As folks reflect upon the emergence of urban adult contemporary music in the 1980s, discussions often veer toward Luther or Anita. But deep fans don’t underestimate the contribution of Grammy Nominated and Soul Train Award winning singer and songwriter Tony Terry.
After graduating from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., he sang backing vocals for several R&B groups
A Maryland native, Terry moved to New York as a young man in search of a career as a solo singer, and it wasn’t long before singing in local clubs led to a signing by Epic Records. For his 1987 debut album, Forever Yours, Terry and his team aimed squarely at the emerging New Jack Swing market, landing two top 10 hits with “She’s Fly” and “Lovey Dovey.” But it was a strategic turn on his sophomore disc that solidified Terry’s spot in soul music history as a balladeer supreme with his Classic hit "With You".
“With You” was a romantic ballad that Epic didn’t believe in, but Terry knew was a hit. It slowly percolated, without label support, on Quiet Storm radio, ultimately landing in the Top 10 and giving Terry his signature hit. When Anita Baker heard that Epic wouldn’t pay for a music video for the song, she fronted Terry $50,000 and brought in Blair Underwood to direct what would become one of the more popular music videos of the era.
