Kashif (musician)
Kashif (born Michael Jones ; born December 26, 1959 in Brooklyn , New York , † September 25, 2016 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer. He also plays several instruments. Although his work was more successful for other artists such as Whitney Houston , he also had some success under the name Kashif, which he adopted after converting to Islam.
biography
Before Kashif started his solo career in 1983, he had already written songs for artists such as Tavares , Melba Moore , Evelyn "Champagne" King and Howard Johnson and produced their records. He was also a member of the radio band BT Express when he was 15 .
Between 1983 and 1990 he had 17 hits in the American R&B charts, mainly for the record company Arista : I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me on) (1983), Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart (1984) and Personality ( 1989) were top 10 hits. In addition, there were duet recordings that were highly placed: Love on the Rise (1985, with Kenny G ), Love the One I'm with (A Lot of Love) (1986, with Melba Moore) and Love Changes (1987, with Meli'sa Morgan ). The top 20 hit Reservations for Two with Dionne Warwick was the only one of his singles in 1987 to make it into the pop (62nd place) and adult contemporary charts (7th place).
His collaboration with Whitney Houston was remarkable : Kashif arranged and produced the first two songs on their debut album, which has sold over 22 million times in 1985 : Thinking About You and You Give Good Love , which is considered to be Houston's breakthrough on the US record market and the top Reached 10 on the singles charts. For Thinking About You , Kashif also contributed to the composition. Another collaboration with Houston followed on their second album Whitney (1987), which sold around 20 million times. Kashif produced the song Where You Are . Houston returned the favor and sang the backing vocals for Fifty Ways (to Fall in Love) on Kashif's album Love Changes .
Kashif's heyday ended around 1990, probably also because trends changed and New Jack Swing and Hip-Hop were dominating the charts more and more. However, he was still active in the music business and released albums every now and then.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1983 | Kashif (1983) |
US54 (33 weeks) US |
R&B10 (46 weeks) R&B |
Arista
|
| 1984 | Send me your love |
US51 (21 weeks) US |
R&B4 (37 weeks) R&B |
Arista
|
| 1985 | Condition of the Heart |
US144 (14 weeks) US |
R&B32 (19 weeks) R&B |
Arista
|
| 1987 | Love changes |
US118 (19 weeks) US |
R&B17 (32 weeks) R&B |
Arista
|
| 1989 | Kashif (1989) | - |
R&B29 (20 weeks) R&B |
Arista
|
More albums
- 1998: Who Loves You? (Expansion)
- 2004: Music From My Mind (Brooklyn Boy)
Compilations
- 1992: The Best of Kashif
- 1998: The Definitive Collection
- 2002: The Best of Kashif
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
Dance
|
|||
| 1983 | I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On) Kashif (1983) |
UK79 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B5 (20 weeks) R&B |
Dance28 (10 weeks) Dance |
|
| Stone Love Kashif (1983) |
- | - |
R&B22 (12 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| Help Yourself to My Love Kashif (1983) |
- | - |
R&B28 (12 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1984 | Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart Send Me Your Love |
- | - |
R&B6 (16 weeks) R&B |
Dance40 (6 weeks) Dance |
|
| Are You the Woman Send Me Your Love |
- | - |
R&B25 (12 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| Ooh love send me your love |
- | - |
R&B75 (6 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1985 | Condition of the Heart Condition of the Heart |
- | - |
R&B34 (15 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1986 | Dancing in the Dark (Heart to Heart) Condition of the Heart |
- | - |
R&B36 (9 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1987 | Reservations for Two Love Changes |
- |
US62 (7 weeks) US |
R&B20 (15 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Dionne Warwick
|
| Love Changes Love Changes |
- | - |
R&B2 (19 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Meli'sa Morgan
|
|
| 1988 | Love Me All Over Love Changes |
- | - |
R&B14 (13 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| Loving You Only Love Changes |
- | - |
R&B66 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1989 | Personality Kashif (1989) |
- | - |
R&B6 (17 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1990 | Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got) Kashif (1989) |
- | - |
R&B33 (11 weeks) R&B |
- | |
More singles
- 1983: Say Something Love
Guest Posts
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
Dance
|
|||
| 1985 | Love on the Rise Gravity |
UK87 (1 week) UK |
- |
R&B24 (13 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Kenny G
|
| 1986 | Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love) A Lot of Love |
- | - |
R&B5 (15 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Melba Moore
|
| 1988 | I'm in Love I'm in Love |
- | - |
R&B13 (12 weeks) R&B |
- |
with Melba Moore
|
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jacinta Howard: Singer and Producer Kashif Saleem Has Died. Retrieved December 9, 2019 .
- ^ Adam White and Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits, 1993 ISBN 0-8230-8285-7
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top R&B Singles 1942-1995, 1996 ISBN 0-89820-115-2
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kashif |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jones, Michael (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 26, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 25, 2016 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California |