Meli'sa Morgan

Joyce Melissa "Meli'sa" Morgan (born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/Soul singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of urban contemporary hits starting the mid–1980s through the mid–1990s. Morgan most notable songs includes her cover version of Prince's "Do Me, Baby" (1985), "Do You Still Love Me" (1986) and "Still in Love With You" (1992). Born in Queens, New York, Morgan got her start in the music industry while singing with a church gospel choir called the Starlets of Corona. Morgan cites Chaka Khan as a major influence.

Career

1982–92

Her initial chart entry was as the lead singer of the dance group, Shades of Love. They had a single entry on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1982, the #26 "Body to Body (Keep in Touch)". This was re-popularized in 1994 by new remixes, "Body to Body (Keep in Touch)", and reached number 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. That same year, music entrepreneur Jacques Fred Petrus asked her to join his newly created studio group, High Fashion, that featured Morgan and two other New York vocalists, Eric McClinton and Alyson Williams. High Fashion's sole hit, "Feelin' Lucky Lately", reached #32 on the US Black Singles chart. In 1983 Morgan left, and was replaced in the group by the jazz vocalist, Marcella Allen. Morgan worked as a backing singer with Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, and Melba Moore. As a solo artist she topped the R&B chart with her cover version of Prince's "Do Me, Baby" for 3 weeks, (the title track from her debut album) which also became her only Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 46 in 1986. She also had a top 5 R&B single with "Do You Still Love Me" from her debut album. She had several solo hits on the U.S. dance chart as well, including "Still in Love With You," which hit #3 in 1992.

2005–present

After a lengthy hiatus, Morgan released her fifth solo album, I Remember. The first single, "Back Together Again", a song originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, received moderate airplay on urban contemporary radio stations during early 2006 and peaked at number 46 on Billboard's R&B chart. The follow-up singles included "I Remember", "Will You?" and "High Maintenance" which was released in September 2006. New material by Meli'sa Morgan can be heard on a German release by Cool Million, which features Meli'sa Morgan on lead vocals on the opening track Sweet Baby. This proves she is still vocally in top condition. Morgan was featured on an episode of TVOne's Unsung which aired in 2015.

Personal life

Morgan was married to playwright, writer and director Shelly Garrett from 1993 until 1998. A verse from Morgan's 1986 single "Fool's Paradise" was re-vamped, with modified lyrics, by Mary J. Blige as the chorus to the 1996 Jay-Z single "Can't Knock the Hustle".