Pebbles

Born Perri Arnette McKissack in Oakland, California, on August 29, 1964, the future dance-pop singer Pebbles entered music as a backup vocalist for percussionist and band leader Bill Summers alongside the funk group Con Funk Shun during the early '80s, where she also co-wrote the hit “Body Lovers.” As cousin to R&B singer Cherelle, she later stepped forward under the stage name Pebbles and secured a contract with MCA toward the close of the decade. Her self-titled 1988 debut album drew input from Babyface, Michael Sembello, and renowned producer L.A. Reid—whom she would later marry—and yielded the Top Five singles “Girlfriend” and “Mercedes Boy,” earning platinum certification in the United States.

The 1990 follow-up Always achieved gold status and delivered another Top Five entry, “Giving You the Benefit,” with Salt-N-Pepa and Cherelle appearing as guests. Rather than continue solely as a performer, Pebbles established Savvy Records and formed the Atlanta, Georgia-based hip-hop/dance trio TLC, whose members were Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Serving as their manager, she steered the group to massive success, highlighted by the 11-time-platinum album Crazysexycool in 1994. She resumed her own recording career with the more mature 1995 album Straight from the Heart, which featured contributions from Sean “Puffy” Combs, Kyle West, and Organized Noize yet fell short of prior sales figures. In 2000 the Hip-O label issued the 14-track retrospective Greatest Hits.