Quick Facts
Biography
Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as the pioneer of house music. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, disco, and pop. She is credited as "The First Lady of House Music".
Early life
Mazelle was raised in Gary, Indiana. She lived on the same street as the Jackson family and knew Michael Jackson's mother and uncle.
Career
Mazelle's career started in Chicago as a Student at Columbia College Chicago, studying Arts and Entertainment Media Management. She later worked with record producer Marshall Jefferson on 1987's "Taste My Love" on the Police Records label.
In 1988 she released the single "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)", a hit on the club charts which reached at #53 on the UK singles chart. Her next release, "Wait," a duet with Robert Howard from The Blow Monkeys in 1989, peaked at #7 in the UK.
Mazelle's debut album Crazy was released in the UK and featured the single "Love Strain". With the single "Was That All It Was" returned Mazelle to the UK Top 40 and "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" was remixed by Norman Cook.
The single "Missing You" by Soul II Soul achieved major success worldwide. This led to Parlophone repackaging Mazelle's debut album as Brilliant with remixes of her singles, two new tracks and a remix of "No One Can Love You More Than Me".
Mazelle recorded a cover version of the song "Young Hearts Run Free" which appeared in the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and also appeared on the director's remix album Something for Everybody.
She has appeared on two live albums by Maceo Parker, Life on Planet Groove and My First Name is Maceo. Mazelle released her second album The Pleasure Is All Mine in June 2004 and undertook a tour in the UK. The album spawned three singles: "Searching for the Golden Eye", "Love Magic", and "On My Own". In 2005, Mazelle took part in the British version of the reality TV show, Celebrity Fit Club.
In July 2010, she appeared on the BBC Television series, Celebrity MasterChef. In September 2010, she released an extended play titled Destiny.
She headlined Liverpool Pride on August 6, 2011. On November 3, 2011, she headlined Prince Charles's Prince's Trust Ambassador Ball In Glasgow and helped to raise £93,000.00 for the Charity on the night. On April 6, 2013, her appearance on The Voice UK was broadcast on the BBC.
Discography
Albums
- Crazy / Brilliant! (1989)
- The Pleasure Is All Mine (2004)
- Destiny (2010)
Compilations
- Brilliant!! (1991) – European remix compilation, with 3 new tracks
- The Gold Collection (1996)
Singles
Solo singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance | AUS | NZ | NED | BEL (FLA) | FRA | GER | UK | ||||||||||
| 1988 | "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | Crazy (UK/EUR) Brilliant! (US/CAN) | |||||||
| 1989 | "Wait!" (duet with Robert Howard) | — | — | — | 32 | 20 | — | 26 | 7 | ||||||||
| "Got To Get You Back" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 57 | 29 | |||||||||
| "Love Strain" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 52 | |||||||||
| 1990 | "Was That All It Was" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 33 | ||||||||
| "Don't Scandalize My Name" (US/CAN only) | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Useless (I Don't Need You Now) (Norman Cook Remix)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | Brilliant! (European remix compilation) | ||||||||
| 1991 | "No One Can Love You More Than Me (Boilerhouse Remix)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | ||||||||
| "Woman Of The World" (UK only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Trainer Soundtrack | ||||||||
| 1994 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (duet with Jocelyn Brown) | — | 48 | — | — | 46 | — | — | 13 | singles only | |||||||
| "Gimme All Your Lovin'" (duet with Jocelyn Brown) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | |||||||||
| 1997 | "Young Hearts Run Free" | — | 11 | 16 | — | — | 29 | 88 | 20 | Romeo + Juliet Soundtrack | |||||||
| "Have A Nice Day" (ITA only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | singles only | ||||||||
| 1998 | "A Place In My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 2004 | "Searching for the Golden Eye" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Pleasure Is All Mine | |||||||
| "Love Magic" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 2005 | "On My Own" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 2010 | "Here Comes the Light" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Destiny | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | NED | SWE | |||||||||||||||
| 1987 | "Taste My Love" (House To House feat. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | single only | ||||||||||||
| 1990 | "Missing You" (Soul II Soul) | 22 | 74 | — | Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade | ||||||||||||
| 1992 | "Love Me The Right Way" (Rapination & Kym Mazelle) | 22 | — | 28 | singles only | ||||||||||||
| 1995 | "Love Me Or Leave Me" (Kamasutra pres. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1996 | "Searching For the Golden Eye" (Motiv-8 & Kym Mazelle) | 71 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "Love Me The Right Way '96" (Rapination & Kym Mazelle) | 55 | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1997 | "Free, Gay & Happy" (Paradise People feat. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 2000 | "Truly" (Peshay feat. Kym Mazelle) | 55 | — | — | Miles From Home | ||||||||||||
| 2001 | "Perhaps" (Sunray feat. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | singles only | ||||||||||||
| "Dance Little Dreamer" (Infinito feat. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | "Lovin'" (David Morales pres. The Face feat. Kym Mazelle) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||||