Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play," which, according to group leader Roger Thomas, is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound." They simulate the sounds of an instrumental band using only their voices, mouths and distortion effects. The group was formed in 1999 in New York City. It currently consists of the Thomas brothers Roger (musical director, arranger, first baritone, rapping) and Warren (drums, third tenor), Rod Eldridge (first tenor, scratching, guitar, trumpet), Ricky Cort (first tenor, guitar), Dwight Stewart (second baritone, vocals, trombone), Sean Simmonds (second tenor, harmonica), and N'Namdi Bryant (bass guitar, trumpet).[1]
Naturally 7 | |
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 Naturally 7 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | naturallyseven |
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History
editEarly years
editNaturally 7 was founded in 1999 by brothers Roger and Warren Thomas, from Rosedale, Queens. The brothers recruited five other singers they had come to know over the years of singing around the city. Roger Thomas developed his singing quality after being in and out of several traditional male groups over the years. When the group was invited to sing at a major a cappella competition in New York City, they won and moved onto the nationals before they took two more wins in the competition. Riding their new-found success and still having made no decision whether to have Naturally 7 as an a cappella group or a traditional band, Roger had the novel idea that the group would become both.[2][3]
Ready II Fly
editNaturally 7 has released a number of albums over the years since the formation at New York City in 1999, including their debut studio album entitled Non-Fiction released in 2000, What Is It released in 2003, Christmas... It's a Love Story released in 2004, and Ready II Fly in 2006, released through Virginia Records. The group gained success by the partial cover of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight", titled as "Feel It (In the Air Tonight)", which contains additional lyrics from the group. The performance of the song at a subway has received over four and a half million hits on YouTube alone, and a number of people discovering the group, which adds to a figure daily. The single itself has turned into a Top 3-chart- success in countries outside North America, such as France, Belgium and South Africa, and also made the single charts in other European countries.[3]
Wall of Sound
editIn January 2009, the group released Wall of Sound as an exclusive special album in the United Kingdom and Ireland to commemorate their participation at the Royal Variety Performance. It contains known material from their previous albums, as well as five brand new tracks, which entered the British Album-Charts in the first week after release at #29. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, performing "Stardust" with Michael Bublé. In November 2009, the group travelled to Bermuda, as they took part in Quincy Jones's 2009 Bermuda Music Festival performing before an enthusiastic crowd.[3]
Vocal Play
editThe CD/DVD version of Vocal Play, which was released in 2010, contains original self-made tracks, such as "SOS (Anybody Out There)", the power ballad of "Love Me", the Motown-influenced “Ready or Not”, the Latin 768 and a duet with Michael Bublé on the Dinah Washington classic, “Relax Max”. The DVD includes HD live material from their performance at Madison Square Garden, extensive interviews with each group member, as well as their video clips. In fall 2010, the group, along with American rapper Ludacris, were featured on a track that appeared in Quincy Jones's album, Soul Bossa Nostra, which led them to a performance at The View in November, before continuing on touring with Bublé. Naturally 7 contributed a few songs for the soundtrack of the 2010 German/English dub film Animals United, including "King of the Road", "Splish Splash", "Hokey Pokey", and "Move On Up".[3]
Members
editCurrent
edit| Name | Voice part | Primary vocal play role | Secondary vocal play roles | Years present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Anthony Thomas | 1st baritone, 4th tenor, leader | rap | keyboard, synth, trumpet, strings, wah wah guitar | 1999 ~ present |
| Warren Andre Thomas | 3rd tenor | drums, percussion | trumpet, string, electric guitar | 1999 ~ present |
| Roderick Lowell Eldridge | 2nd tenor | DJ scratching, loop pedal | percussion, electric and rhythm guitar, trumpet, string, flute, keyboard, rap | 1999 ~ present |
| Dwight Martindale Stewart | 2nd baritone, lead vocal | trombone | rhythm guitar | 1999 ~ present |
| Lee Ricardo "Ricky" Cort | 1st tenor, lead vocal | electric guitar | trumpet, strings, synth, rap | Apr 2015 ~ present |
| Sean Anthony Simmonds | 3rd tenor, lead vocal | harmonica | trumpet, rap | May 2018 ~ present |
| N'Namdi Olufemi Bryant | bass | bass guitar | contrabass, bass synth | Aug 27th 2021 ~ present |
Former
edit| Name | Voice part | Primary vocal play role | Secondary vocal play roles | Years present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armand "Hops" Hutton | bass | bass guitar | contrabass, bass synth | Oct 2006 ~ Dec 2014, Dec 2020 ~ August 15, Nov 6th 2021 |
| Kelvin “Kelz” Mitchell | bass | bass guitar | contrabass, trumpet, bass synth | Jan 2015 ~ Dec 2020 |
| Garfield Rolando Buckley | 2nd tenor | harmonica | trumpet, strings, rhythm guitar | 1999 ~ May 2018 |
| Napoleon “Polo” Cummings | 1st tenor | electric guitar | trumpet, strings, synth | Oct 2010 ~ Apr 2015 |
| Jamal Mackram Reed | 1st tenor | electric guitar, flute, violin | trumpet, synth, strings | 2000 ~ Oct 2010 |
| Andre Edwards | bass | bass guitar | 2006 ~ 2006 | |
| Marcus H. Davis | bass | bass guitar | 1999 ~ 2006 | |
| David LaRoche | 1st tenor | 1999 ~ 2000 |
Timeline
edit
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [4] |
FRA [5] |
GER [6] |
UK [7] | ||
| 2000 | Non-Fiction | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | What Is It? | 52 | — | 40 | — |
| 2004 | Christmas: It's a Love Story | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Ready II Fly | 14 | 64 | — | — |
| 2009 | Wall of Sound | — | — | — | 29 |
| 2010 | Vocal Play | — | — | — | — |
| 2012 | Live | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | Hidden in Plain Sight | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | Both Sides Now | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | A Christmas Xperience | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | XX 20/20 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | Naturally 7 @theMovies, Volume One | — | — | — | — |
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions[8] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | BEL (Vl) | BEL (Wa) | FRA | GER | ITA | SWI | |||||||||||
| 2003 | "Music Is the Key" (with Sarah Connor) |
6 | 3 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 2 | |||||||||
| 2006 | "Feel It (In the Air Tonight)" | – | – | 3 | 15 | 55 | 14 | – | |||||||||
Featured songs
edit- Xavier Naidoo: "Wild vor Wut" (featuring Naturally 7)
- Quincy Jones: "Soul Bossa Nostra" (featuring Ludacris, Naturally 7, & Rudy Currence) album Q: Soul Bossa Nostra
- Xavier Naidoo: "A New Horizon" (featuring Naturally 7) from the German/English dub film Animals United (2010). A "Vocal Play" version is included on the soundtrack, which was released on December 7, 2010 through Königskinder Music, and is also available on iTunes.[9]
Other songs
editThe following songs are included on the soundtrack for the 2010 German/English dub film, Animals United:
- "King of the Road"
- "Splish Splash"
- "Move On Up"
- "Hokey Pokey"
MLK Day performance
editIn January 2016, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the group performed with The Maccabeats, a Jewish a cappella group from Yeshiva University, in a cover of James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light." The music video was filmed in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.[10][11] Taylor called the performance "one of the best covers of 'Shed a Little Light' I've ever heard."[11]
References
edit- ^ Naturally 7 Biography
- ^ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi Naturally 7 - Biography Billboard Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Naturally 7 Biography Naturally 7 Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ "Discography Naturally 7". australian-charts.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- What Is It: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 199.
- ^ "Discography Naturally 7". lescharts.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Discographie Naturally 7". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Naturally 7 | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ GER single chart positions AUT FRA ITA SWI BE single chart positions
- ^ Animals United (Original Soundtrack) iTunes Retrieved September 2, 2014
- ^ "Watch: Maccabeats Release Song for MLK Jr. Day". Arutz Sheva. January 12, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Herreria, Carla (January 19, 2016). "This A Capella-Beatbox Collaboration Is MLK's Dream Personified". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 27, 2017.