[Music] foreign
B groups that exploded in the 90s is long and diverse some are immediately distinguishable
from hearing the first note of one of their songs like Boyz II Men Jodeci or Drew Hill others like
special generation may have flown under the radar but still produced equally tremendous
Talent the group consisted of Marquette Robinson Kendrick Washington Fernando Allen Carter Charles
Salter and Maurice stoudown they came together naturally since all the guys grew up in the
same St Petersburg Florida neighborhood while attending High School in the mid 80s Fernando
and Kendrick started singing in the hallways just fooling around but when they noticed the positive
response they were getting from the girls that got the wheels turning in their heads they decided
that they should get serious about their craft and form a group Marquette was next to come on board
after Fernando and Kendrick met him in church and heard he could glow Charles and Maurice then
rounded out the quintet their name was born out of their desire to let people know that despite
all the crime and violence going on in their Community they would be something positive to
come out of the era special Generations started out traveling Nationwide to participate in various
talent shows eventually they would make their way to La after following an industry honcho who was
gearing up to start his own record company while there they got the opportunity to rub elbows with
some pretty big names in the business such as salt and pepper and Stevie Wonder things didn't
quite pan out on that trip so the group went back home in 1988 when a then up-and-coming rapper by
the name of M.C hammer swung through their area on his tour special generation decided to make
its move with the help of their former classmate Miami Dolphins wide receiver
Ernest Gibbons the group was able to secure some backstage passes to Hammer's concert before he
knew it Hammer found himself confronted with an impromptu acapella Moment by the guys the gamble
paid off as Hammer was impressed enough with what he heard that he invited the group back to his
hotel room at as it happened they took to each other so well that the guys and hammers stayed
up until six in the morning singing and working out vocal Arrangements when it was all said and
done special generation had made an agreement with hammer to go on tour with him as his backup
singers the group went on to sing on numerous tracks off hammers 1990 please hammer don't hurt
him album including you can't touch this tell me have you seen her pray and help the children
Hammer would also be responsible for giving the group their first record deal with his brand new
label busted records a division of capital After experiencing a taste of chart-topping success
with hammer special generation did it on their own with their 1990 debut album titled take it
to the floor the project written and produced by Hammer included their first single love me just
for me it became a top 10 hit on the r b chart and remained on there for over 20 weeks [Music]
it was followed by two other singles spark of love and a remake of The Stylistics classic you
are everything the group released their sophomore album butterflies two years later it features the
tracks lift your head and smile you can tie me as well as the title song the group then continued
their touring experience with the likes of Gladys Knight after seven Bobby Brown Mary J Blige and
TLC they also made numerous TV appearances such as Oprah Winfrey Arsenio Hall the Grammys Soul Train
American and Billboard Music Awards broadcast then after being on the go for so long feeling
run down and constantly getting sick the members all decided it was time to take a small break not
realizing that a lot of things in their personal lives would need attention and that small break
would turn into a Hiatus of many years Rumors surfaced in 1998 that special generation would
be making a return to the music scene they even released a track called I Don't Wanna Be Alone
which was never intended to be an official release it did extremely well overseas though but the
timing just wasn't right for a full comeback in 2019 the group signed a new distribution
deal and began work on their third official album tentatively titled forever SG as of the making of
this video it has yet to be released the following year Marquette Fernando and Kendrick released the
group's first new track in over two decades called I can't help myself as of today this
Trio constitutes the current version of special generation Charles and Maurice though are still
very much members and will jump on specific projects when the opportunity presents itself
thank you