Biography
North Carolina native Calvin Richardson emerged as a gritty, gospel-minded vocalist and songwriter in the urban contemporary and neo-soul realms, drawing from an array of inspirations that spanned Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye as well as Jodeci, K-Ci & JoJo, and R. Kelly. Much like fellow neo-soul artists who surfaced during the 1990s and 2000s, he pulls from multiple periods within R&B history. The classic soul sound of the 1960s and 1970s shaped both his vocals and compositions, yet the urban contemporary and hip-hop developments of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s exerted equal influence. On certain occasions he leans fully retro, with tracks that could have slotted seamlessly onto pre-1980s Stax or Motown releases from the era before urban contemporary and hip-hop dominated. Elsewhere his perspective turns more contemporary and hip-hop oriented, resulting in material that sometimes suits urban radio while other songs prove too steeped in older traditions for that format.
Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, as the fifth of nine children, Richardson grew up immersed in music through a household that favored both R&B and African-American gospel. His mother directed the local gospel ensemble the Willing Wonders, and he performed regularly alongside them. Apart from gospel, he absorbed secular soul and funk, favoring artists such as Bobby Womack, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, and the Gap Band, all of whom he has named among his formative influences. It was on North Carolina’s gospel circuit that Richardson first connected as a youth with longtime associates Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and his brother Joel “JoJo” Hailey, who later rose to prominence in the early 1990s as members of Jodeci before recording for MCA as the duo K-Ci & JoJo.
Inspired by Jodeci’s breakthrough, Richardson assembled his own urban contemporary vocal group, Undacova, whose track “Love Slave” appeared on the New Jersey Drive soundtrack in 1995. The group proved short-lived, prompting Richardson to pursue a solo path exclusively. His debut solo release, Country Boy, arrived on Uptown/Universal in 1999, after which he moved to Hollywood Records for the follow-up 2:35 PM in 2003.
He next joined Shanachie Records, issuing three albums there: When Love Comes in 2003, the 2009 tribute Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack, and America’s Most Wanted in 2010. I Am Calvin, his 2014 effort, appeared on Eric Benét’s Jordan House Records, though he returned to Shanachie in 2017 for All or Nothing, which he characterized as a “classic soul” project. His eighth studio album, Gold Dust, followed in October 2019 and featured the song “Let Me Love on You.”
Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, as the fifth of nine children, Richardson grew up immersed in music through a household that favored both R&B and African-American gospel. His mother directed the local gospel ensemble the Willing Wonders, and he performed regularly alongside them. Apart from gospel, he absorbed secular soul and funk, favoring artists such as Bobby Womack, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, and the Gap Band, all of whom he has named among his formative influences. It was on North Carolina’s gospel circuit that Richardson first connected as a youth with longtime associates Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and his brother Joel “JoJo” Hailey, who later rose to prominence in the early 1990s as members of Jodeci before recording for MCA as the duo K-Ci & JoJo.
Inspired by Jodeci’s breakthrough, Richardson assembled his own urban contemporary vocal group, Undacova, whose track “Love Slave” appeared on the New Jersey Drive soundtrack in 1995. The group proved short-lived, prompting Richardson to pursue a solo path exclusively. His debut solo release, Country Boy, arrived on Uptown/Universal in 1999, after which he moved to Hollywood Records for the follow-up 2:35 PM in 2003.
He next joined Shanachie Records, issuing three albums there: When Love Comes in 2003, the 2009 tribute Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack, and America’s Most Wanted in 2010. I Am Calvin, his 2014 effort, appeared on Eric Benét’s Jordan House Records, though he returned to Shanachie in 2017 for All or Nothing, which he characterized as a “classic soul” project. His eighth studio album, Gold Dust, followed in October 2019 and featured the song “Let Me Love on You.”
Albums
Singles
