Rose Royce: Give Our Legends Their Flowers.

Rose Royce played ZERO games with y’all faves from the 70s. This group was a force to be reckoned with during the glory days of Disco, Soul & R&B. They DOMINATED the R&B charts in the mid to late 70s, with 8 top ten singles. The original lineup came with it!

Rose Royce has been sampled by some of the greatest musicians after their glory days. Everyone from Madonna, Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, Charlie Wilson & Beyoncé have paid homage to these legends!

The 70s:

Albums Released: Car Wash, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, Rose Royce III: Strikes Again, Rose Royce IV: Rainbow Connection.

The band was formed in the early 70s by Kenny Copeland, Lequient “Duke” Jobe, Michael Moore, Freddie Dunn, Walter McKinney, Michael Nash, Henry Garner, Kenji Brown, and Terral “Terry” Santiel as Total Concept Unlimited.

They were introduced to legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield. Whitfield eventually changed the group name to “Rose Royce,” & added the talented vocalist Gwen Dickey to the lineup..& the rest is history.

The group’s big break came with the soundtrack to the 1976 film “Car Wash,” starring Richard Pryor. The Car Wash soundtrack was pure flames! The title track, “I’m Going Down” & “I Wanna Get Next To You” are timeless tunes.

The group capitalized on the fame of the soundtrack, & released their subsequent albums..which featured their hits “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “Ooh Boy,” & “Wishing on a Star.”

The 80s:

Albums Released: Rose Royce V: Golden Touch, Jump Street, Stronger Than Ever, Music Magic, The Show Must Go On, Fresh Cut, Perfect Lover.

Gwen Dickey left the group to pursue a solo career, and the group disbanded for a while. The remaining members decided to regroup & continued to release music until 1989. It was not as successful as their earlier work, but it was still quality work!