Photo courtesy of Tony Terry
Happy birthday to singer supreme, Tony Terry, born on March 12, 1964.
As folks reflect upon the emergence of urban adult contemporary music in the 1980s, discussions often veer toward Luther or Anita. But deep fans don't underestimate the contribution of singer and songwriter Tony Terry.
A Maryland native, Terry moved to New York as a young man in search of a career as a solo singer, and it wasn't long before singing in local clubs led to a signing by Epic Records. For his 1987 debut album, Forever Yours, Terry and his team aimed squarely at the emerging New Jack Swing market, landing two top 10 hits with "She's Fly" and "Lovey Dovey." But it was a strategic turn on his sophomore disc that solidified Terry's spot in soul music history as a balladeer supreme.
Happy birthday to singer supreme, Tony Terry, born on March 12, 1964.
As folks reflect upon the emergence of urban adult contemporary music in the 1980s, discussions often veer toward Luther or Anita. But deep fans don't underestimate the contribution of singer and songwriter Tony Terry.
A Maryland native, Terry moved to New York as a young man in search of a career as a solo singer, and it wasn't long before singing in local clubs led to a signing by Epic Records. For his 1987 debut album, Forever Yours, Terry and his team aimed squarely at the emerging New Jack Swing market, landing two top 10 hits with "She's Fly" and "Lovey Dovey." But it was a strategic turn on his sophomore disc that solidified Terry's spot in soul music history as a balladeer supreme.
"With You" was a romantic ballad that Epic didn't believe in, but Terry knew was a hit. It slowly percolated, without label support, on Quiet Storm radio, ultimately landing in the Top 10 and giving Terry his signature hit. When Anita Baker heard that Epic wouldn't pay for a music video for the song, she fronted Terry $50,000 and brought in Blair Underwood to direct what would become one of the more popular music videos of the era.
With the public clamoring for more ballads from Terry, he responded with "Everlasting Love," a dramatic song with Gospel overtones that again shot to the top end of the chart. However, disagreements with Epic led Terry to leave the label, ultimately signing an ill-fated deal with Virgin Records, which dropped him almost immediately after he recorded the underperforming Heart of a Man.
Without a recording contract and with some bad blood percolating between his management and the record industry, Terry spent much of the next decade on stage, performing in a number of touring musical shows. He fought a drug addiction, and came out a fuller man, expressing his gratitude to God with his 2005 Gospel album, Changed. He followed with decade-long stint singing backup for Roberta Flack while still maintaining his solo career.
In 2014, Terry teamed with songwriter James Day and guitarist U-Nam on the independent hit, “Repertoire,” bringing him back to the R&B charts. And he has continued to release solo singles from time to time.
In 2022, Terry's life story was told on an episode of TV One's Unsung, opening new doors to connect with old fans, with the promise of new material to be released in the near future.
By Chris Rizik