No Authority

No Authority came together in the early 1990s as a four-man vocal group based in Southern California. The lineup featured lead singer Ric Felix—also known as Ricky Godinez and later performing under the name Ricky G—who entered the world on December 2, 1980, in San Bernadino, CA; fellow lead singer Josh Keaton, born February 8, 1979, in Pasadena, CA; singer/rapper Danny Zavatsky, born June 1, 1982, in Long Beach, CA; and singer Eric Stretch, born June 22, 1980, in Yorba Linda, CA. After several years of local gigs, their manager Richard Walters of Smash Music placed a demo in the hands of Jerry Greenberg and Jono Kohan at MJJ Music, the boutique Sony label created by Michael Jackson. Greenberg and Kohan forwarded the tape to Jackson, who offered the group a contract. Their first single, “Don’t Stop,” appeared in October 1997, with the album Keep On following the next month. Those releases failed to connect, prompting a period of regrouping during which Keaton departed and Tommy McCarthy stepped in. The act then left Sony for Maverick, Madonna’s Warner Bros. imprint, and released their self-titled second album in July 2000; Maverick also handled a reissue of Keep On.