All-4-One is a rhythm and blues and soul vocal group. The team was very popular in the mid-1990s of the last century.
The boy band is known for their hit I Swear. It reached #1993 on the Billboard Hot 1 in 100 and stayed there for a record 11 weeks.
Features of the work of the All-4-One group
A distinctive feature of the All-4-One group is the vocal parts, which are practically not supported by musical accompaniment.
Thanks to the excellent production work, the team quickly gained popularity in the United States and English-speaking countries.
The All-4-One team worked in the doo-wop genre, offering the public musical compositions in which the performer's voice practically does not stop throughout the song. In the process of performing a composition, each musician has a role to play.
The soloist changed with a backing vocalist and a performer who created the background. Due to the fact that the group had four vocalists at once, it was possible to do this very organically and stylishly.
The main theme of the work of the All-4-One group was love. The genre appeared on the streets of large cities and was very popular in the United States.
Thanks to the group All-4-One, they managed to breathe new impetus into the genre. The huge popularity of the team at home gave a round to the development of the genre. They began to create new groups and choirs that were able to get their share of popularity.
The beginning of the band's career
The band's debut album was released in 1994. Thanks to the hit I Swear, the disc broke into all the charts and was well received by the public. Until now, this hit of the All-4-One group is included in all collections of the best love songs.
The authors of this hit were the duo of American country composers Gary Baker and Frank Myers. The original version was written in 1987.
But this composition received its finest hour only after the original arrangement, which was created by members of the All-4-One team.
The first performers of this hit failed to ignite the hearts of the fans with the song. But the producer of Atlantic Records Doug Morris drew attention to the composition.
He offered the guys to record a vocal version of this country hit. The song made a name for the All-4-One group and contributed to its popularity. Unfortunately, there were almost no such finds in the discography of this band.
In 1995, the group received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.
Of course, it is impossible to call the All-4-One a group of one song. The guys masterfully mastered their voices and recorded dozens of compositions that were warmly welcomed by the public.
Significant group compositions
But the hit I swear was so famous that not a single performance of the group can do without the performance of this composition.
Other notable compositions that made All-4-One the most popular vocal pop group in the world were So Much in Love and I Can Love You Like That. In 1996, the band recorded the soundtrack for the Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
In 1999, due to declining sales of the band's CDs and disagreements with producers, the band left Atlantic Records. This led to the fact that the group could not find a suitable place to record the next record in the next few years.
The major labels weren't interested in the music, which by then was out of date. Independent record companies could not offer the team the proper conditions for creativity.
The next LP was released only in 2001 by AMC Records. The best track from this record reached number 20 on the Radio & Records Adult Contemporary charts.
The producers noted the increased interest in the music of the All-4-One group in the Asian region.
The next disc was released in 2004 and focused on Asian countries. The group successfully held concerts in support of this record in Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok.
Since 2016, the team has participated in the "I love the 90s" tour. The world-famous artists who reached the peak of fame at the end of the last century took part in the large-scale tour: Spinderalla, Vanilla Ice, Rob Base and many others.
Solo projects of the band members
Jamie Jones released his solo album Illuminate in 2004. The disc received a mixed opinion from critics, but was warmly received by fans of the musician's work.
Delius Kennedy co-founded the Catalina Film Festival. It has even been called the "West Coast Cannes Festival". The competition program included independent films.
The prizes were presented on Santa Catalina Island, located near Los Angeles. Kennedy was the most active member of the All-4-One.
In addition to organizing the film festival, he was busy producing the show Flashback Tonight. As part of this project, Delius interviewed the stars of the past and talked about contemporary music.
Kennedy did not forget about his own work. In 2012, the single "Name of the Rose" was recorded, which reached the top 50 of the Billboard Hot Dance.
The All-4-One group recorded albums until 2009, but they did not become commercially successful. The team is touring today, having fans in all US states.
But among the audience it is almost impossible to meet young people. The team is remembered only by representatives of the older generation.
