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Black Box   (Italy)

EuroDance group
Added : 24/01/2000
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Latest Black Box news

29/10/2024 : The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (Canada) used Black Box 's Everybody Everybody in one of their commercials 9 months ago (thanks to Trance Love)

08/07/2024 : Black Box and Limited Budget (UK based DJ Shaun Smith) released a drum'n'bass and jungle remix package for their anthem Ride on Time

14/01/2023 : The music from the current Old el Paso fajitas TV spots in France is inspired from the melody of Black Box Ride On Time

19/12/2022 : Kalvara released a cover of Black Box's hit Ride On Time

08/06/2021 : A few days ago, Black Box produced Daniele Davoli was interviewed by GL0WKiD

17/05/2021 : For the project's 30th anniversary, Black Box released a new best of album entitled Dreamlanders including brand new remixes

09/02/2021 : Joan Orleans recorded a remake of Black Box's hit Ride On Time

More news

Black Box albums

	Remixland	1990	BUY X
	Dreamland	1990	BUY X
	2 + 2 2 CDs	1991	BUY X
	2 + 2	1991	BUY X
	Mixed Up	1991	BUY X
	Remix Hits (Japan)	1991	BUY X
	Party Mix (Japan)	1991	BUY X
	Mixed Up 92	1992	BUY X
	Positive Vibration (Japan)	1995	BUY X
	Positive Vibration	1996	BUY X
	Hits and Mixes	Jun 1998	BUY X
	Superbest	20th Apr 2018	BUY X
	Dreamlanders	7th May 2021	BUY X

Black Box DVDs and VHS

	Video Dreams	1990	VHS
	Video Dreams 1991	1991	VHS

Black Box singles

	Ride On Time	12th Aug 1989	BUY X
	I Don't Know Anybody Else	17th Feb 1990	BUY X
	Everybody Everybody	Jul 1990	BUY X
	Get Down	Sep 1990	BUY X
	Fantasy	3rd Nov 1990	BUY X
	Ride On Time + The Total mix	1991	BUY X
	Megamix	1991	BUY X
	Bright On Time	Apr 1991	BUY X
	Strike It Up	Jun 1991	BUY X
	Open Your Eyes	Sep 1991	BUY X
	Hold On	Jun 1992	BUY X
	Rockin' To The Music	Dec 1993	BUY X
	Ride On Time '94	Apr 1994	BUY X
	Not Anyone	1995	BUY X
	A Positive Vibration	Nov 1995	BUY X
	I Got The Vibration	1st Apr 1996	BUY X
	Native New Yorker	27th Jan 1997	BUY X
	Fall Into My Love	Apr 1997	BUY X
	Bright On Time '98	1998	BUY X
	Ride On Time 2003	2003	BUY X
	You Got The Love	2005	BUY X
	Everybody Everybody 2007	2007	BUY X
	Everyone Will Follow (feat. Celestine)	18th May 2018	BUY X

Black Box remixes

	Ride On Time	1989	BUY X
	Fantasy	1990	BUY X
	I Don't Know Anybody Else	1990	BUY X
	Open Your Eyes	1991	BUY X
	Strike It Up	1991	BUY X
	Not Anyone	1995	BUY X
	Native New Yorker	1997	BUY X
	Ride On Time (30th Special Release)	13th Sep 2019	BUY X
	Ride On Time	5th Jul 2024	BUY X

Featurings and collaborations

Cuban Deejays x Mr Vegas x DJ Shorty - Ride On Time

2nd Dec 2022

BUY X

Black Box biography

Black Box is made up of three Italian studio musicians : Daniele Davoli, Mirko Limoni and Valerio Simplici, collectively known as Groove Groove Melody, based in the Regio D'Emillia area of Northern Italy. Simplici was a clarinet teacher and played in the La Scala Classical Music Orchestra in Milan. Davoli was a well known Italian club DJ (known as DJ Lelewel), largely at the Marabu Starlight Club, while Limoni was the computer and keyboard whizz-kid of the trio and had previously engineered for Italian pop stars such as Spagna. The Groove Groove Melody team were established as one of the top two production outfits in Italian dance music, knocking out more than a dozen singles a year in their native country.

In their different productions, they often use the face of French model and singer Katrine. Katrine was spotted by Spagna's guitarist at a club, and after introductions featured as vocalist on Ride On Time. The single became the first of a series of Italian House records to cross over to the UK charts, staying at number 1 for six weeks in 1989. It also reached # 1 in Israel, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the European chart. Controversy reigned when it was realised that the single had included some samples of the voice of singer Loleatta Holloway from the Love Sensation single she made with Dan Hartman in the late 70s. A deal was eventually worked out with Salsoul (who owned the rights) as both companies benefited from 800 000 UK sales.

The Groove Groove Melody team were also behind the production of Starlight's Numero Uno and Mixmaster 's Grand Piano, another prime example of 'Italo-house', and another crossover hit. Under seven or more pseudonyms, they turned out numerous further records. However, as Black Box their hits included I Don't Know Anybody Else (a Top Ten smash in the U.S. as well), Everybody Everybody (the last of the Ride On Time trilogy, which featured vocals by Martha Wash. It reached # 2 in Israel, and entered the top 10 in UK), and Fantasy, a revamp of the Earth, Wind And Fire hit (which entered the Top 10 in Israel and reached # 9 in UK). The group's debut LP, 1990's Dreamland, was also a success.

Actually, since Martha Wash's voice was at first used as sample for Everybody Everybody, she was finally asked to reinterpret the whole title... Then to sing for the complete album Dreamland. Katrine was just lipsyncing on stage... Martha's voice was also used by projects such as Seduction and C & C Music Factory (Everybody Dance Now). She finally tired of ghosting vocals, disavowed all her session work, and filed litigation for proper crediting, winning a solo recording contract in the process. Black Box went on to cast Charvoni Woodson as their featured singer.

After the single Get Down (featuring the rapper Stepz) and a Megamix, they returned in 1991 with Strike It Up, another American Top Ten entry. They were also responsible for, among other remixes, ABC 's 1991 comeback single, Say It.

End of 1993, they released Rockin' To The Music. Videoclip was shot around the XVIth century Villa La Rotonda in Vicenza, and featuring Daisy Dee as a dancer. After Ride On Time '94, 1995 saw the release of single Not Anyone, but their album Positive Vibration was not very successful.

2007 : Everybody Everybody was remixed by Benny Benassi, Fuzzy Hair and whiteHEAT. A Black Box Best Of could be released at the end of the year.

2008 : Candy did a cover of the Black Box classic Ride On Time

2016 : Mobin Master And Trillogee ft. Alfreda Gerald released a cover of Ride On Time

2017 : Crew 7 released a cover of Strike It Up.

2018 : after 21 years, Black Box were back with a best-of compilation called Superbest and a new single entitled Everyone Will Follow featuring vocals by Celestine Walcott-Gordon, who seem to be the new vocalist and official frontlady of the project. Black Box finally secured the rights to the original Loleatta Holloway sample used on Ride on Time. In December, former Bass Bumpers vocalist Felicia Uwaje released a cover of Strike It Up.

CD Now - Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Thanks to Florent "v_uba" and Tavi Meran
Thanks to Shimon O'Hana for the charts positions

Black Box biography was last updated Thu, January 12th 2023

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