What Happened? SWV

SWV

SWV (an abbreviation for Sisters With Voices) was formed by three friends: Cheryl Gamble, Tamara Johnson and Leanne Lyons (the group's founder). SWV got its start after the three friends sent a five song demo to record labels. Soon after, they were signed to a record deal with RCA Records in 1992 after producer Teddy Riley, a former member of Guy, heard the demo.

Coko Clemons began her recording career as a choir member in Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir.

It's About Time is the debut studio album by female R&B trio SWV, released by RCA Records on October 27, 1992. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million copies shipped to store. SWV's first single, "Right Here", was released in the fall of 1992, reaching #16 on the R&B charts. Their second single, "I'm So Into You," peaked at #2 on R&B and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single, "Weak", reached #1 on both the R&B and Hot 100 charts. "Right Here/Human Nature," the fourth single and a remix of their first single, "Right Here", featured samples of Michael Jackson's hit "Human Nature." "Right Here/Human Nature" peaked at #1 on R&B and #2 on the Hot 100 and it stayed at #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for 7 weeks making it one of the longest running singles of 1993. It was followed up with the additional Top10 R&B hits, "Downtown" (#2), and "Always On My Mind" (#8). The album peak at 8 on the US Billboard 200.

Following the success of their first album, SWV appeared on the soundtrack for the 1994 film Above the Rim. The single, "Anything", became a Top Ten R&B hit and reached #18 on the Hot 100 in the spring of 1994. That same year, SWV released The Remixes, which went gold by the end of the year. In the summer of 1995, the trio lent vocal harmonies to Blackstreet's Top 40 R&B hit "Tonight's the Night."

New Beginning is the second album from R&B group SWV. The first single, "You're the One", became one of their signature songs peaking at number five on Billboard's Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B Singles. The second single, "Use Your Heart", saw the debut of the super producers The Neptunes. This song peaked at twenty-two on the Hot 100 and number six on the R&B chart. The last single, "It's All About U", found Taj taking most of the lead as opposed to Coko. The album was certified platinum for shipping 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Also, in 1995 SWV appeared on the Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album, recording the track, "All Night Long".

Release Some Tension is SWV's third album. Guest appearances are made by E-40, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Lil' Cease, Lil' Kim, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Redman. The album features hits like "Rain" (which samples Jaco Pastorius's classic "Portrait of Tracy"), "Someone", "Can We" (which was originally included on the soundtrack for the Jamie Foxx film Booty Call), and canceled single "Lose My Cool". "Someone", although featuring one of the biggest producers/artists of the year, Puff Daddy, only reached #19 on the Billboard charts which sampled The Notorious B.I.G's "Ten Crack Commandment's & Les McCann's "Valantra" also the flowing "When U Cry" sampling Tyrone Davis "In The Mood". The album was certified gold for shipping 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone. RIAA Database A few months later A Special Christmas was released in the United States on November 18, 1997 by RCA Records. It is a holiday album featuring both cover versions and original material.

After SWV officially disbanded in 1997, Johnson-George was signed to a two-year contract with the Ford Modeling Agency. Shortly after this contract ended, Johnson-George began dating Tennessee Titan Eddie George, whom she'd met at a shopping mall in 1994

A Special Christmas would be the penultimate album the trio recorded together before they disbanded in 1998.

Coko, the group's lead singer, released her first solo album in 1999.

The group split in 1998. The members began leading their own careers.

After SWV disbanded, Coko went on to release her first solo album under RCA, titled Hot Coko, released August 1999. The first single, "Sunshine," which was dedicated to her son Jazz, reached the Top 40 position in the R&B charts that summer. However, both the album and singles did not gather the same mainstream success as Coko once did with SWV. Meanwhile, Coko was working on a second solo album titled Music Doll in early 2001, but RCA closed the black music division and the project was shelved.

Since then, she has concentrated more on her family, and eventually married gospel producer and drummer for Israel and New Breed, Mike "Big Mike" Clemmons, the father of her second son, Jaylon. She currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Johnson-George contributed to the anthology Souls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits, which was published in 2000.

In 2001, Coko and her Mother Lady "Clyde" Tibba Gamble did a remake of the song "Tears in Heaven" (originally recorded by Eric Clapton) on the album Rhythm and Spirit: "Love Can Build a Bridge". The album featured other artists such as Jennifer Holliday, Patti Labelle, and Tramaine Hawkins.

In 2002, Johnson-George enrolled in Belmont University in Nashville, earning a Bachelor's of Business Administration in May 2004

 Coko Clemons sang on the Brent Jones & TP Mobb single "Midnite" in 2002.

Coko also appeared on Youthful Praise's 2003 gospel album Thank You for the Change singing lead on "Up There".

Johnson-George married Eddie George in Rockleigh, New Jersey in 2004.

Johnson-George difficult pregnancy left her bedridden for the first five months of her pregnancy. Their son, Eriq Michael, was born in 2005.

In 2005, SWV reunited and announced plans to record a new album the following year (the album has not materialized).

Coko's full gospel solo debut, Grateful, was released in the United States on October 31, 2006 and debuted at #5 on Billboard's Top Independent albums chart. Grateful includes an all-star cover of The Clark Sisters' "Endow Me" which features R&B singers Faith Evans, Fantasia Barrino and Lil Mo.

 An alternate version of “Endow Me”, minus Faith Evans was performed on BET's Celebration of Gospel '07. A special edition of Grateful only available through Wal-Mart includes two bonus tracks "I Wish" and Brent Jones' "Midnite" featuring Coko on lead vocals.

Katrina Chambers, and Johnson-George wrote the book Player hateHER: How to Avoid the Beat Down and Live in a Drama-Free World in 2007. That same year, Johnson-George and husband Eddie George starred in the reality TV show I Married a Baller, which depicted five weeks in the George household over a course of nine shows. The show focused on Johnson-George and her marriage to Eddie George, her struggle to lose her "baby weight," and performing with SWV, who came together to perform the theme song of the show. Baller also highlighted Visions with Infinite Possibilities, the Georges' not-for-profit charity for survivors of domestic violence and their children.

SWV was featured in the XXL where they discussed single releases from their debut album It's About Time. In the interview, Clemons mentioned that the group would no longer perform sexually-explicit songs such as "Downtown" and "Can We" anymore out of a new respect for her beliefs as a Christian. The group's final performance took place in Toronto in late June 2007.

 In 2007, the group performed dates with After 7, Bobby Brown, New Edition, and Blackstreet

 On June 24, 2008, SWV made a special appearance at the BET Awards of 2008, performing "Weak" with Alicia Keys.

Johnson-George participated in a 2009 national tour of the Vagina Monologues with an all-black cast, most of whom are also former reality show contestants.

 SWV appeared on The Mo'Nique Show on February 2, 2010, performing Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew". Lelee and Coko provided the lead vocals.

2011 SWV has recently signed a record deal with Mass Appeal Entertainment and E1 Entertainment. On June 10, 2011, SWV was featured on the official remix of Chris Brown's remake of their Right Here/Human Nature song, "She Ain't You".

SWV released their first single "Co-Sign" on December 15, 2011 via iTunes

I Missed Us off their fourth studio album was released on April 17, 2012 via eOne Music and Mass Appeal Entertainment

VH-1's 100 Greatest: Women in Music, SWV was ranked #88. Billboard named SWV the #7 R&B Act and the #2 Top Selling/Airplay R&B Female Group of the 1990s.

SWV appeared on the television talk show The Wendy Williams Show on April 17, 2012 to promote the release of I Missed Us and to perform the hit song "Co-Sign". As of April 17, 2012, SWV has the #1 R&B album on iTunes.

On June 1, 2012, SWV announced that their next single to be released from I Missed Us is "Love Unconditionally".

As of June 28, 2012 SWV song I'm So Into You from the Triple Platinum Album It's About Time (SWV Album) is currently ranked at #18 on VH1's 40 Greatest "R&B songs of the 90's"