Jody Watley

Jody Watley (born Jan. 30, 1959, Chicago) emerged from the R&B group Shalamar to score a string of solo hit singles, chiefly from 1987 to 1990, a period in which she reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 six times. Watley got her start as a dancer on the television dance show Soul Train, which led to her being tapped for a spot in Shalamar. Her first solo album, Jody Watley, yielded #2 hit Looking for a New Love, which was followed by two more top 10 singles — Don’t You Want Me (#6) and Some Kind of Lover (#10). Two other singles from the album charted — Still a Thrill (#56) and Most of All (#60). The success propelled her to a Best New Artist Grammy win for 1987. Subsequent album Larger Than Life produced another three top 10 singles: Real Love (#2), Everything (#4) and Friends (#9). Her only other U.S. top 40 appearances came in 1992 with I’m the One You Need (#19) and as one of several featured artists on Babyface’s This is for the Lover in You (#6) in 1996. She is ranked #21 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists.