Full Force
Full Force is an R&B group from Brooklyn, New York. The group is comprised of brothers B-Fine (Brian George), Bow Legged Lou (Lucien George, Jr.), Paul Anthony (Paul Anthony George) and their cousins, Shy Shy (Junior Clark), Curt-T-T (Curt Bedeau), and Baby Gerry (Gerry Charles). Brian plays the drums, Junior plays the bass guitar, Paul and Lucien handle vocals, Curt plays guitar and Gerry plays keyboard. Together, the group members rose to prominence as producers and writers for a variety of acts.
As producers/writers, the guys have worked with UTFO, Doctor Ice, Patti LaBelle, Force M.D.s, Britney Spears, James Brown and the Backstreet Boys. Their biggest track they worked on was the Backstreet Boys "All I Have to Give" which dominated the charts. Despite this, their early success in the 1980s came from their work with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
The group got their start in the late 1970s when they met Steve Salem, who took on the role as the group's manager. In the early 1980s, the group worked hard to get signed but saw little success. It wasn't until the group produced UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne," a tremendous rap track that became a top ten R&B hit after it spawned a series of answer records.
Working with Lisa Velez of Lisa Lisa, the group produced the song "I wonder If I Take You Home" under the name Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, which reached #6 on the R&B charts and topped the dance charts. The track led the group to a deal with Columbia Records. While the group continued to work with Lisa Lisa on tracks like "All Cried Out," and "Head to Toe," they began to work on their own material.
As a group, Full Force released their self-titled debut album in 1985. The album had three singles, "Girl If You Take Me Home," "Alice, I Want You Just For Me," and "Unselfish Lover." None of the tracks did as well as the group's production work, charting at #79, #16, and #34 on the R&B charts respectively.
Their sophomore effort, Full Force Gets Busy 1 Time! came out in 1986 and had similar success. The album's single, "Unfaithful" reached #20 on the R&B charts, while "Temporary Love Thing" reached #12 and "Old Flames Never Die" reached #27.
In 1987, the group had their third album, Guess Who's Comin to the Crib. The album had the group's highest charting single with "All in My Mind" reaching #6 on the R&B charts. However, besides that, the group didn't change much in status with "Love Is For Suckers" reaching #11, and "Your Love Is So Def" reaching #24 on the R&B charts.
Smoove, the group's last album at Columbia, came out in 1989. The album's singles failed to perform as well as the group's earlier work, with "Ain't My Type of Hype" reaching #36 on the R&B charts, "Kiss Those Lips" reaching #55, and "Friends B-4 Lovers" reaching #21.
Switching to Capitol Records, the group released Don't Sleep, in 1992. The album had minor success with "Quickie" which reached #26 on the R&B charts and "Nice N Sleazy" which reached #70.
The group released one last album during the 90s, with Sugar on Top, coming out in 1995. In 2001, the group released Still Standing, which was part greatest hits, part comeback, and part tribute. The album featured earlier hits by the group, as well as new material that featured guest artists like Kevon Edmonds and Gerald LeVert.