Caron Wheeler, the singular voice that captivated us with her performances on Soul II Soul’s multi-platinum smash hits “Keep On Moving” and “Back to Life,” also her solo hit “I Adore You” who with her distinct style and unique image inspired a generation of artists ranging from Lauryn Hill to Erykah Badu to India.Arie.

Born in England to Jamaican parents, her mother formerly sang with a Jamaican drama company. Wheeler’s interest in music began at age 12, singing lovers rock with female reggae trio Brown Sugar, who had four NO. 1 singles in the specialists Lovers Rock charts by the time she was a mere 16. She moved on to form background vocal trio Afrodiziak, whose vocals were recruited for live concert performances, studio sessions and video appearances with artists such as the Howard Jones, Nona Hendryx, Mica Paris, Loose Ends and The jam. Other background vocal arranging assignments for Elvis Costello Heaven 17, Special A.K.A, Phil Collins, Neneh Cherry, and Aswad followed, and she earned gold and platinum discs for her liaisons with Elvis Costello1983, Howard Jones 1985 and Erasure in 1988.

Her big break came with UKdance group Soul II Soul in which she won a Grammy for Best Vocal performance on “Back to Life”, one of the two platinum singles on which she sang and wrote (the other being “Keep On Moving”). She subsequently embarked on her solo career by forming Orange Tree Productions, eventually securing simultaneous recording contracts with RCA Records UK and EMI Records USA.

Her distinctive voice was soon utilized not only for the blend of pop, soul and hip-hop that had characterized the music of her former employers, but also for blasting the white domination of the UK record industry. Her alienation was revealed in the title track of her debut album “UK BLAK”: “Many moons ago / We were told the streets were paved with gold / So our people came by air and sea / To earn a money they could keep / Then fly back home / Sadly this never came to be / When we learned that we had just been invited / To clean up after the war”. Afterwards, her frustration with Britain’s music industry saw her move to the USA, where she was warmly received for a second album collection entitled “Beach of the War Goddess”. This diverse set included a collaboration with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on “I Adore You”. The production of former Soul II Soul man Jazzie B on “Wonder”, and a cover version of Jimi Hendrix’s classic “The Wind Cries Mary”.

Ms. Wheeler’s music and/or voice has been featured on a wide slew of films such as Jason’s Lyric , Belly , Mo’ Money, How Stella Got Her Groove Back , Three Men & a Little Lady , Like Mike and The Prince of Tides; a testament to the fact that Caron is an artistic icon that continues to play an important role in the subconscious of global pop culture.

In 2002 Caron was featured on Meshelle N’degeocello’s album “Cookie”. The Anthropological Mixtape” along with Lalah Hathaway and in 2003 Caron featured on Erykah Badu’s latest album release “Worlwide Underground”.
Among Wheeler’s previously unreleased works, is hip-hop influenced album “The Essence”. With the exception of the limited edition independent release of Star feat. Biz Markie, Co-written and recorded with globally revered producer Salaam Remi responsible for a string of hits on Nas, Kevin Lyttle, The Fugees, Biz Markie, Shabba Ranks, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, Toni Braxton, Ricky Martin & Ludacris, to name a few.

Caron’s recently been touring internationally with her band and is currently working with multi-talented producer/bassist/songwriter, Maximina Juson aka Sonic Sheba formerly of Jolie Fuego. Maximina has worked with numerous artists including, Kelis, Saul Williams, 4 Hero, Julie Dexter, Jessica Care Moore & Natalie Merchant. Together Wheeler & Juson are creating a fresh new and highly-anticipated collaborative album project AS YET UNTITLED Projected release date, Summer 2005.

CARON WHEELER – CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME / DISCOGRAPHY