Alexander O'Neal

This soul singer, born in Natchez, Mississippi but long based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, gained early experience with the Time before departing ahead of the group’s Warner Bros. contract. His powerful vocals share the distinctive texture and vocal span of Otis Redding, allowing him to move fluidly between high-energy dance tracks and intimate ballads in the same way. Among all the artists shaped by producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, he stands out as their strongest vocalist, a fact underscored by the quality of his recordings such as the self-titled 1985 debut, the 1987 follow-up Hearsay that reached number two on the R&B chart, 1991’s All True Man which peaked at number three on the same listing, and the 1998 album Lovers Again. Across the 1980s and 1990s he amassed multiple Top Ten R&B singles, most notably the two major collaborative hits “Saturday Love” and “Never Knew Love Like This” recorded with fellow Tabu artist Cherrelle. Eventually he moved to Britain, a market that had long embraced his work, and established a lasting home there. The 2002 release Saga of a Married Man, his initial project issued exclusively in the U.K., revealed a more polished and seasoned approach to his singing. He continued this evolution later in the decade with the 2008 covers collection Alex Loves…, opened the following decade with Five Questions: The New Journey, and maintained an active touring schedule. In 2013 a broad reissue campaign in the U.K. brought renewed attention to his complete Tabu catalog.