Rumor has it…the Bay Area’s iconic R&B powerhouse Club Nouveau is marking an incredible 40 years in the game. The group that gave us timeless hits like “Jealousy,” “Lean on Me,” “Situation #9,” and “Why You Treat Me So Bad” is returning to celebrate a legacy that reshaped Hip Hop, Soul, and the sound of the Bay. Four decades later, their influence still echoes—sampled, celebrated, and forever soulful. Club Nouveau continues to embody the harmony of love, life, and pain, reminding us why their music will always matter....
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Rumor has it…the Bay Area’s iconic R&B powerhouse Club Nouveau is marking an incredible 40 years in the game. The group that gave us timeless hits like “Jealousy,” “Lean on Me,” “Situation #9,” and “Why You Treat Me So Bad” is returning to celebrate a legacy that reshaped Hip Hop, Soul, and the sound of the Bay. Four decades later, their influence still echoes—sampled, celebrated, and forever soulful. Club Nouveau continues to embody the harmony of love, life, and pain, reminding us why their music will always matter.
Presented by Mark Elliott & The A-List Musiq Circle -Your Bay Area’s Who’s Who Entertainment Network.
Club Nouveau is an R&B band formed by producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. Other members of Club Nouveau included original members Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Samuelle Pratter, and Valerie Watson.
From their debut album, Love, Life, and Pain, which showed up in 1986, they scored four consecutive hits: "Jealousy" (essentially a rewrite of and response to Timex Social Club's hit "Rumours"), "Situation #9", a remake of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me", and "Why You Treat Me So Bad". The latter two both made it to #2 on the R&B charts the next year, with "Lean On Me" becoming a huge pop hit.
Foster and McElroy soon left to form their own group and focus on producing other acts, and Pratter eventually left as well. The replacements were David Agent and Kevin Irving. The group's next albums - beginning with Listen To The Message - were laced with an evolving social consciousness, though they weren't as successful commercially as the debut. Notable recordings include a dancehall-influenced version of the gospel classic "Oh Happy Day" from the album A New Beginning.
AlbumsLife, Love and Pain (1986) #2 R&B, #6 PopListen To The Message (1988) #44 R&B, #98 PopUnder A Nouveau Groove (1989) #39 R&BA New Beginning (1992) #80 R&B
Singles"Jealousy" (1986) #8 R&B"Situation #9" (1986) #4 R&B"Lean On Me" (1987) #1 Pop, #2 R&B"Why You Treat Me So Bad" (1987) #39 Pop, #2 R&B"Heavy On My Mind" (1988) #42 R&B"No Friend Of Mine" (1989) #12 R&B"Oh Happy Day" (1992) #45 R&B
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