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Musique Biography

Out of all the projects produced, arranged, and/or overseen by Harlem disco wizard Patrick Adams (Inner Life, Cloud One, Black Ivory, Bumblebee Unlimited, etc.), none of them quite reached the mainstream popularity of Musique, thanks to their suggestive 1978 single "In the Bush." The song became a surprise hit and sparked a controversy for its lyrics, which contained a repeated refrain of "Push push in the bush." Adams never expected the song to get big enough that it would become a hot-button topic for radio programmers -- several across the U.S. refused to play the song due to its most popular interpretation. A humble Adams would later express regret over the song's accessibility to young children who could hear it on the radio. Adams formed Musique and based the group around a quartet of female singers -- Jocelyn Brown, Christine Wiltshire, Angela Howell, and Gina Tharps. Not only did their debut album feature "In the Bush," but it also included "Keep on Jumpin'" (the title track), another single that caught fire on dancefloors, thanks to François K's 12" mix. A follow-up album, Musique II, followed in 1979 (Mary Seymour, Denise Edwards, and Gina Taylor replaced the original vocalists) but it was unable to build on the success of the debut. The project ended shortly after that. Brown's popularity peaked shortly after Musique with Inner Life, Adams continued doing his thing (including running Harlem's P&P label and its several subsidiaries with Peter Brown), and Wiltshire was featured on Class Action's "Weekend" (coincidentally, a cover of a song by Phreek, another Adams project). ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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