La Bouche

La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", pronounced [la buʃ]) is a German-American electronic dance music duo act best known for the dance hits "Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me" and "Tonight is the Night".[1]

La Bouche
Background information
OriginFrankfurt am Main, Germany
GenresEurodance, house
Years active1994–2002, 2007–present
LabelsBMG Records
RCA
Associated actsLe Click
WebsiteOfficial website
MembersLane McCray
Sophie Cairo
Past membersMelanie Thornton (deceased)
Kayo Shekoni

La Bouche was founded in 1994 by German record producer Frank Farian in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Techno DJ Ulli Brenner and producer Amir Saraf worked together to produce the music for the act while American singer Melanie Thornton and American rapper/singer Lane McCray fronted the act. Thornton departed La Bouche in 2000, continuing her career as a solo singer.

On November 24, 2001, Melanie Thornton died in the Crossair Flight 3597 crash in Zürich, Switzerland. As a tribute to the singer, Farian released "In Your Life", an unreleased song featuring vocals recorded earlier with Thornton and McCray. Farian later decided to release a compilation album in 2002 featuring remixes of Thornton's biggest La Bouche hits.

McCray continues to tour the world as La Bouche, keeping the brand alive.

In 2015, McCray pulled Hungarian-born singer Sophie Cairo out of obscurity to be the new official singer of the act. A new official remix titled "Sweet Dreams 2017" was released featuring vocals from McCray and Cairo.

Beginnings with Groovin' Affairs

Prior to forming La Bouche in 1994, Thornton and McCray were lead vocalists in a German cover band called Groovin' Affairs. While touring with the band in various parts of Germany, Thornton also did regular studio session work with producers Amir Saraf and Ulli Brenner. Eventually, Thornton asked her bandmate McCray to join her in the recording project.

Mainstream success with "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover"

The song "Sweet Dreams" had quickly caught the attention of Farian and he later secured the track through his MCI label. "Tonight Is the Night" went to Logic Records in Germany under the band name Le Click. The single was released in 1994 and was a pan-European and Australian hit. It was later revealed that the rap performance was not done by Lane McCray, but by Robert Haynes, a former member of Le Click.

It was followed by "Be My Lover" in 1995, which peaked at number one in Germany and Sweden, while also reaching the Top 10 in fourteen European countries. It also peaked at number 27 in 1995 and number 25 in 1996 in the UK Singles Chart when re-issued in that year.[2] "Be my lover" went to number 1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1995 and climbed to number 6 on the Hot 100 in early 1996. It was then re-released in the UK and reached a new peak of number 25. 1996 It went on to win the ASCAP award for the "Most Played Song in America", and sold 6 million copies worldwide. La Bouche went on to become one of the biggest Eurodance groups of the '90s, with a string of hits worldwide. The debut album Sweet Dreams was released on June 12, 1995, which went to number 13 in the U.S., featured two more hit single releases, "Fallin' in Love" (a cover of the 1975 Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds song) and "I Love to Love".

While still with the group, Thornton had some American chart success as featured vocalist on the Le Click hit "Tonight is the Night", which reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on the U.S. version of La Bouche's debut album, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard 200. It was certified platinum by the RIAA and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. Thornton provided guest vocals on a lot of dance projects on single releases such as on Orange Blue's "If You Wanna Be (My Only)", Comic's "I Surrender to Your Love", 100%'s "Power of the Light", Trance-Vision's "Take Me 2 Heaven 2 Nite" and Men Behind's "How Can I".

All Mixed Up and S.O.S.

A remix album called All Mixed Up was released in 1996. Their second studio album, S.O.S. was released in 1998, with A Moment of Love being the album title for the European version in late of 1997, preceded by the singles "Forget Me Nots", a cover of the Patrice Rushen song that was originally on their debut album, Sweet Dreams internationally, "Bolingo (Love is in the Air)", which only appears on the U.S. album version and followed by the singles "You Won't Forget Me", "A Moment of Love" and "S.O.S.", being minor to moderate hits in Europe. "You Won't Forget Me" was released in autumn of 1997 and reached number 48 on the Hot 100. One highlight on A Moment of Love was a bonus track, a cover version of the Elton John song "Candle in the Wind" in a gospel version which features guest vocalists Joan Faulkner, Christin Sargent, Freda Goodlett, Rejime, The Jackson Singers, Ma Belle and label mates No Mercy, which only appears on the European album version.

Melanie Thornton's departure

In addition to her work with La Bouche, Thornton still provided guest vocals on singles such as Orange Blue's "Sunshine of my Life" and "Runaway" and 100%'s "The Way It Is", which led Thornton in February 2000 to leave La Bouche to pursue a full solo career. Thornton as a solo singer was climbing the German charts with her hit "Love How You Love Me." Towards the end of 2001, Thornton was asked to record "Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming)" for a Coca-Cola Christmas TV commercial to be shown on German television. While promoting it, and a re-release of her solo album Ready to Fly, she lost her life in a plane crash near Zurich on November 24, 2001. After her passing, the single went on to become her biggest solo hit, reaching number 3 on the German singles chart.

Compilations and remixes

In April 2002, Farian compiled songs from Thornton's solo album along with selections from the first and second La Bouche albums into a best of collection entitled Best Of billed as 'La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton'. In November 2002, one year following Thornton's death, Farian prepared a tribute single entitled "In Your Life", a song which was previously unreleased. Farian combined her vocals with Kayo Shekoni's vocals from Le Click, a band which Thornton also provided guest vocals for, who completed the song with additional vocals. The single was released worldwide in 2002 and in the U.S. in 2003. It peaked at number 9 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.

On December 1, 2003, Thornton's first remix compilation album, Memories – Her Most Beautiful Ballads was released, which also includes new ballad versions of La Bouche songs such as "Sweet Dreams" and "Fallin' in Love". In 2007, the second La Bouche compilation called Greatest Hits was released along with a 3-track EP, released on iTunes under the name 'Le Click' titled Let's Click: 90's Dance Classics. These are 3 tracks from the S.O.S./A Moment of Love album recording sessions that did not make the final cut.

As of 2018, "Be My Lover" remains a prominent media component in the events world, serving as the official theme song at many of Los Angeles' highest-profile ACC events.

Members
Member1994199519961997199819992000200120022007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Lane McCray
(1994–2002, 2007–)
Melanie Thornton
(1994–2000)
Dana Rayne
(2003–2008)
Kayo Shekoni
(2002, 2007–2015)
Sophie Cairo
(2015–Present)

Discography

Studio albums
Album Album details Peak chart positions Certifications Info
AUS
[3]		 AUT FIN NL NOR NZ SWE SWI US
Sweet Dreams
  • Release date: June 12, 1995
  • Label: MCI
  • Formats: CD
 10 9 2 41 26 6 29 2 28 Debut studio album by La Bouche. This album features the singles "Sweet Dreams (Ola Ola E)", "Be My Lover", "Fallin' in Love" and "I Love to Love"
S.O.S.
  • Release date: June 16, 1998
  • Label: MCI
  • Formats: CD
 — — 21 — — — — 40 194 Second and final studio album by La Bouche with Thornton as lead vocalist. Previously released on February 9, 1998 in Europe retitled as "A Moment of Love" excluding "Bolingo (Love Is in the Air)" and including bonus track "Candle in the Wind"
"—" denotes studio albums that did not chart.

Remix albums
  • 1996: All Mixed Up (Remix Album)

Compilation albums
  • 2002: Best of (Credited as "La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton") (May 21, 2002)
  • 2007: Greatest Hits (April 2, 2007)

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)		 Album
GER
[11]		 AUS
[3]		 AUT
[12]		 FIN
[13]		 FRA
[12]		 ITA
[14]		 NED
[12]		 SWI
[12]		 SWE
[12]		 UK
[2]		 US
[15]
1994 "Sweet Dreams (Ola Ola E)" 8 8 3 15 32 1 31 5 13 63 13 Sweet Dreams
1995 "Be My Lover" 1 2 3 18 7 1 1 5 1 27 6
"Fallin' in Love" 13 — 13 39 19 13 — 19 13 43 -
"I Love to Love" 21 6 19 27 - 19 30 42 - - -
1996 "Forget Me Nots" — — — — — — — — — — —
"Bolingo (Love Is in the Air)" 26 — - — 23 19 — 15 15 — — S.O.S.
1997 "You Won't Forget Me" 29 80 - 80 24 — — 18 28 48
1998 "A Moment of Love" 100 — - — — — — — 18 — —
1999 "S.O.S." 78 — - — — — — — — — —
2000 "All I Want" — — — — — — — — — — — Non-Album Single
2002 "In Your Life" — — — — — — — — — — — Best of
"—" denotes singles that did not chart.

Other charted songs
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK
[2]
1996 "Be My Lover" (Remix) 25 Sweet Dreams
"Sweet Dreams (Ola Ola E)" (Remix) 44

Notes
  • A^ "Sweet Dreams" was released in North America and re-released in the UK in 1996 these musical compositions:
  • "Be My Lover";
  • "Sweet Dreams";
  • "In Your Life";
  • "You Won't Forget Me";
  • "S.O.S.";
  • "Where Do You Go".

References

  1. IMO Records. "La Bouche Biography" Archived 2012-08-02 at Archive.today, IMO Records' Retrieved on 08 March 2011.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 310. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  4. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  5. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (La Bouche)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  7. Music Canada: Certifications Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Certifications Albums Or – année 1995". Disque en France. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  9. "Vuonna myönnetyt kulta- ja platinalevyt: La Bouche". IFPI (Finland). Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  10. "AWARDS 1995". IFPI (Switzerland). Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  11. "Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  12. "Les charts français". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 9789511210535.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-03-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "La Bouche chart history". Billboard.com. n.d. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  16. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". ARIA. Archived from the original on 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  17. "BVMI - Datenbank". Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  18. Austrian certifications ifpi.at Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
  19. French certifications Disqueenfrance.com Archived 2011-12-12 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
  20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Be My Lover')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  21. U.S. certifications riaa.com Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
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