they were the first act to be signed to a record label that would go on to produce countless other
r b superstars sadly they wouldn't get to fulfill their potential after tragedy struck not once
but twice american r b group damien dame consisted of bruce edward brodus as damian and deborah jean
heard as dia dame damian was raised in battle creek michigan and taught himself how to play
the piano when he was nine years old he would go on to also learn the drums and bass guitar
by the time he was 16 he was already playing in clubs he believed that he would always be more of
a behind the scenes person until he heard a voice that made him want to be front and center with her
by his side dame was raised in san jose california she grew up singing in the choir and by the time
she was 18 she'd be on tour with her older sister and brother-in-law's band she'd also get the
chance to provide vocals on other artists projects such as babyface the deal karen white and shalimar
in 1983 she released her self-titled solo album on geffen records the album includes the tracks
hug me squeeze me as well as a cover of prince's got a broken heart again dame's career would end
up taking a different turn after damien heard her voice on a demo tape through a musician that they
both knew the musician wanted damien to compose some music to go with the acapella demo damian was
blown away after hearing just the first two notes he shut the tape off called up dame to come over
and they spent that entire day banging out song after song it was clear that they had something
special the duo met and a year later signed a deal with a new label out of atlanta georgia
they would actually be the very first artist signed that label fronted by record producers
antonio l.a reid and kenneth babyface edmonds was lafaye's records damien handled the production
and music end while dame wrote their lyrics damien dame's self-titled debut album was released in may
1991 the lead single exclusivity shot to number one on the billboard hot r b hip-hop songs chart
the follow-up single right down to it did almost as well on the same chart climbing to number two
their third and last release gotta learn my rhythm also made it into the top 20. unfortunately none
of the tracks fared well on the hot 100. damien dame could also be heard alongside other the face
acts such as tony braxton and tlc on the song reversal of a dog featured on the soundtrack
for the 1992 romantic comedy film boomerang this experience was also a nice full circle moment
since tlc member chile was once a backup dancer for damien dame the duo was gearing up to drop a
second album but it would never happen on june 27 1994 dame was killed in a car accident in atlanta
she was 35 years old exactly two years later to the date damien died of colon cancer
he was 29 years old he never got the chance to enjoy any solo success since his first solo album
1996 had dropped less than a week before his passing the album which was on another label
and not the face was dedicated to dame and included a special song in her memory
called guess you didn't know later rumors would circulate about the true cause of damien's death
since some people figure that a young man in his late 20s dying from colon cancer
was highly unlikely another theory was that he allegedly died from complications related to aids
also before the untimely deaths of both members of damien dame news of their frustration with leface
would surface fans of the 90s r b and hip-hop genres will know how huge and successful the
face records became during that time tony braxton tlc outcast and usher were all signed after damien
dame naturally it became more difficult for la and babyface to divide their time between everyone
then the word on the street became that lafays chose to focus on their other acts and push damien
dame to the side in addition to that allegedly damien wasn't too happy about not getting
compensation for the writing and production work he did for some of his labelmates and dame
apparently found herself needing to get a regular 9-5 job to pay her bills even though it's been 30
years since damien dame's been on the charts and they only released one album their legacy lives on
as the artists who put the face records on the map and provided the world with a variety of timeless
r b classics thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget to subscribe
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