Eric Redd

Eric Redd is an American recording artist, songwriter and dancer. He was a regular on Soul Train before moving into music. He had a dance music hit in 2019 with "Push",[1] "Right Time" in 2017 and "Breathe" in 2010. Redd was also lead vocalist with the classic rock band, California Transit Authority (CTA).

Eric Redd
Background information
Birth nameEric Redd
OriginInglewood, California, United States
GenresRock, pop rock, dance, EDM, house, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, choreographer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1977–present
LabelsJive, Carrillo
Websiteericredd.com

Early years

A self proclaimed ‘Street Dancer’ by the time he was 16, Redd had become a regular on Soul Train, one of the most Popular American music-dance television shows in history. Redd and his partner, Cheryl Song, were two of the show's most popular dancers. Because of this popularity, they were invited to compete in the American Bandstand dance contest. Since the two programs rarely co-mingled dancers, this was a singular honor.

Career

After graduating high school, Redd won a scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied dance. Then, after turning down a position in The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's second company, he spent a year with the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers before moving to Paris, where he joined Roland Petit's Ballet de Marseilles.

After touring with the company for two years, he left to appear in the original German cast of Cats. During much of this time, he was known as "Erique" Redd, as there was already another Eric Redd in the European entertainers' union.

He next appeared in another Andrew Lloyd Webber production, the London production of Starlight Express. It was there, in 1991, that Redd turned increasingly to singing, landing a contract on Jive Records UK and releasing a club-friendly cover of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave a Lover." After two years with Jive Records, Redd, who realized the label was concentrating only on rap, decided to head back to California, where he wrote and recorded music for television, served as a music supervisor for Black Entertainment Television (BET)'s new programming department. He also performed, toured and recorded with artists such as k.d. lang, Sara Lee (then of the B-52's) and Ani DiFranco.

In 2008, he completed his first full-length album, Across the Water, for German label White Noise. Virtually simultaneously, he was asked by Danny Seraphine, the original drummer of the band Chicago, to replace Larry Braggs as the lead vocalist in California Transit Authority (CTA), due to Braggs' heavy schedule with Tower of Power. Seraphine named his new band to mimic his first band's original name, Chicago Transit Authority.

Redd's first foray into classic rock was complemented by his return to club music. His house and electro-infused single "Breathe" (Carrillo Music) reached number #32 in the Billboard dance music charts in the 2010, and featured a video directed by famed visual editor, Dustin Robertson (Madonna, Lady Gaga)

His follow-up to "Breathe," a six-song EP titled 54 for Carrillo Music, was released in 2011. In 2012, Redd had the honor of being the featured vocalist with the band The Source, opening for Stevie Wonder at the inaugural celebration for Barack Obama.

In 2013, he turned to a more Electronic meets RnB sound and released the full-length CD titled Pure. During that same time he was featured with his penned track "Go On" on the newly released C.T.A. full-length CD, titled Sacred Ground. He ended that stellar year with his songs "54" and "How could I break (my own heart)", added to the feature film Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship, released in theaters worldwide.

In 2017, his single "Right Time" broke into the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart. This was Redd's second dance club hit produced by Rod Carrillo.

In 2019, Redd released "Push" and garnished overwhelming success from the House Music community. "Push" earned positions in the Top 20 Soulful House Sales Chart and Top 100 Overall Sales Chart [2] on the music download site Traxsource.com. "Push" was added to the Traxsource Essential House Playlist, while simultaneously entering the Billboard Dance Music Chart.


Discography

References
  1. "Eric Redd: 'Push' bristles with piano-driven funkiness". Jamsphere Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  2. "Eric Redd: 'Push' Traxsource.com". Retrieved 2020-03-23.
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