Klymaxx is a female Pop/R&B band from Los Angeles, California.
Biography
Klymaxx was conceived and formed by Bernadette Cooper, who also chose the name. The dream of an all girl band became a quest she pursued after leaving college. Through many auditions and temporary members the group that became successful consisted of drummer/vocalist Bernadette Cooper, vocalist Lorena Porter (Stewart), bassist/vocalist Joyce Irby, guitarist Cheryl Cooley and keyboardists Lynn Malsby and Robbin Grider
In 1981, they were signed to Solar Records. Their debut album, Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman. Upon beginning work on their second album, they became one of the first acts to work with writers/producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of The Time. The team wrote and produced the song "Wild Girls" for that second album, entitled Girls Will Be Girls. After the second Solar album in 1983, they switched to the MCA-distributed Constellation label for Meeting In The Ladies' Room, featuring the 1985 hit "I Miss You," which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. "I Miss You" remained on the Hot 100 chart for 29 weeks, an extremely long chart run at the time, and good enough to rank it as the third-biggest-selling song of 1986, ahead of several songs that hit the top 10. The album also featured the hits "The Men All Pause" and "Meeting in the Ladies Room." 1986 saw the release of "Man Size Love" from the Running Scared motion picture soundtrack. The following year, this song was included on their self-titled Klymaxx album, which went on to provide another solid hit with the ballad "I'd Still Say Yes," written by Babyface (credited as K. Edmonds), G. Scelsa, and Joyce Irby. It peaked at #18 on the Hot 100 and #8 on the adult Contemporary chart in 1987.
The group was down to three members by the end of 1989, when the band was composed of Porter, Cooley, and Grider. In 1990, they returned with The Maxx Is Back, which featured the singles "Good Love" and "Don't Run Away." "Good Love" peaked at #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts. 1994
Joyce Irby reunited with Cooley, Grider, and Hardimon, for an album titled One Day, released on Irby's 1869 EP Wreckudz label, and featuring the single "All I Think About Is You," written by Babyface. Replacing Bernadette Cooper on drums was Terri Lyne Carrington. 2003–Present
Five of the six members from the classic Klymaxx lineup (the one exception being keyboardist Robbin Grider) met up on an episode of the VH1 series Bands Reunited in 2003 in order to perform some of their vintage hit singles. Unfortunately, the unauthorized use and attempted trademark of the Klymaxx name by guitarist Cheryl Cooley caused disagreements with the rest of the band (particularly founding member Bernadette Cooper), resulting in Ms. Cooley not reuniting or performing with her former bandmates on the show.
The documentary Klymaxx: Unsung premiered on the TV One cable network on November 15, 2009 chronicling the story of the group's genesis and rise to fame.
Bernadette Cooper
She signed with MCA Records and released a solo album entitled Drama According to Bernadette Cooper and two singles, "I Look Good" and "Stupid", in 1990. Another single, "The Underground," followed in 1991. Cooper also made a cameo appearance on Teena Marie's 1990 single "Here's Looking at You". "I Look Good" was included on the Klymaxx Greatest Hits compilation. Cooper continued writing and producing for other artists such as Cheryl Lynn (1987), the trio Altitude and she engineered "Just That Type of Girl" by Madame X. Other artists whose songs were written and produced by Cooper include Salt-n-Pepa's "I Am the Body Beautiful" for the soundtrack of the motion picture To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar; Paula Abdul's Missing You, from Head over Heels; and a song for Bette Midler's Diva Las Vegas, "I Look Good". Cooper is currently an E.M.I writer and presently producing, writing and touring with Klymaxx alongside Joyce Irby and Lorena Stewart. She was portrayed by Halle Berry on an episode of Saturday Night Live which spoofed the band. In April 2010, Cooper formed CoopersWorld Entertainment and signed a tween pop/urban all girl band, formally known as "N'style",from Louisville, Kentucky.
Joyce Irby
Joyce "Fenderella" Irby signed with Motown Records and released the dance-oriented Maximum Thrust in 1989. The solo set spawned two singles and music videos for "Hey Mr. DJ" with Doug E. Fresh, and "She's Not My Lover." Irby signed Dallas Austin as a 16-year-old songwriter/producer and together they produced tracks for the male R&B group Troop, and wrote "I Will Always Love You" for their debut album. More recently, Irby has been involved with launching the career of young R&B vocalist and The Inc/Def Jam recording artist Lloyd. Lloyd Polite was once a member of the teen pop group N-Toon, whom Irby put together and signed to Dreamworks Records in the mid-1990s. Studio albumsYear Album Chart positions[1][2] US certifications [3] Record label US US R&B 1981 Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman — — — SOLAR 1982 Girls Will Be Girls — — — 1983 Girls in the Band Unreleased 1984 Meeting in the Ladies Room 18 9 Gold Constellation 1986 Klymaxx 98 25 — 1990 The Maxx Is Back 168 32 — MCA 1994 One Day — — — Valley VueStudio albumsYear Album Chart positions Record label US US R&B 1996 Greatest Hits — — MCA 2003 The Millennium Collection: The Best of Klymaxx — —
SinglesYear Single Chart positions[4][1] Album US US R&B US A/C US Dance UK[5] 1981 "Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman" — 74 — — — Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman "I Want to Love You Tonight" — — — — — 1982 "Heartbreaker (I'm Such a Mess)" — — — — — Girls Will Be Girls "Wild Girls" — 78 — — — 1983 "Multi-Purpose Girls" — — — — — Girls in the Band 1984 "The Men All Pause" 105 5 — 9 — Meeting in the Ladies Room 1985 "Meeting in the Ladies Room" 59 4 — 22 — "I Miss You" 5 11 3 — 89 "Lock and Key" — 47 — — — 1986 "The Men All Pause" (re-release) 80 — — — — "Man Size Love" 15 43 — 18 86 Klymaxx "Sexy" — 18 — — — 1987 "I'd Still Say Yes" 18 7 8 — — "Divas Need Love Too" — 14 — — — 1990 "Good Love" — 4 — — 89 The Maxx Is Back "Private Party" — 62 — — — "When You Kiss Me" — — — — —
