+C Music Factory.
HITS WE LOVE: “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” and “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm.”
HOMETOWN: New York City.
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO NOW: Robert Clivilles continues to produce. Robert Cole died in 1995. Freedom Williams, Zelma Davis, Deborah Cooper and Martha Wash continue to perform all over the world.
THE STORY: What’s most fascinating about C+C Music Factory is that the folks who were put out in front to create the visual for the group are not actually the ones most responsible for its success. The smash hit “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” is the collaboration of three people – producers David Cole and Robert Clivilles and vocalist Martha Wash. While the producers and rapper Freedom Williams appear in the song’s official video, Wash does not. (She would eventually successfully sue to claim both her vocal credits and royalties.) It was also a collective that included other vocalists, including former Change singer Deborah Cooper, who sang lead on other C+C hits like “Deeper Love” and “Pride.”
Clivilles and Cole, the C+C of the group’s title, were among the most successful producers of the 90s, producing records under the C+C title as well as Clivilles and Cole, the 28th Street Crew and MVP. They bridged the gap between disco and dance, mainstreaming a sound that had been mostly relegated to clubs and late night radio mix shows. The duo was also known for their remixes working with everyone from Michael Jackson to Taylor Dayne to Natalie Cole. They put together the Latina trio Seduction, which also scored a host of hits in the 90s. And the two worked so closely with Mariah Carey that when Cole died, she penned the song “One Sweet Day” in tribute to him.
Clivilles continues to produce, write, arrange and remix.
Despite the controversy over Wash’s vocal credits, the song was a huge, number-one record in the U.S. and internationally. Wash and Davis shared leads on another number-one hit, “Do You Want to Get Funky,” ending rumors there was any enmity between them.
C+C Music Factory released three studio albums in the 90s but the first was the group’s most successful.
Williams made a solo record in 1993, called appropriately “Freedom,” that was moderately successful. He’s still singing and recording. You can check him out here.
Davis is still performing around the world.
This year, a reunited C+C Music Factory performed a medley of their hits in April on the Billboard Music Awards. The group has done festival performances in Detroit, Dallas and Boston this year.
For more information on Deborah Cooper, click here, and for information on Robert Clivilles, click here.
