Event Appearance

JEFF REDD

Biography

Jeff Redd didn’t achieve the pop success of contemporaries like Guy or fellow Mount Vernon native Al B. Sure!, but he put his mark on the new jack swing era and was a major behind-the-scenes figure afterward. As a teenager, Redd performed in a group called the Sophisticated Gents. In 1988, as a solo artist, he was signed to André Harrell’s Uptown label, home to Heavy D & the Boyz, another Mount Vernon act. Before the deal went into full effect, Redd remained employed on the General Motors assembly line in nearby Tarrytown, where he was handed a cassette recording of a teenaged singer covering Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture.” Redd took the tape to Harrell, who subsequently added that singer, Mary J. Blige, to the Uptown roster. Blige performed with Redd in support of his A Quiet Storm, an impressive debut that featured a pair of Top 20 R&B hits: a version of Fatback’s boogie classic “I Found Lovin'” and an original ballad, “Love High,” written by Timmy Allen. The album stalled at number 40 on the R&B chart. The following year, Uptown released the soundtrack for the romantic comedy Strictly Business, highlighted by Redd’s “You Called and Told Me” — one of the great songs, productions, and performances of its time, even though it peaked at only 63 on the R&B chart.