RHYTHM of the NIGHT
Live on Stage: EL DEBARGE, TANK, TROOP
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT, a special concert featuring Three Hot R&B bands: Three time Grammy-nominated and leading male singer EL DEBARGE (“Rhythm of the Night”, “All This Love”, “Who’s Johnny”, “Stay With Me”, “Love Me in a Special Way”), R&B singer, songwriter and producer TANK(“Please Don’t Go”, “Maybe I Deserve”, “Next Breath”) and the group TROOP (“All I Do is Think of You”, “Mamacita”, “Sweet November”, “Spread My Wings”) for an evening of R&B hits that will make you want to get on your feet and dance on Saturday, November 19th, 2016 at 8pm.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT on Saturday, November 19th, 2016 at 8pm are $100*VIP, $85, $75, and $50 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Thursday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. *New This Season: HAVANA CAFÉ and Lehman Center special VIP pre-concert wine & hors d’oeuvres receptionstarting at 6:30pm. VIP tickets include the reception and the best seats in the house. At the reception meet other patrons and the staff of Lehman Center. Sponsored by Havana Café Restaurant and Havana Club Puerto Rican Rum. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.
EL DEBARGE, known for his unique high tenor register and signature falsetto, is a singer, songwriter, keyboardist and producer that grew up in a large family in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a child, he played piano and sang in local church choirs. His first professional recording was as a background vocalist on the 1979 hit “I Call Your Name”, recorded by his older brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge’s band Switch. The three brothers, along with four additional family members were signed to Motown in 1980 and their second album All This Love (1982) went gold with the hits “I Like It” and “All This Love”. 1983 saw the release of their second gold album, In A Special Way, containing the chart topping singles “Time Will Reveal” and “Love Me in a Special Way”. The group’s 1985 release, Rhythm of the Night, became their best selling album yet, with the title track reaching #3 on the R&B charts and also spawned the hits “You Wear It Well”, “TheHeart Is Not So Smart” and “Who’s Holding Donna Now”. El DeBarge not only served as the lead vocalist on the group’s albums, he also produced, arranged, and co-wrote (with his sister Bunny) the majority of the songs. Going solo with his self-titled album El DeBarge in 1986, he had a massive hit with the song “Who’s Johnny” that was featured in the film Short Circuit. In 1990, El teamed up with Quincy Jones to create “The Secret Garden”, the successful 1990 single which also featured Barry White and James Ingram on vocals. His 1992 album In The Storm contained the #2 R&B cover of Marvin Gaye’s “After The Dance” that was recorded with Fourplay and featured Patti LaBelle. El DeBarge was honored with three Grammy nominations for his 2010 album Second Chance.
TANK, whose real name is Durrell Babbs, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Clinton, Maryland and is known as Tank because of his imposing athletic physique. He started singing as a child and released his debut solo album, Force of Nature, in 2001 that went gold and topped Billboard’s R&B chart. It featured the hit singles “Maybe I Deserve” and “Slowly”. One Man, his successful follow-up album the next year, contained the hits “One Man” and “Let Me Live”. His third release, 2007’s Sex, Love & Pain, earned two Grammy nominations and included the monster hit “Please Don’t Go”. Highly creative, Tank has also composed, produced and performed on songs with major artists including Aaliyah, Dave Hollister,Brian McKnight, Jamie Foxx, Donell Jones, Ruben Studdard and Chris Brown. 2010’s album Now or Never featured Chris Brown on the tune “Foreplay”, and the singers reunited on the single “Lonely” that appeared on Tank’s #1 2012 album How I Feel. In 2013, along with Tyrese and Ginuwine under the group moniker TGT, he released the album Three Kings, which debuted at number three. The following year saw his sixth album, Stronger, which rose to the #1 R&B spot in sales. This year, Tank has released the album Sex, Love & Pain II that features the songs “You Don’t Know” (with Wale), “Already In Love” (with Shawn Stockman) and “#BDAY” (with Chris Brown and Siya).
TROOP, the multi-platinum R&B group from Pasadena, California, was formed in the late 1980’s by childhood friends Steve Russell, Allen McNeil, John Harreld, Rodney Benford and Reggie Warren. The group’s name is an acronym of “Total Respect Of Other People”. Troop has had five number one singles and ten top ten singles on the Billboard R&B charts. They have released five albums, which include three certified gold and one certified platinum. They are most notable for their captivating harmony and explosive dance styles. Their 1988 debut single “Mamacita” included on their self-titled first album, reached number two on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. 1989’s Attitude featured two number one singles – “Spread My Wings” and the Jackson 5 cover “All I Do Is Think Of You” and was certified platinum. Their third album Deepacontained the Deele cover “Sweet November”, which went straight to number one on the R&B charts. After releasing two more albums A Lil Sumpin Sumpin (1994) and Mayday (1995) they disbanded for several years to work on individual projects. Reuniting in 2004, Troop has been touring and working on new material including the 2013 single “Forever” and “Not In A Million Years” (2014).
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2016-2017 Season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding is provided by Con Edison, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Rudin Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the friends of Lehman Center.