CeCe Rogers

CeCe Rogers (born Kenneth Jesse Rogers III, April 30, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio.

He was given the nickname CeCe by James Brown, who watched him performing at 11 years of age, imitating Chubby Checker. He is considered one of the most popular male vocalists in house music. In 1987, he recorded the track "Someday" in collaboration with Marshall Jefferson, an anthem of house music, having been rated number 3 in Mixmag's 100 Greatest Singles of All Time.

His track "All Join Hands" became popular in 1991, after Laurent Garnier began to mix it with Pulsation's "Transpulsation".

Early life Rogers attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio and Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. He began studying piano at the age of five. His mother, a music teacher, introduced him to gospel, the genre that forms his musical foundation. He was considered a child prodigy and at the age of nine, he was a featured musician on the weekly television program, The Gene Carroll Show.

Moving to the New York area in 1984, he taught voice and piano, as well as doing session work with such artists as Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, and Curtis Hairston. He also formed his own group, CeCe & Company, whose repertoire included jazz and R&B tunes.

The house scene grew quickly, starting out in Chicago and establishing roots in New Jersey. Soulful house became popular in Europe when Rogers toured with Jefferson.

In 1994, Rogers recorded a string of hits with the Italian band Jestofunk. This would lead to three world tours. After five years with Jestofunk, Rogers decided to stop touring and give teaching a try. Seeing the need for more African American male teachers in the urban community, Rogers taught music production for eight years at the Essex County Vocational School in New Jersey. He became a supervisor for the district and formed a gospel choir that won many competitions, including the McDonald's Gospelfest and Cherry Blossom music festival.

Discography Albums CeCe Rogers (Atlantic, 1989) Never Give Up (Atlantic, 1991)

Singles +List of singles, with selected peak chart positions Year Single Peak chart positions Album US Dance UK 1987 "Someday" (US only) — —CeCe Rogers1989 "Forever" — 100 "Lonely Girl" (US promo only) — — "Forever / Someday" — — 1990 "All Join Hands" 34 — 1991 "Never Give Up" (US only) — —Never Give Up "Thick Girlz" (US only) — —1992 "Brothers & Sisters" (US only) — — "All Join Hands / Brothers & Sisters" — — 1993 "Its Gonna Be Alright" (with The Unity Crew) (US only) — — 1994 "No Love Lost" 15 — 1995 "Come Together" — 77 1996 "In the Morning" (US only) — — 2002 "Come On and Dance" (UK only) — — 2005 "It's Alright" (UK only) — — 2020 "I'll Be Your Friend" (with Benny Benassi) — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

As featured artist