Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Crooners
Over the years, male R&B singers have made women swoon with their provocative lyrics, sultry voices and attractive sense of style. AOL Blackvoices takes a look at some of the most notable male R&B crooners and what made them stand out in popular culture.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
R. Kelly
Real Name: Robden Sylvester Kelly
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Beginnings: Kelly was a member of Musically Gifted Men as a teenager and won $100,000 on the TV talent show 'Big Break' hosted by Natalie Cole. After little success with the group, he joined another group, Public Announcement in 1991 and became a major player in R&B before launching his solo career in 1993.
Most Popular Song: Though he's been known for his raunchy songs over the years, Kelly has written and performed his fair share of inspirational singles, most notably 'I Believe I Can Fly' which appeared on the soundtrack for the film 'Space Jam.' It earned the singer/songwriter three Grammy Awards in 1997.
Recent Business: Kelly's career has relatively bounced back since being acquitted of child pornography charges. He released an untitled album in Nov. of 2009 and is currently recording a new record 'Zodiac.'
Factoid: While helming her debut 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number,' Kelly, 27, became romantically involved with 15 year-old R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994. She lied and said that she was eighteen and the two were married for a few months before getting a Feb. 1995 annulment.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Al B. Sure
Real Name: Albert Joseph Brown III
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Beginnings: Music mogul Quincy Jones chose Brown as the winner of the Sony Innovators Talent Search in 1987. Shortly thereafter, he also appeared on the hit single 'Secret Garden' along with Barry White, El DeBarge and James Ingram.
Most Popular Song: Al B. Sure's biggest hit was 'Nite and Day,' which topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and reached number-7 on the Hot 100 Singles chart in 1988.
Recent Business: Last year, Brown signed a new record deal with Hidden Beach Recordings, home to soul singer Jill Scott. His album 'Honey I'm Home' was released on June 23, 2009.
Factoid: Sean 'Diddy' Combs long-time girlfriend Kim Porter and Al B. Sure have a teenage son together named Quincy, but Combs has been a more active parent than the R&B singer and even gave Quincy a big sweet sixteen party, which was documented on the popular MTV show 'Sweet Sixteen.'
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Al Green
Real Name: Albert Greene
Hometown: Forrest City, Arkansas
Beginnings: Green got his start singing gospel with the Green Brothers and then formed the R&B group Al Green & the Creations, which was later renamed the Soul Mates.
Most Popular Song: The title track to Green's 1971 album 'Let's Stay Together' stayed at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 16 weeks.
Recent Business: Green's 2008 Blue Note Records release 'Lay It Down,' was Green's first top-ten album since 1973.
Factoid: In 1974, Green's ex-girlfriend, Mary White, famously douched him with a pan full of hot grits before committing suicide in his Memphis home.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Barry White
Real Name: Barrence Eugene Carter
Hometown: Galveston, Texas
Beginnings: White got his start behind the scenes as a songwriter for rocker Bobby Fuller and pop act The Banana Splits, A&R for Mustang/Bronco Records and producing a girl group he discovered in 1972 called Love Unlimited.
Most Popular Song: White's 1974 number-one pop and R&B song 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe' showcases his signature deep bass voice and steamy spoken word segments. It was the lead single from his album 'Can't Get Enough.'
Recent Business: In the late 90s, despite winning two Grammy Awards with his 1999 album 'Staying Power,' White's run seemed to be slowing. In May of 2003, he suffered a stroke and just two months later died from renal failure.
Factoid: White's other signature song was 'Love's Theme' with his group Love Unlimited Orchestra, which topped the pop charts and sold over a million copies.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Bilal
Real Name: Bilal Sayeed Oliver
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Beginnings: Bilal, who is part of the Philly conglomerate Soulquarians, released his 2001 debut '1st Born Second' on Universal Records, but though it was critically acclaimed the album failed to generate commercial success.
Most Popular Song: 'Soul SIsta' showcased Bilal's signature falsetto and was popular on adult contemporary radio.
Recent Business: Bilal, whose 2006 'Love for Sale' album was shelved by Interscope, continues to collaborate with high-profile artists. He and Common have worked together on eleven of the Chicago rapper's songs, including three tracks on Common's 'Finding Forever' album.
Factoid: Bilal is one of the few artists to have worked with Beyonce and her hubby Jay-Z on separate tracks. The 31 year-old appears on 'Fallin'' from the Brooklyn MC's 'American Gangster' album and duets with the 'Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)' singer on 'Everything I Do' from 'The Fighting Temptations' movie soundtrack.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Raheem DeVaughn
Real Name: Raheem DeVaughn
Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
Beginnings: DJ Jazzy Jeff and former Roc-A-Fella Records A&R Kenny Burns and Dru Hill's long-time manager Jerry Vines helped get DeVaughn a recording contract in 2002 with Jive Records.
Most Popular Song: 'Woman' was the Grammy Award-nominated lead single to DeVaughn's 2008 sophomore album 'Love Behind the Melody.
Recent Business: DeVaughn released 'The Love & War MasterPeace' in 2010, which included an introduction by Cornel West and appearances from Ludacris, Wale, and Damian Marley.
Factoid: A who's who of neo soul singers, including Dwele, Ledisi, Citizen Cope, Chico DeBarge, Rudy Currence, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Shelby Johnson, Bilal, Anthony Hamilton and Jill Scott all appear on DeVaughn's song 'Nobody Wins a War.'
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Raphael Saadiq
Real Name: Charles Ray Wiggins
Hometown: Oakland, California
Beginnings: Saadiq got his start in the R&B trio Tony! Toni! Tone! The group was comprised of Saadiq, his brother Dwayne Wiggins and his cousin Timothy Christian.
Most Popular Song: Before his solo debut dropped, Saadiq had his biggest solo hit 'Ask of You' in 1995. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the John Singleton film 'Higher Learning' and peaked at number-2 on the Billboard R&B chart.
Recent Business: In 2008, Saadiq dropped his third solo album 'The Way I See It,' a retro-feel offering, which was critically acclaimed and earned him three Grammy nominations.
Factoid: After Tony! Toni! Tone!, Saadiq formed another R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl, which was comprised of En Vogue front-woman Dawn Robinson and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheem Muhammad. The group's first and last self-titled album was released in 1999.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Rick James
Real Name: James Ambrose Johnson, Jr.
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Beginnings: In the 1960s, James went by the name of Big Jimmy and performed in various incarnations of the groups the Sailor Boys, Mynah Birds, Salt & Pepper, and Heaven & Earth, respectively.
Most Popular Song: The sexually suggestive funk romp 'Superfreak,' spent three weeks atop of the dance charts in 1981.
Recent Business: James died of what was reported as "acute cardiac dysfunction due to idiopathic cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart" on August 6, 2004.
Factoid: Though rappers such as MC Hammer, Jay-Z, and Gucci Mane has paid homage to James by sampling his music, his career had a resurgence - thanks to a comedy skit performed by Dave Chappelle and Charlie Murphy (on the wildly popular 'Chappelle's Show') - shortly before his death.
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
Bobby Brown
Real Name: Robert Barisford Brown
Hometown: Roxbury, Massachusetts
Beginnings: Brown got his start in the R&B group New Edition, which he founded with Michael Bivins. He was also the youngest member of the group.
Most Popular Song: Brown's Grammy Award-nominated number-one single 'My Prerogative,' which successfully described his in-your-face attitude, was later covered by pop star Britney Spears.
Recent Business: Over the years, Brown's private life has been the subject of tabloid fodder due to his tumulous marriage to iconic singer Whitney Houston. He has also appeared on several reality television shows, including 'Celebrity Fit Club' and 'Being Bobby Brown.'
Factoid: Brown has appeared in two movies, the 1996 film, 'A Thin Line Between Love and Hate,' and the 2001 film 'Two Can Play That Game.'
Swooners & Crooners: Male R&B Singers
It's been a rough road for former Jodeci singers, brothers Cedric 'K-Ci' Hailey and Joel 'Jojo' Hailey. 
Pastor Bryant's sister, Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, a frequent panelist on Dr. Phil and a licensed psychologist, will also provide therapy to K-Ci and Jojo.