Black Box (band): Difference between revisions

| genre = {{hlist|[[Italo house]]|[[House music|house]]|[[Eurodance]]}}

'''Black Box''' is an Italian [[house music]] group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group is currently made up of DJ Daniele Davoli, classically trained clarinet teacher Valerio Semplici, keyboardist and electronic musician Mirko Limoni, and vocalist Celestine Walcott-Gordon. French fashion model Katrin Quinol joined the act in 1989 and became the official face of Black Box, appearing on the cover of their single and album releases as well as in music videos, including the hit "[[Ride on Time]]", which was the highest-selling single of 1989 in the UK. The following year, it was revealed that Quinol was [[lip-syncing]] and had not performed on the recording. American singer [[Martha Wash]] performed the majority of the songs on the group's debut album, ''[[Dreamland (Black Box album)|Dreamland]]'', while being uncredited.

In 1990, American singer [[Loleatta Holloway]] and American producer [[Dan Hartman]] sued Black Box for [[copyright infringement]] and unauthorized [[Sampling (music)|sampling]].<ref name="independent">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/loleatta-holloway-much-sampled-disco-diva-who-sued-black-box-over-their-worldwide-hit-lsquoride-on-2252360.html Loleatta Holloway: Much-sampled disco diva who sued Black Box over their worldwide hit Ride on Time]. Independent UK. Retrieved on 7 July 2019</ref> "Ride on Time" sampled Holloway's 1980 song "[[Love Sensation]]", which was producedwritten and writtenproduced by Hartman. Neither Holloway nor Hartman were consulted for permission to sample the song, and Black Box failed to credit Holloway's vocals in the song. Additionally, Black Box had used Quinol to lip-sync Holloway's vocals in the music video for "Ride on Time", which led the public to believe Quinol was the actual singer. Holloway and Hartman eventually received an undisclosed [[settlement (litigation)|out-of-court settlement]].<ref name="independent"/> As a result, Black Box re-issued "Ride on Time", removing Holloway's vocals and featuring newly recorded vocals by English singer [[Heather Small]]. The group still retained the original version on their re-issued album ''Dreamland'' and added Holloway's name as the featured vocalist on "Ride on Time" as well as giving Hartman songwriting credits. Black Box would later issue another new version of the song called "Bright on Time" in 1991.

In September 1990, American singer [[Martha Wash]] sued Black Box and [[RCA Records]] for [[Personality rights|commercial appropriation]] after she became aware of the lip-sync scandal perpetrated by the group.<ref name="nytimes">[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/arts/lawsuits-seek-truth-in-music-labeling.html Lawsuits Seek Truth in Music Labeling]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved on 28 January 2019</ref> During the recording session of their album ''Dreamland'' in 1989, Wash was recruited as a [[session singer]] to simply [[Demo (music)|demo]] songs produced by Black Box. Unbeknownst to her, Black Box retained Wash's vocals on a total of six songs, including "Everybody Everybody", "Open Your Eyes", "Hold On", "I Don't Know Anybody Else", "Strike It Up", and "Fantasy" on the album ''Dreamland''. Despite Wash's contributions to the songs, Black Box never credited her for her vocals and instead used Quinol to lip-sync Wash's vocals during music videos, televised performances, and concert performances. RCA settled the case out of court in December 1990, agreeing to pay Wash a "substantial" fee.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web |url= httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/printarchives/la-xpm-1991-02-21/entertainment/-ca-2111_1_syncing2111-story.html |title=Read Her Lips : R&B Singer Says Hot Dance Hit Is Lip-Synced – Los Angeles Times |work=articles.latimes.com[[Los Angeles Times]] |year=1991 |access-date=30 April 2012}}</ref> The company also signed her to an eight-album recording contract and financed her national tour.<ref name="latimes"/> Wash's lawsuit also resulted in federal legislation in the United States, making vocal credit mandatory for all albums and music videos.<ref name="newtownbee">[https://www.newtownbee.com/valentines-disco-party-at-playhouse-welcomes-weather-girl-martha-wash Valentine's Disco Party At Playhouse Welcomes 'Weather Girl' Martha Wash] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709000934/https://www.newtownbee.com/valentines-disco-party-at-playhouse-welcomes-weather-girl-martha-wash |date=9 July 2019 }}. New Town Bee. Retrieved on 28 January 2019</ref>

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details