Club Nouveau () is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name (French for "Club New") was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed by Warner Bros. Records, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version of Bill Withers's song "Lean on Me" won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1987.

History

From its debut album, Life, Love & Pain, which was released in 1986, to pursue a solo career but reunited with the group in 2009.

The group's next albums—beginning with Listen to the Message—were laced with an evolving social consciousness. Notable recordings include "You Ain't No Friend of Mine" from Under A Nouveau Groove; a dancehall-influenced version of the Gospel classic "Oh, Happy Day", from A New Beginning; "Let It Go" from Everything Is Black; and "What Kind of Love" from The Collection Volume I. The group also recorded "Step by Step" for the Who's That Girl soundtrack.

Club Nouveau was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance in 1987. The group's version of "Lean on Me" was its most celebrated hit, resulting in a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in addition to winning the Grammy for Best R&B Song that same year.

! width="35"| US<br>R&B<br>

! width="35"| CAN<br>

! width="35"| GER<br>

! width="35"| NL<br>

! width="35"| NZ<br>

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| 1986

| align="left"| Life, Love & Pain

  • Release date: December 6, 1986
  • Label: Warner Bros.

| 6

| 2

| 90

| 13

| 65

| 69

| 9

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  • RIAA: Platinum

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| 1988

| align="left"| Listen to the Message

  • Release date: May 24, 1988
  • Label: Warner Bros.

| 98

| 44

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| 1989

| align="left"| Under a Nouveau Groove

  • Release date: November 7, 1989
  • Label: Warner Bros.

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| 1992

| align="left"| A New Beginning

  • Release date: April 30, 1992
  • Label: JVK

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| 80

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| 1995

| align="left"| Everything Is Black

  • Release date: October 10, 1995
  • Label: Rip-It

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| 2015

| align="left"| Consciousness

  • Release date: June 2015
  • Label: Nouveau Music, Faze One Records

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| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

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Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="10"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Certifications

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="35"| US<br>

! width="35"| NL<br>

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1986

| align="left"| "Jealousy"

| —

| 8

| 38

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| 80

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| align="left" rowspan="6"| Life, Love & Pain

|-

| align="left"| "Situation #9"

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| 4

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|-

| rowspan="4"| 1987

| align="left"| "Lean on Me"

| 1

| 2

| 1

| 5

| 1

| 9

| 5

| 4

| 1

| 3

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  • RIAA: Gold

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| align="left"| "Why You Treat Me So Bad"

| 39

| 2

| 22

| —

| —

| —

| —

| 96

| —

| —

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|-

| align="left"| "Let Me Go"

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| —

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|-

| align="left"| "Heavy on My Mind"

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| 42

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|-

| rowspan="3"| 1988

| align="left"| "It's a Cold, Cold World!"

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| 34

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| align="left" rowspan="3"| Listen to the Message

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| align="left"| "For the Love of Francis"

| —

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|-

| align="left"| "Envious"

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|-

| rowspan="1"| 1989

| align="left"| "No Friend of Mine"

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| 12

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| align="left" rowspan="3"| Under a Nouveau Groove

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| rowspan="2"| 1990

| align="left"| "Under a Nouveau Groove"

| —

| —

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|-

| align="left"| "Momentary Lover"

| —

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| 1992

| align="left"| "Oh Happy Day"

| —

| 45

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

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| align="left" rowspan="2"| A New Beginning

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| 1993

| align="left"| "When Will You Come Back to Me?"

| —

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| 1994

| align="left"| "Ghetto Swang"

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| align="left" rowspan="2"| Everything Is Black

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| 1995

| align="left"| "Let It Go" <small>(featuring Thrill Da Playa of the 69 Boyz)</small>

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| 1998

| align="left"| "What Kind of Love (Secret Rendezvous)"

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| align="left" rowspan="1"| The Collection Volume 1

|-

| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

|}

See also

  • List of number-one hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
  • Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
  • Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
  • 30th Annual Grammy Awards

References