Editing Rose Royce (section)

==Career==
The [[Los Angeles]]-based group comprised [[Gwen Dickey]] (vocals), Henry Garner (drums), Terral "Terry" Santiel (congas), Lequeint "Duke" Jobe (bass), Michael Moore (saxophone), Kenny Copeland (trumpet, lead vocals), Kenji Brown (guitar, lead vocals), Freddie Dunn (trumpet), and Victor Nix (keyboards).<ref name="LarkinSM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-733-9|page=221}}</ref> The group began in the early 1970s when members of several backup bands from the [[Watts, Los Angeles, California|Watts]] and [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] areas of Los Angeles united under the name Total Concept Unlimited.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> In 1973, this collective toured England and Japan behind Motown soul star [[Edwin Starr]].<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rose-royce-mn0000343215/biography|title=Rose Royce - Biography & History|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=1 April 2019|first=Craig|last=Lytle}}</ref> Starr introduced them to [[Norman Whitfield]].<ref name="Scott">{{cite AV media notes|type=Album notes|author=A. Scott Galloway|title=The Very Best of Rose Royce|date=2001|publisher=Warner Bros.}}</ref>

Whitfield, after a decade at Motown, wanted to start a company of his own. He took the T.C.U. [[Octet (music)|octet]] under his wing and signed them to his label. The group, now called Magic Wand, began working with [[Yvonne Fair]] and became the studio and concert band for [[the Undisputed Truth]].<ref name="LarkinSM"/> During a tour stop in Miami, Undisputed Truth leader Joe Harris noticed a singer named [[Gwen Dickey]], then a member of a local group called the Jewels. Harris informed Whitfield of his discovery and Dickey was flown to Los Angeles to audition. Whitfield asked Gwen to join the band, and gave her the stage name of [[Rose Norwalt]]. This was the lineup for the band's debut album.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rose Royce Page |url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Rose%20Royce.html |website=Soulwalking.co.uk |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

During this time, Whitfield was contacted by film director [[Michael Schultz]], fresh from the success of his first feature, ''[[Cooley High]]''. Schultz offered Whitfield the opportunity to score his next picture, ''[[Car Wash (film)|Car Wash]]''. Whitfield would use the film to launch his new group and began composing music based on script outlines.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> He and the band visited the film set, soaking up the atmosphere. The band composed the music concurrently with the picture instead of after the fact, which was not very common at the time. In the spirit of the soundtrack, the band's name was changed one final time to 'Rose Royce'.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> The name not only referenced the movie's automotive theme (as the group's name closely resembled [[Rolls-Royce]] luxury cars), but just as Rolls-Royce cars are premier vehicles, the group was metaphorically stating they were a premier group. The name also helped place Gwen "Rose" Dickey somewhat front and center.<ref name="Scott"/>

The movie ''Car Wash'' and the soundtrack were great successes, bringing the group national fame.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> Whitfield won the Best Music award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the album received the Grammy for Best Motion Picture Score Album of the Year. Released in late 1976, the soundtrack featured three [[Billboard Magazine|Billboard]] R&B top ten singles: "[[Car Wash (song)|Car Wash]]", "[[I Wanna Get Next to You]]", and "[[I'm Going Down (Rose Royce song)|I'm Going Down]]".<ref name="AMG"/> The first of these was also a number one single on the Billboard popular music chart, and "I Wanna Get Next to You" reached number 10. Rose Royce also played instruments behind [[the Pointer Sisters]] singing "You Gotta Believe" in the film. [[June Pointer]] remembers Whitfield pushing Dickey to sing better at the rehearsals, saying "Why can't you sing like the Pointer Sisters?"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pointer |first1=June |last2=Terrill |first2=Marshal |date=2016 |title=Still So Excited!: My Life as a Pointer Sister |page=110 |publisher=Triumph Books |isbn=9781633193420}}</ref>

The group's follow-up album, ''Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom'', produced two top ten singles, "Do Your Dance" and "[[Ooh Boy (song)|Ooh Boy]]".<ref name="AMG"/> It also included "[[Wishing on a Star]]", which for Rose Royce was a top-10 hit only in the UK;<ref name="LarkinSM"/> it became notable elsewhere through its cover versions, including [[the Cover Girls]]' top ten single in 1992.

In 1978, they released their third album, entitled ''Rose Royce III: Strikes Again!'', and it featured "I'm in Love (And I Love the Feeling)" and "[[Love Don't Live Here Anymore]]".<ref name="LarkinSM"/> Both singles entered the Billboard R&B top five.<ref name="AMG"/> "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" was a number 2 hit in the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name="LarkinSM"/> and would later gain greater exposure through its cover versions, most notably by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] in 1984 and 1995.<ref name="soul">{{cite magazine|last1=Rizik |first1=Chris |title=Rose Royce |url=https://www.soultracks.com/rose_royce.htm |magazine=[[SoulTracks]] |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

The single "[[Is It Love You're After?]]" was released in 1979, taken from the album ''[[Rainbow Connection IV]]'', the last album with lead singer Gwen Dickey before she left to embark on a solo career. It was the band's fourth highest-charting single in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rose-royce-iv-the-rainbow-connection-mw0000870990|publisher=AllMusic |title=''Rainbow Connection IV'' (1979): Review |first=Alex |last=Henderson |accessdate=2012-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/rose-royce-is-it-love-youre-after/ | title=Is It Love You're After | website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] }}</ref>

The group followed with a series of modest successes that reached the charts but never gained the status that their previous songs did.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> Dickey left the group in April 1980 and Rose Royce temporarily disbanded.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book| first= John| last= Tobler| year= 1992| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years| edition= 1st| publisher= Reed International Books Ltd| location= London| page= 341| id= CN 5585}}</ref> However, the remaining members regrouped, adjusted the line-up, and kept the group somewhat popular in the UK, where they remained a marquee attraction.<ref name="AMG"/>

Singer Ricci Benson replaced Dickey, taking over lead female vocals between the 1980 album "Golden Touch" and the 1986 album "Fresh Cut". [[Lisa Taylor (R&B singer)|Lisa Taylor]] then replaced Benson for the 1989 album "Perfect Lover".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hepworth |first=Michael |date=4 Mar 1989 |title=R&B Picks |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/80s/1989/CB-1989-03-04-OCR-Page-0022.pdf#search=%22lisa%20taylor%22 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |pages=22 |via=Worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>

Rose Royce was featured in [[TV One (US TV network)|TV One]]'s seasonal series, ''Unsung'' during the spring of 2010. The story featured the successes and internal bickering of the group. Dickey, Copeland, Jobe, Moore and Garner were the only members of the band who gave interviews throughout the program. Dickey now performs as a solo artist in the UK<ref>{{cite web |title=Rose Royce - TV One |date=July 27, 2012 |url=https://tvone.tv/5615/rose-royce/ |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref> but mentioned during the interview that she would not mind performing with the group once again. From 2012 to 2013, R&B vocalist [[Debelah Morgan]] joined the band as their lead singer for a few shows. Additionally, [[Bag Raiders]] and [[Daft Punk]] sampled their single "First Come, First Serve" with the songs "[[Shooting Stars (Bag Raiders song)|Shooting Stars]]" and "[[Too Long (Daft Punk song)|Too Long]]" respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://klnpublishingllc.blogspot.com/2012/06/rose-royce-blast-from-past-that.html|title=KLN Publishing, LLC: Rose Royce - A blast from the past that everyone still loves|first=Kevin L.|last=Nichols|date=21 June 2012|website=Klnpublishingllc.blogspot.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/aroundtown/article_801c01f6-31cd-11e3-a162-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Classy Soul at the Classic|first=BRANDON A.|last=PERRY|website=Indianapolisrecorder.com|date=October 10, 2013 }}</ref>

Gwen Dickey formed her own version of Rose Royce - Gwen Dickey's Rose Royce and in 2021 and 2022 toured the UK nationally. In 2022 Gwen featured on the Giants of Soul Tour - taking in 15 UK venues performing with Deniece Williams, Alexander O'Neal, Tunde (Lighthouse Family) and Jaki Graham. <ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wooley |first=Ian |date=7 Oct 2022 |title=Beat Magazine |url=https://www.beat-magazine.co.uk/2022/silky-smooth-with-the-giants-of-soul/ |magazine=[[Beat Magazine (magazine)|Billboard]] |pages=22 |via=www.beat-magazine.co.uk}}</ref> In 2023 [https://allevents.in/london/its-soultime-at-the-london-palladium-with-the-real-thing-and-gwen-dickeys-rose-royce/200023592763052?ref=past-event-page Gwen Dickey's Rose Royce headlined at The London Palladium]