Terry Ellis

Terry Lynn Ellis (born September 5, 1963) is an American singer. She is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop vocal group En Vogue, formed in 1989.

Biography Early life Ellis was born in Houston. Her father was a truck-driver and her mother was a housewife. She is the youngest of four daughters, and earned a Bachelor’s degree at Prairie View A&M University.

Career In 1988 Ellis performed in a lecture/concert with singer Kashif which turned out to be an on-site audition for a proposed singing group to be created by Kashif and friends. Ellis later auditioned to sing in an upcoming female group. Initially, producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy had already chosen singers Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, and Cindy Herron to be in a three-piece girl group, but added Ellis after hearing her sing. After joining Ellis to the lineup, the group became a quartet and originally chose the name "For You", later changed to En Vogue. Ellis sang lead vocals on the intro of the group's first single "Hold On", which peaked at number 2 on Billboard'''s Hot 100 chart, and sold over a million copies becoming platinum-certified by the RIAA. Later that year, the group released their debut album Born to Sing, which went platinum. Ellis also sang lead vocals on the singles "Lies" and "Don't Go", both of which charted in top-five positions on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album was considered a commercial failure after sales failed to match the standard of En Vogue's success. She also released her own fragrance titled "Southern Exposure".

In 1996, En Vogue recorded "Don't Let Go (Love)" with Ellis singing the last verse of an extended version of the song. On the album's version, Ellis only sings backup on "Don't Let Go (Love)". The song was featured on the soundtrack to the motion picture Set It Off. Released in fall, it became the group's biggest hit to date going number one worldwide. It also sold over 1.8million copies worldwide and became certified platinum by the RIAA. However, the judge decided to award full rights of the "En Vogue" name to Herron and Ellis.

In July 2014, Ellis signed to Pyramid Records alongside En Vogue members Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett. In November 2014, they released An En Vogue Christmas. In February 2015, Rufftown Entertainment filed a lawsuit against En Vogue, which names Herron and Ellis for breach of contract. Rufftown owner Rene Moore is seeking $310million from the group.

Voice/range Ellis is a soprano and has a five-octave vocal range which was displayed in the En Vogue song, "Don't Go". By her bandmates, Terry was credited as the member with the "ballad" type of voice. With En Vogue, she often shared leads, or lead the group songs that were funky, and soulful. In group harmonies, Terry usually sings the alto arrangement, which is above Maxine Jones, but under Dawn Robinson, or Cindy Herron.

Personal life During the 1990s, Ellis dated music producer Denzil Foster.

Discography

Studio albums Southern Gal'' (1995)

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1995 Batman Forever Girl on Corner No. 2