jazz-influenced singing groups of mid-century America, the a cappella group Take 6 are a throwback to an earlier era of American music, and they were a precursor for a number of Black male pop groups of the '90s, most notably <a href="spotify:artist:6O74knDqdv3XaWtkII7Xjp">Boyz II Men</a>. The group's membership includes Alvin Chea, Khristian Dentley (who replaced Cedric Dent in 2011), <a href="spotify:artist:44ovwHhjXMDZiXbTkNPMfn">Mark Kibble</a>, Claude V. McKnight III (brother of <a href="spotify:artist:6k0IBR0lU42s2GYpNX7kA9">Brian McKnight</a>), Joey Kibble (who replaced Mervyn Warren in 1991), and David Thomas. <a href="spotify:artist:44ovwHhjXMDZiXbTkNPMfn">Kibble</a> and McKnight caught the a cappella bug at Alabama's Oakwood College in the early '80s, forming a vocal group that solidified into Take 6 when singer/arranger Warren joined in 1985. They signed to the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Alliance%22">Warner Alliance</a> label, for which they made a pair of smooth yet vocally adventuresome albums that defied pigeonholing other than the all-purpose a cappella classification. Take 6 (1988) won jazz and gospel Grammy awards, took three Dove awards, went platinum, and led to contributions to Spike Lee's blockbuster film Do the Right Thing and <a href="spotify:artist:3rxIQc9kWT6Ueg4BhnOwRK">Quincy Jones</a>' extremely successful Back on the Block. Like the debut, So Much 2 Say (1990) pulled off the remarkable feat of hitting Billboard's overall, R&B, jazz, and gospel charts with Top Ten placements in the latter two.

After that hot beginning, the group shifted over to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Reprise%22">Reprise</a>, another <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner%22">Warner</a>-distributed imprint, and delivered six additional albums -- including a live recording and a pair of holiday releases -- through the early 2000s. They continued to combine genres and mixed traditional and original material. Although their releases didn't sell as well as the debut and follow-up, the group continually added to their collection of Grammy and Dove awards. They utilized instrumental backing, beginning with Join the Band (1994), and Brothers (1996), which indicated a sharper turn toward commercial R&B, though the group did so while retaining their identity. After Beautiful World (2002), released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Bros.%22">Warner Bros.</a> proper, Take 6 went independent. Among their more notable later releases were The Standard (2008), which featured appearances from <a href="spotify:artist:4N8BwYTEC6XqykGvXXlmfv">George Benson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:49zXTngyUTielHTbbH5YKs">Roy Hargrove</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:57ALvbCBaCkNlgTOSiUPdT">Aaron Neville</a>, and One (2012), highlighted by a collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:7guDJrEfX3qb6FEbdPA5qi">Stevie Wonder</a>. They later signed with SoNo for Believe (2016), produced by label vice president and industry veteran Ross Vannelli. ~ Richard S. Ginell & Andy Kellman, Rovi