American R&B quintet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hi-Five is an American R&B quintet from Waco, Texas. Hi-Five had a No. 1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991 with "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)".
Hi-Five | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Waco, Texas, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1989–1994 2005–2007 2012–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Marcus Sanders Shannon Gill Treston Irby Billy Covington Faruq Evans |
| Past members | Tony Thompson (deceased) Russell Neal Roderick Clark (deceased) Toriano Easley Terrence Murphy Ricky Smith Andre Ramseur (aka Dre Wonda) |
The band was originally formed in 1989 as a trio: childhood friends Tony Thompson, Russell Neal, and Oklahoma native, Toriano Easley. Jive Records suggested adding childhood friends, Roderick "Pooh" Clark and Marcus Sanders, to the ensemble and later signed these founding members as Hi-Five.[1]
During the release of their debut album, Toriano Easley was charged with a crime, which involved a dispute with his neighborhood friends, rendering him unable to continue with the group. The record label recruited New York native Treston Irby, as a replacement member. After the release of their second album, Russell Neal left the group after financial conflicts with the label. Unfortunately congruently, while the four members of the group were continuing to tour, Roderick "Pooh" Clark was injured in a vehicle collision, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, resulting in his departure from the group.[2] The label added Shannon Gill and Terrence Murphy as replacement members.
When the group decided to accept an offer from Giant records to change labels, while their Jive contract was still pending, Giant records, instead decided to focus their attention on lead singer Tony Thompson, neglecting the projects related to the group. Because of this discrepancy, the group disbanded. Tony Thompson was later signed to Bad Boy Records. In 2005, without consulting the initial members of Hi-Five, Tony Thompson put together several new vocalists to form a new incarnation of the band, under the Hi-Five name. This later resulted in a legal battle, between Thompson and former Hi-Five members, which put the band on even more haphazard terms. In 2007, lead singer Tony Thompson, died in drug related circumstances. In 2012, as a result of Thompson's passing, the former members of Hi-Five decided to reunite in Thompson's honor.
Hi-Five was originally signed to Jive Records in late 1989 and released their eponymous debut album in 1990.[3] The album was produced by Teddy Riley and went platinum. It included singles "I Just Can't Handle It" (R&B No. 10), "I Can't Wait Another Minute" (Pop No. 8, R&B No.1) and "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)", which went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (making it their biggest hit to date).[4]
The group's second LP, Keep It Goin' On, was released in 1992.[5] Though not as successful as their debut effort, several tracks from this album, including "She's Playing Hard to Get" (Pop No. 5, R&B No. 2) and the R. Kelly-penned "Quality Time" (Pop No. 38, R&B No. 3) got major airplay in East Coast (US) urban markets. Shortly after this album was released, the group was involved in a vehicular accident, which left Roderick "Pooh" Clark paralyzed from the chest down.
In 1993, Hi-Five emerged with a third album, Faithful, which featured the songs "Unconditional Love" (Pop No. 92, R&B No. 21) and "Never Should've Let You Go" (Pop No. 30, R&B No. 10).[4] "Unconditional Love" was also featured in the multi-platinum Menace II Society soundtrack, and received extensive airplay on urban contemporary stations throughout the summer of 1993 as the movie increased in popularity. "Never Should've Let You Go" was featured on the Sister Act 2 soundtrack.
On June 1, 2007, Tony Thompson's body was discovered by security officers at around 10 p.m. near an air-conditioning unit outside of an apartment complex in his native Waco, Texas. An autopsy later determined that he had died from "toxic effects of chlorodifluoromethane", or inhaling a toxic amount of freon.[6] He is buried at Doris Miller Memorial Park in Waco.[7]
In 2011, Treston Irby released his debut solo single "Everything" under the mantle Tru$ on his independent label, Bronx Most Wanted Ent.
In 2012, Irby, Shannon Gill and Marcus Sanders reformed Hi-Five with two new members, Andre Ramseur (aka Dre Wonda) and Faruq Evans. They released a single called "Favorite Girl" also on the BMW label. Ramseur later left the group and was replaced by Billy Covington.
On July 2, 2014, former Hi-Five member Russell Neal was charged with murder, over the fatal stabbing of his wife in Houston.[8]
Hi-Five was featured on the TVOne music documentary series Unsung on August 6, 2014, chronicling the quintet's upbringing in Waco, their rise to superstardom, tragedies among group members, and their comeback.[9]
Former member Roderick “Pooh” Clark died on April 17, 2022, at the age of 49.[10]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
US R&B [11] |
AUS [12] | ||||||||||||
| 1990 | Hi-Five
|
38 | 1 | 102 |
| |||||||||
| 1992 | Keep It Goin' On
|
82 | 9 | — |
| |||||||||
| 1993 | Faithful
|
105 | 23 | — | ||||||||||
| 2005 | The Return
|
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Legacy
|
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2014 | The EP
|
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Greatest Hits
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
US R&B [11] |
US A/C [11] |
AUS [14][15][12] |
GER [16] |
NLD [17] |
NZ [18] |
UK [19] | |||||||
| 1990 | "I Just Can't Handle It" | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | 20 | — | Hi-Five | ||||
| 1991 | "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" | 1 | 1 | 42 | 47 | 41 | 47 | 43 | 43 |
| ||||
| "I Can't Wait Another Minute" | 8 | 1 | 30 | 112 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Just Another Girlfriend" | 88 | 41 | — | 107 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1992 | "She's Playing Hard to Get" | 5 | 2 | — | 46 | — | 76 | 14 | 55 | Keep It Goin' On | ||||
| "Quality Time" | 38 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 36 | — | ||||||
| 1993 | "Mary, Mary" | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Unconditional Love" | 92 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Faithful | |||||
| "Never Should've Let You Go" | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 38 | — | ||||||
| 1994 | "Faithful" | — | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "What Can I Say to You (To Justify My Love)" (with Nuttin' Nyce) | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2012 | "Favorite Girl" | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | Legacy | ||||
| 2013 | "You Never Know" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2014 | "It's Nothing" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2015 | "Different Kiss" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Sunshine" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Christmas" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2016 | "Kit Kat" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "I Just Can't Handle It" | Antoine Fuqua |
| 1991 | "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" | |
| "I Can't Wait Another Minute" | ||
| "Just Another Girlfriend" | ||
| 1992 | "She's Playing Hard to Get"[20] | Lionel C. Martin |
| "Quality Time" | ||
| 1993 | "Unconditional Love" | Marcus Nispel |
| "Never Should've Let You Go" | ||
| 1994 | "Faithful" | |
| "What Can I Say to You (To Justify My Love)" (w/ Nuttin Nyce) | ||
| 2012 | "Favorite Girl" | Treston Irby |
| 2013 | "You Never Know" | Christian Marcus & Treston Irby |
| 2015 | "Different Kiss" | Colin Keith & Treston Irby |
| "Sunshine" | Mark Geohagen & Treston Irby | |
| "Christmas" | Mark Geohagen & Hi-Five | |
| 2016 | "Kit Kat" | |
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