An all female fronted band where the members are African American plus one Caucasian. Yes, I just said that. Wow! Lynn Malsby (keys, vocals): our white Sistah!, Joyce Irby (bass,vocals), Cheryl Cooley (guitar, vocals), Lorena "Lungs" Stewart-Porter (vocals), Bernadette Cooper (drums, vocals) and Robin Grider (keys, vocals): all our Black Sistahs!, are all part of the group Klymaxx.
Their big hits"I Miss You", "Meeting In The Ladies Room", "The Men All Pause" and "I'd Still Say Yes" shows what these ladies are made of. Funky beats, soft ballads with beautiful guitar pickings, rhythmic bass and keyboard lines combined with tricky drumming makes it hard to believe that these ladies did what they said they would do. Stun the hell out of everyone listening!
The first time I heard of Klymaxx was back in 1990 when my cousin gave me a tape of extended mixes and "Meeting In The Ladies Room" was in that tape. I thought it sounded dumb and annoying. I was pretty selective of my choices at age 8-9!
Fast forward to 2012, while at work, I met a wonderful gal named Shay who I befriended and we struck up a conversation about women in music. Eventually she told me to go back and listen to Klymaxx and give them a chance. Shay was inspired to learn drums and bass after listening to them. So I did for Shay's benefit.
I was totally suprised. Going back to their first album, Never Underestimate the Power Of A Woman, was a blast to listen to. Funky grooves, lots of percussion and layered synth work was best for a first album. Some might say its too fast and hectic but I think it works. I think if they hadn't worked hard as they did on their debut, they would have just slipped by.
Girls Will Be Girls, their follow up album, the girls learned from their mistakes and accentuated the positive. Not as fast paced as the first album, the girls still manage to stay stong. Lorena Porter is the main vocalist for the group, she manages to break out assertive vocals and Bernadette Cooper was now also committed to being the band leader. This was also a milestone for them and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Klymaxx was Jam&Lewis's first time producing and writing with, outside of working with the band The Time.
Of course Meeting In The Ladies Room was the start of something new. World wide recognition! Tours from here to there and reaching platinum status. "I Miss You" was the ballad girls wanted to dance to at prom, etc. The title track was what girls secretly wished they could play the bass line to. It was an album that got the attention they were wanting. Never afraid to step past boundaries, the women in Klymaxx started reaching out to their female fans, saying to stay fierce and play your guitar, drums and to never give up on their dreams.
I now realized what I had missed out on giving that tape a chance. This was a band that made me realize how much I love to sing and play my guitar. They make me feel like it is possible to achieve my dreams.
The original Klymaxx may not be together, but Cheryl Cooley is playing with her rendition of Klymaxx today. There were tensions between members a couple years ago and now they are forever apart due to disagreement due to the use of the band name. Maybe in the future the girls can lay down their pain and forgive each other. We can only wish and wait. Until then, I have a meeting....with my bed. ;) Night All!
