Walt Disney Records:
Biography of All-4-One
Blitzz/Atlantic recording group All-4-One performs "Someday," the first single from the Walt Disney Records soundtrack The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Grammy Award-winning group took a break from its extensive international tour to record the song for Disney's 34th full-length animated feature film.
All-4-One features the individual vocal talents of Delious, Tony Borowiak, Jamie Jones and Alfred Nevarez. Together, their voices blend to create the harmonious sound that earned the group an American Music Award for Favorite New Soul/R&B Artist and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals in '94 for its rendition of the soulful ballad, "I Swear."
All-4-One's self-titled debut album of April '94 sailed past the five million mark, while the group's first single, "So Much In Love" scaled to RIAA gold sales and top 5 pop status. "I Swear" claimed the #1 pop spot for 11 straight weeks en route to RIAA platinum sales. Not only did the song become the biggest-selling single of '94, but it became the third most successful single of the rock era.
In the summer of '95, All-4-One released its second opus, And the Music Speaks, which was produced by the same team that made the first one a success -- Blitzz Records President Tim O'Brien, Gary St. Clair, dj Gil and David Foster, who turned the knobs on the album's first single, "I Can Love You Like That." Frank J. Meyers and Gary Baker, the Grammy-winning team who wrote "I Swear," contribute another tune, "These Arms." In addition to Delious and Jamie co-writing several of the album's 12 tracks, both together and individually, the entire group lent a hand to co-pen "We Dedicate" and "Roll Call."
While none of the members of All-4-One had any formal vocal training, each cites his respective church choir as a major influence. Tony, who sings many of the high, falsetto parts, even did time in a barbershop quartet, while consummate musician Jamie played the saxophone for nine years in his school's marching and jazz bands.
Jamie, Tony and Alfred met in the recording studio, singing jingles for a local radio station. Alfred and Tony, friends since high school, had sung together before--when they got together with Jamie, who's been singing since the age of three, the potential was instantly apparent. Seeking out one more singer, the trio set their sites on Delious, whom they'd met at a local talent show. With the line-up set, All-4-One landed an audition with Los Angeles-based Blittz Records. They put together an impromptu arrangement of "So Much In Love" in 15 minutes. Blitzz signed them on the spot.