Gregory Abbott

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American musician (born 1954)

title: "Gregory Abbott" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1954-births", "living-people", "20th-century-african-american-male-singers", "20th-century-american-male-singers", "20th-century-american-singers", "american-contemporary-r&b-singers", "musicians-from-manhattan", "people-from-harlem", "american-soul-singers", "columbia-records-artists", "singers-from-new-york-city", "uc-berkeley-college-of-letters-and-science-alumni", "musicians-from-berkeley,-california", "singer-songwriters-from-california", "stanford-university-school-of-humanities-and-sciences-alumni", "university-of-california,-berkeley-college-of-letters-and-science-faculty", "20th-century-african-american-academics", "20th-century-american-academics", "african-american-male-songwriters", "21st-century-african-american-male-singers", "21st-century-american-male-singers", "singer-songwriters-from-new-york-(state)", "21st-century-african-american-academics", "21st-century-american-academics"] description: "American musician (born 1954)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Abbott" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American musician (born 1954) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]

FieldValue
nameGregory Abbott
imageAbbott pic by Drew Levister Grabbitt Music.jpg
captionAbbott in 2016
backgroundsolo_singer
birth_nameGregory Joel Abbott
birth_date
birth_placeNew York City, U.S.
instrument
genre
occupation
years_active1982–present
label
website
::

| name = Gregory Abbott | image = Abbott pic by Drew Levister Grabbitt Music.jpg | caption = Abbott in 2016 | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Gregory Joel Abbott | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | origin = | instrument = | genre = | occupation = | years_active = 1982–present | label = | website =

Gregory Joel Abbott (born April 2, 1954) is an American singer, musician, composer and producer. Although he continues to record to date, he is best known for his singles in the mid-1980s including his platinum single, "Shake You Down", from his 1986 debut album.

Early life

Abbott was born in Harlem, New York. Abbott's parents were from Venezuela and Antigua. During his early years, Abbott's mother taught him how to play piano and encouraged him to develop vocally. Before his career as a musician, Abbott studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and creative writing at Stanford; where he won a Wallace Stegner fellowship. Before becoming a musician, Abbott taught as a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley.

career

One of Abbott's first opportunities in his studio was an album for an independent record label, which gave him the opportunity to do a duet with Whitney Houston. Continuing on, Abbott produced for the group EQ on Atlantic Records. In 1986, Abbott released his first solo album, Shake You Down. The title track for the album was a success, going platinum and topping the Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single, "I Got the Feelin' (It's Over)", reached Number 5 on the R&B chart. On the strength of its singles, the album reached platinum status and earned Abbott several awards.

Internationally, Abbott has also had success, winning first prize at the Tokyo Music Festival. The title track of his second album, I'll Prove It to You, which was released in 1988, was featured on a Japanese movie soundtrack. In Belgium, he performed with Princess Stephanie of Monaco. Over the years much of his new music has been released via his own Mojo Man Entertainment label. Abbott has continued with his R&B sound, but he added a Caribbean influence to his 1996 album One World! In 2011, an album entitled Drop Your Mask was released. Abbott continues to release singles including a smooth jazz song "Chill" featuring saxophonist Gerald Albright.

Personal life

Abbott was married to American singer Freda Payne from 1976 until 1979. Their son, Gregory Joel Abbott, Jr., was born in 1977.

Discography

Studio albums

::data[format=table] | Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | US | US R&B | UK | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1986 | Shake You Down | Columbia Records | 22 | 5 | 53 | | | 1988 | I'll Prove It to You | 132 | 17 | — | | | | 1996 | One World! | Musik International | — | — | — | | | 2002 | Eyes, Whispers, Rhythm, Sex... | — | — | — | | | | 2011 | Drop Your Mask | Spectra Records | — | — | — | | | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | | | | | | | ::

Singles

::data[format=table] | Year | Title | Chart positions | US | US R&B | US Adult Con. | UK | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1986 | "Shake You Down" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | | | "I Got the Feelin' (It's Over)" | 56 | 5 | 25 | 76 | | | | "You're My Angel" | — | — | — | — | | | | 1988 | "I'll Prove It to You" | — | 5 | 35 | — | | | "Let Me Be Your Hero" | — | 34 | — | — | | | | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | | | | | | | ::

Compilation albums

References

References

  1. "Biography".
  2. (2003). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Virgin Books]].
  3. "Artist Biography". [[AllMusic]].
  4. (15 February 1979). "Mr. & Mrs. Freda Payne Sues For Divorce; Asks $1 A Month Alimony". Johnson Publishing Company.
  5. (April 18, 2015). "Gregory Abbott, A Singing Force". Canyon News.
  6. "Gregory Abbott - Awards". AllMusic.
  7. "GREGORY ABBOTT - full Official Chart History".
  8. "Chart History - Gregory Abbott: Hot 100".
  9. "Chart History - Gregory Abbott: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs".
  10. "Chart History - Gregory Abbott: Adult Contemporary".
  11. (2000). "Guinness Book of British Hit Singles". [[Guinness World Records]] Ltd.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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