Formed in Oklahoma City's Northwest Classen High School, Color Me Badd was one of 1990's most successful recording groups. Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon, Sam Watters, and Kevin "KT" Thornton produced a unique blend of tight, crisp hip-hop beats that launched them to international stardom. With singing influences such as the Dells, the Temptations, and the Four Tops, Color Me Badd led an early '90's revival of R&B vocal groups that continues today with the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync, both of whom acknowledge the group as an early influence.
The group had been singing together since ninth grade chorus class when their first break came. Kevin was working at a movie theater and saw Jon Bon Jovi walk in. Thornton pleaded for some of Bon Jovi's time to hear the group and when he did, Bon Jovi invited them to open for him the next night in front of 15,000 people. Not long after, Kool and the Gang's Robert Bell saw the group performing as an opening act and helped them relocate to New York City. Once in NYC, Color Me Badd landed a record deal with Giant Records. In 1991, their first release "C.M.B." displayed their signature sound on the international number 1 hit, "I Wanna Sex You Up." The song had been featured on the New Jack City Soundtrack and created a huge demand for an album that had not even been finished. "C.M.B.," also featured two more number 1 hits in the United States:
"I Adore Mi Amor" and "All 4 Love."
As a result of its international smash status, "I Wanna Sex You Up" was also revived and memorialized for Soul Train's 25th Anniversary Album. In 1993, Color Me Badd's "Time And Chance" was a Top 20 R&B album, with the title track landing on the Top 10 of the R&B charts. 1996's "Now & Forever" album returned the group to the pop charts with "The Earth, The Sun, The Rain." 1998's "Awakening" was the band's final release and included a song about the Oklahoma City bombing called "Remember When" which benefited bombing victims and featured both the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the School Youth Choir.
In 2000, Color Me Badd was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Since then, they have enjoyed individual rewards as a result of their experience and talent that was nurtured in Oklahoma and loved by their fans around the world.
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