Taja Sevelle
Taja Sevelle (born Nancy Richardson, January 7, 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known for her 1987 single, "Love Is Contagious"[1] and for the non-profit organization Urban Farming, which she founded in 2005.
Sevelle signed a record contract with Prince's Paisley Park Records in 1992.[2] From the Prince Vault Website, the following information about her recording history with Prince may be known: "Taja Sevelle is the first studio album by Taja Sevelle, and is her only album to feature writing input by Prince.
Two of the album's ten tracks were written (or co-written) by Prince, although the album was produced by Minneapolis musician Chico Bennett.
Although Taja Sevelle had signed to Paisley Park Records when it was formed in 1984, she mainly worked with Warner Bros. executives on the album, and Prince's involvement was minimal; he submitted the songs in late 1986 after Michael Jackson had rejected Wouldn't You Love To Love Me? for his album Bad.
Recording process
Both songs with Prince involvement were not initially designed for Taja Sevelle and had initially been recorded earlier in his career. Wouldn't You Love To Love Me? was first recorded in 1976-1977, before Prince had even recorded his first album For You, and If I Could Get Your Attention was first recorded in May 1986.
Promotion
The album produced four singles, Love Is Contagious (released shortly before the album), Wouldn't You Love To Love Me?, Popular and Take Me For A Ride.
It failed to chart in the US, but reached number 48 in the UK."
During the 1990s, Sevelle wrote several songs for Warner Music.[2]
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLD [3] |
UK [4] | ||
| 1987 | Taja Sevelle | 48 | 52 |
| 1991 | Fountains Free | — | — |
| 1997 | Toys Of Vanity' | — | — |
Extended plays
| Year | EP |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Good Times EP[5] |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
US R&B [7] |
NLD 40 [8] |
NLD 100 [3] |
UK [4] | ||
| 1987 | "Love Is Contagious" | 62 | 58 | 8 | 20 | 7 |
| 1988 | "Wouldn't You Love to Love Me?" | — | 61 | — | 78 | 59 |
| "Popular" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Take Me For A Ride" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1991 | "Trouble Having You Near" | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "A Lot Like You" | — | — | — | — | — |
| "I & I" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Little Diva" | — | — | — | — | — |
Music videos
| Song | # | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| "Love Is Contagious" | 2 | [9] |
| "Wouldn't You Love to Love Me?" | 1 | |
| "Popular" | ||
| "Trouble Having You Near" | ||
| "I & I" |
Urban Farming
In 2005, Taja founded the non-profit organization Urban Farming. Its mission is "to create an abundance of food for people in need by supporting and encouraging the establishment of gardens on unused land and space while increasing diversity, raising awareness for health and wellness, and inspiring and educating youth, adults and seniors to create an economically sustainable system to uplift communities around the globe." [10]
The organization began by planting 3 gardens of free food in Detroit and there are now over 63,400 gardens in 61 countries around the world that are a part of the Urban Farming Global Food Chain.[11]
References
- ↑ Larry Flick. "550's Sevelle re-creates herself with 'Toys' set." Billboard 11 Oct. 1997: 7, 24. Platinum Periodicals. ProQuest. Accessed 18 Sep. 2007
- 1 2 "Versatile Sevelle finding her niche", The Free Lance-Star, December 4, 1997 (p.23)
- 1 2 Discografie Taja Sevelle (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- 1 2 "Taja Sevelle | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ↑ "Good Times EP – Taja Sevelle". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Taja Sevelle Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Hot 100 for Taja Sevelle. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Taja Sevelle Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Taja Sevelle. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ Taja Sevelle (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Biography". tajasevelle.com. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.urbanfarming.org/press.html
- ↑ http://www.tajasevelle.com/bio.html