Early life and education Peniston was born in
Dayton, Ohio, but spent the majority of her formative years in
Phoenix, Arizona, where she was raised from the age of nine. She is the third of four siblings. The daughter of Ronald Peniston, a military veteran and Barbara Anne, she started singing at church and doing plays and musicals such as
H.M.S. Pinafore in the 6th grade. She participated in local karaoke contests and singing talent shows, while taking piano lessons. She attended
Trevor G. Browne High School, class of 1987, in Phoenix, and landed a part in a local theater group's production of ''Bubblin' Brown Sugar'' (playing the young
Sweet Georgia Brown). After earning her diploma, she continued to study liberal arts at
Phoenix College, where she got involved in athletics, and entered beauty pageants. She was crowned Miss Black Arizona in 1989.
1990–91: Female Preacher Her music career began in January 1991, when
Felipe "DJ Wax Dawg" Delgado, her friend and a record producer based also in Phoenix, asked Peniston to record back-up vocals for
Tonya Davis, a black female rapper known as
Overweight Pooch after her childhood nickname. Davis, headed in a direction of a "new"
Monie Love, was searching for a singer to add vocals to the title track of her album
Female Preacher, which was to be released on
A&M Records that summer. At a talent show she met a woman named
Malaika LeRae Sallard, but when it came time to get Sallard into the studio, the rapper found she'd lost her future label-mate's number. When Delgado, who'd preferred Peniston instead, brought his favorite in to do background parts, the response from everyone was immediate, but did not move the Pooch to invite Peniston back for more vocals – unless she was successful in locating Sallard. Besides Peniston's vocal performance on three tracks in total, of which "
I Like It" was released as a single with a moderate success (at No. 16 in US Dance Despite an initial label's resistance to sign Peniston to more than a one-off single deal, the "Finally" session resulted in recording her own debut album after the final approval of A&M's
Vice President, Mark Mazzetti.
1991–92: Finally at Chaton Studios in
Phoenix, Arizona, putting final touches to her debut album Peniston was 21 years old when her debut single "
Finally" was released. The song burst on to the US club scene in the fall of 1991, where it became an instant dance anthem peaking, in October, "
We Got a Love Thang", the second single (co-written by
Chantay Savage), with a video clip in heavy rotation on TV music channels, went to No. 1 in the US Dance chart in February (No. 20 in the Hot 100), With another hit record on the charts, Peniston began a year of touring clubs and small theaters in the US in support of her album. Her travels started with a series of shows in the Philippines, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy, and after her return to the US, Peniston continued with such R&B acts as
Joe Public, the
Cover Girls,
R. Kelly and
LeVert. While on tour, "Keep On Walkin'", a hip hop swinging composition, joined the list of Peniston's three consecutively running hits, bringing Peniston in June her third No. 1 in the U.S.
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (No. 15 in the Hot 100), Ultimately the song won two awards, and three of her singles released in 1992 were listed also within the Top 100 songs of the
Billboard Year-End chart (at No. 20 with "Finally", at No. 61 with "Keep On Walkin'", and at No. 97 with "We Got a Love Thang"). In the UK, Peniston was listed as the 20th of Top Selling Singles Artists in 1992. Additional songs taken from album
Finally achieved the
Top 40 status at least in the hip hop/R&B field. The grieving lyrics of her ballad "
Inside That I Cried", co-written by Peniston's then-husband, Malik Byrd (who appeared also in its video), and produced in conjunction with
Anita Baker's cohort, Steve Lindsey, peaked at No. 10 in the US R&B (No. 94 in the Hot 100 After a certain level of hesitation over the first single, "
I'm in the Mood" (originally produced by
Soulshock and Karlin) was picked to be the final leader—though as support for "
Searchin'", which would be separately delivered on vinyl only to DJs. "I'm in the Mood" did well by itself, and with a video accompanied by a hip-hop remix from
M-Doc & Jere M.C. (better known as In Da Soul) the title was on singles reproduced by
David Morales for the dance floor. The song spawned Peniston's fourth No. 1 Considering that expectations of A&M Records company must have been bigger than a club play sale of Peniston's singles, "I'm Not Over You" was released in the UK only on
B-side of the "
Hit by Love" release. "Hit by Love" was to be the third song taken from the album. As with her previous releases, the song (with additional remixes by David Morales) became Peniston's next US Dance hit in a line of her No. 1s, but while on the top of the chart "Hit by Love" stayed for another week, the single stuck at No. 33 in the UK Top 75, In addition, a remix of "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" was popularized on the original motion picture soundtrack of the
Prêt-à-Porter (Ready To Wear) film, and released in the U.S. after a one-year delay, scoring No. 4 in the US Dance charts in March 1995. "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" became Peniston's first song not to enter the Hot 100 chart (No. 101), Though ''I'm Movin' On'' with a noticeably slimmed-down Peniston adorning its cover was not released until September, a similarly sleek sound marked its title single delivered to the radio stations on July 17, while hitting music stores one week later. "
Movin' On", the song considered as the strongest track to reach core R&B listeners with potential across several genres, was produced by
Dave "Jam" Hall, the hit maker behind
Mariah Carey's "
Dreamlover", whose earlier work included also
Madonna's
Bedtime Stories album. The song cracked the Top 40 on the US R&B/Hip Hop at No. 29, but failed to show up in the UK chart, while scoring at weak No. 83 in the Hot 100. (of
K-Ci & JoJo) who was supposed to help establish Peniston as an R&B artist. But the duet reached its top in the US R&B already at No. 52, two years later Peniston actually confirmed her doubts, after being questioned by the magazine: ''"I can speak about this firsthand, believe me. Sometimes doing what you feel isn't always accepted by the public. You've got to choose where you want to go and be consistent,"'' (said by the artist at the 5th annual Billboard Dance Music Summit that urged members of the dance music community to work together toward greater credibility, visibility and sales for the genre, held July 8–10 in 1998). After only two singles released from her R&B set, A&M did not decide to select a song that would cater to another music format, and capitulated to progress with ''I'm Movin' On'' album that Peniston promoted also during
Bill Clinton's election campaign, on which she performed several track from the set. Clinton commented on her performance on November 4, 1996 in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, mentioning: "I want to thank CeCe Peniston for singing so beautifully." Following her dismissal, Peniston took playing as
Glinda the Good Witch in a theatrical production of musical play
The Wiz. In September, A&M re-released the single "Finally" that re-entered the
UK Singles Chart (No. 26), while the second, a Latino hip-hop ballad, "When I'm with You" was her own solo track also produced by
Marcus Cardenas.
1998–2000: Cancelled Nobody Else album Rumors about Peniston working in Chicago on a new album with
Steve "Silk" Hurley sprang up after "
Nobody Else", a gospel-infused sirene and her debut on the producer's label, saw its official release in 1998. However, apart from the
Billboard, the inlay details of "Nobody Else" also informed her fan base a studio album with the same title was due that summer, this information seemed to be rather optional than reality that followed the artist's future, while she had been signed to the
Silk Entertainment company. To make things surrounding her potential comeback even worse, ferocious house groove "Nobody Else", which was premiered at the 5th Annual Billboard Dance Music Summit on the stage at the Green Dolphin Street, failed to enter the music charts, despite favorable reviews of the
Billboard that rated the song ''"among the artist's strongest recordings", "a sure to-thrill die hards",
and as "a triumphant return to clubland"'' commenting in addition her summit live performance. In 1999, "
He Loves Me 2", co-written by
M-Doc (known for a remix production for such major artists as
Madonna,
Janet Jackson or Keitha Sweat) to whom the singer returned the favor providing background vocals on "Keep It Real", a song recorded for his own album
Young, Black, Rich and Famous, seemed to bring more competitive results than her previous endeavor, reaching No. 24 on the Hot Dance Club Play. eventually lost in favor of
Peter Rauhofer alias
Club 69, who became the
Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical, in 2000) happened to become disappointing again for both, and the last act distributed through the producer's record company. The song contained a sample of "The Bottle" by
Gil Scott-Heron, one of the most important progenitors of rap music, at that time imprisoned for one to three years following series of drug possession charges.
2000–present: Singles era "Lifetime to Love" While looking for alternative options for the cancelled production of her album, Peniston decided to make a step back and record a cover version of "
Lifetime to Love", written by Steven Nikolas and Brendon Sibley, for her ex-major label producer and the Manny Lehman's compilation
Circuit Sessions 00.1. The composition almost revived her No. 1 status in February 2001, returning her into the
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play list, and delivering her a Top 3 entry also in the millennium (No. 2). it did not enter the official Hot 100 chart. The digital version of "Lifetime to Love" was to be offered, along with photos and other information regarding Peniston, for free of charge download via
Napster, an online music file-sharing service. Timing prevented the deal's follow-through, unfortunately, and singer left 4 Play label afterwards.
"Reminiscin" Following the millennium Peniston, no longer part of the mainstream that brought her success in the early '90s, spent the first decade supporting numerous recording artists of various musical styles and influences who would keep her in the music industry and in the public eye mostly as a guest, but prominent vocalist. In 2001, she collaborated with
Ella Mae Saison, a singer from Philippines, on a common track. The duet partially mixed in France, and partially in N.Y.C., was sponsored by a multiple world-champion boxer,
Evander Holyfield, and released on
his record label in April. After its slow start, while being classified as the
Billboard Hot Dance Breakout No. 1 for
Maxi-Singles Sales category, the song hit No. 30 in US Dance chart eventually on August 18, under title "
Reminiscin" and with Peniston being credited as a featuring artist. Peniston later commented on her recording with Saison, "I had the pleasure of working with a very talented and inspiring artist by the name of Saison. Last January 2001, we collaborated on a duet, Reminiscin. I was fortunate to witness the warmth of a beautiful personality and the great talent of a rising star. I hope the world will be allowed to share in this experience too."
"For My Baby" and Colour of My Soul Accompanied by a line-up of seven other female vocalists coming from both sides of the Atlantic, she joined Rob Derbyshire and Paul 'Solomon' Mullings, the
Birmingham's R&B production duo known as
Full Flava, to record lead vocals for their album
Colour of My Soul. The modern soul set was to be made in England, released on
Dôme Records in 2003, and one of the compositions performed by Peniston, "
For My Baby", was later given also a treatment for the dance floor with stand-out house mixes from Dave "Leggz" Longmore and Sam Junior Bromfield known as Ruff 'N' Tumble, and duo KT & C. "For My Baby" did not succeed on the music charts, however Ruf N Tumble's dance remixes of the song were based on a sample of the
Delegation hit single "Heartache No. 9" (that scored at No. 57 in US Dance in 1980).
Gimme the Mike! and Hit Me, Baby, One More Time Back to the States on 2 June 2005, Peniston appeared on the
NBC network as a contestant of the summer's
reality TV Hit Me, Baby, One More Time. During each program five former pop stars would sing their biggest hit plus a cover version of one contemporary hit, and every week the winner, picked by the studio audience, would get a donation of $20,000 in their name to a charity of free choice. Peniston competed on the show performing "Finally" plus a
Faith Hill's song, "
There You'll Be", in favor of a hip-hop group,
Arrested Development (the final winner of the program that night). When two years later asked, while being interviewed by the
Say What News online magazine, Peniston would not confirm to record "There You'll Be" also in the studio. The Dance Music Hall of Fame, created by veteran John Parker in 2003, was supposed to recognize the contributions of those, who have had a significant impact on the evolution and development of dance music, and celebrate the history and significance of the genre. An awards ceremony announcing the inductees in the event was to take place annually at a formal dinner event in New York, but due to financial differences among the Board members, the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceased operations after its second ceremony (in 2005).
"Deeper Love" Peniston's following music project was a common duet with
David Longoria, a songwriter and trumpet player whose work was previously noticed on records of for example
Sting and
George Michael. The union became successful when a composition combining jazz and dance music, "
Deeper Love", written and produced by Longoria, after six weeks on the chart climbed to No. 14 in the
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play (on November 19), returning Peniston lost dance chart positions since another duet ("Reminiscin") from 2001. The single was released with the copyright owned by
Del Oro Music, and included eleven remixes from
Junior Vasquez, Ryan Humphries, L.E.X., and Richard Earnshaw. According to David Longoria's official web site, the newest radio version of "
Deeper Love - Robert Eibach Mix" is directed at Rhythmic Radio and dance clubs and was released in August 2024.
"You Are the Universe" and Music Is Our Way of Life Interviewed by
5 Chicago magazine in June 2006, singer stated that she was, "
working on another album," and took part in another proto-D'vas project, produced by Full Flava, to which she contributed with a
Brand New Heavies hit from 1997 (No. 21 in the UK), "
You Are the Universe". Her cover version was attached to Full Flava's retro album,
Music Is Our Way of Life, which reconstructed eleven dancefloor classics in total, and the compilation was released on Dôme. The Peniston's track was remixed by a Japanese producer, DJ Hasebe, to be featured in his disco medley named after the song, and for the purpose of a limited-edition single available only in Japan on vinyl.
"EP Live" and Divas of Disco On April 25, 2007, her icon stood on the stage of Avalon,
Hollywood on the occasion of a five star concert
Divas of Disco – Live, which included
Thelma Houston,
Linda Clifford,
A Taste of Honey,
France Joli and herself. Each diva performed overall three songs as a solo artist, while Peniston was the main star closing the night. Her performances of "Keep On Walkin'", the
Donna Summer's cover version of "
Last Dance", and "Finally" were released as a digital
live EP on One Media Publishing the following year. The whole concert, titled
Divas of Disco, was available in Europe on DVD on
ZYX Music in 2008, as well as on CD in 2010, while in U.S. only its DVD release followed (on RSM Records in 2009).
"I'm Feelin' U" In 2007, Peniston teamed up with US house DJ
Ron Carroll for a funky bomb, "
I'm Feelin' U", which was released in May on the
Soulfuric Recordings label. The song caught an attention in the European clubland (No. 2 in the DJ House chart) The four-track single included also additional mixes from a French, DJ Fudge, and
Brian Tappert, but as with her previous Japanese release ("You Are the Universe"), "I'm Feelin' U" was available for sale exclusively on vinyl, or as a digital single to be downloaded.
"Shame Shame Shame" Her following promotional single, "
Shame Shame Shame", released in the UK in June 2007, was co-written by Matt, Warren Meyers and Kelly Mueller, better recognized as Soulshaker (alias The Soul Shakers). The British music producers' team produced for Peniston a composition, which by the end of the year achieved several No. 1 statuses within specialized UK magazine charts (including No. 1 Music Week Pop Tip Chart, No. 1 Music Week Club Chart, and No. 1 DJ Mag Hype Chart). While in England Shame Shame Shame" was issued on the
AATW label, in the States the title was released on Trackworks Records in several promo editions. On August 26, 2007, one year after her interview for
5 Chicago Mag, Peniston mentioned again her plans regarding a new album project also for
Say What News, however she did not go further this time. When asked, with whom from the industry she would like to once collaborate, she named the winner of twenty-two Grammy Awards,
Stevie Wonder. The rest of to date unreleased recordings are songs titled "Wonder Woman", "Next to Me" and "Right Here".
"Above Horizons" However, the year of 2008 also passed with no significant news regarding her new solo studio project, the following June Peniston released "
Above Horizons", a national
PTA anthem as a tribute to the families, teachers and communities who help children reach their dreams through the PTA, Parent Teacher Association, which resulted from her role being a National Ambassador of the US largest volunteer child advocacy organization. The ballad was written by Byron V. Garrett, Peniston, Erric Carrington, Essej and Marcus L. Barnum, and the CD promo release, issued on
National PTA Recordings, included overall four versions. Among others, also two mixes from a Detroit house music producer and DJ,
Aaron-Carl Ragland, who listed one of Peniston's compositions ("Nobody Else" from 1998) as one of his musical influences. On June 17, 2009,
Chicago Defender interviewed the artist, who declared that after over a decade she was about to finish recording her comeback album. Although she did not concrete its release date, Peniston revealed that she was working with such likes as Track Kingz West, Vudu, Status ("Above Horizons"), David Givens,
Montell Jordan (on their common duet "He Say, She Say"),
Mateo (on "Piece of That"), Isalene Elliot, and Ragland.
"Once I reach an agreement and sign with a record company, the album will drop," Her long-waited record would not be out even following years. in
Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2011 ;"In Love with a DJ" In June 2010,
Hip-Hop Press posted information about
Ron Carroll launching his own independent record label called Electricity, which is to be part of One Entertainment company that will specialize in marketing and promoting concerts, fashion shows and club events all over the world, and signing Electronic, Hip-Hop/R&B and gospel artists. According to the producer himself, Carroll's goal with the label (which has a major distribution deal with
Universal) is to focus on artist development, music education and ensuring that Electricity creates a solid foundation for the music industry in Chicago. Following this announcement, a house/groove, "
In Love with a DJ", with Peniston as its lead vocalist was released in July, including four remixes. In an interview for
Great British Life, Carroll said that he "''wanted to make a song that gives the perspective of a woman groovin' to my music, and loving me enough make her night complete.''"
"Make Me Say Oh", "Stoopid!" and "Celebrate" On February 4, 2011, Peniston signed a recording contract with the independent label
West Swagg Music Group (WWMG), Peniston's first single on the label, "
Stoopid!" was officially released on April 26 as a
download single. which is her fourth track recorded in collaboration with
Ron Carroll (their previous works included songs "
My Boo", "
I'm Feelin' U" and "
In Love with a DJ"). On August 9, WWMG released "
Keep On Flossing" (a remixed version of her
former single from the '90s) recorded as a duet with her fellow rapper Lavon Collins (aka L.C.) While on October 3, a new version of "
Finally" by
Paul Oakenfold followed. Another track called "Celebrate" was released on March 27. ==Personal life==