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Ten City
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Ten City is an American R&B and house group from Chicago. The name comes from the word intensity. The group began in 1987 under the name Ragtyme and consisted of the singer Byron Stingily, the guitarist Herb Lawson and the keyboard player Byron Burke. The producer Marshall Jefferson worked in the background and gave the music the sound of Chicago house. Atlantic Records offered Stingily a contract, but he would only sign if his colleagues could come too. That is how Ten City came about.
Music and breakthrough
The debut album Foundation came out in 1989, with the singles Devotion, Right Back to You and That's the Way Love Is. The last of these became a club hit in America and in the United Kingdom in 1989. The group travelled on money borrowed from Stingily's grandmother for a promotional tour of Europe, and it worked. After that came the albums State of Mind in 1990, No House Big Enough in 1992 and That Was Then, This Is Now in 1994. Stingily later went solo, and in 2021 a new album appeared under the name Ten City, Judgement.
Influence
Ten City is regarded as one of the first examples of deep house. The music combines Stingily's soft soul voice with tight drum machines and warm synthesizers. The group also played live, which was still unusual for house at the time. In this way it brought the dance floor and soul singing together.
Listening
That's the Way Love Is · Ten City, 1989Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 1989Foundation
- 1990State of Mind
- 1992No House Big Enough
- 1994That Was Then, This Is Now
- 2021Judgement
- 2023Love Is Love
- 2025The Next Generation