Times Two
Times Two | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Times 2, X2 |
| Origin | Point Reyes, California |
| Genres | Dance-pop |
| Years active | 1988–1991 |
| Labels | Reprise, EMI |
| Past members | Shanti Jones Johnny Dollar |
Times Two was an American male duo composed of vocalists/keyboardists Shanti Jones and Johnny Dollar, both from Point Reyes, California. They wrote most of their own material, and either produced or co-produced it, as well.
History[edit]
They debuted in 1988 with their Warner Bros./Reprise album X2, which reached No. 137 on the Billboard 200.[1] In the US their biggest hit was "Strange But True," which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
That year, Debbie Gibson's manager Douglas Breitbart signed Times Two as the opening act for her Out of the Blue Tour.
Their second U.S. single "Cecilia" (a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's hit, featuring work by Paul Simon himself, and produced by Club Nouveau's Jay King) was far less successful, only reaching No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song went to No. 1 in New Zealand for three weeks in 1988, however, spending 14 weeks on the chart altogether. The album X2 made No. 13 in New Zealand on the strength of their No. 1, spending 11 weeks on the chart.
Poor sales figures (for whatever reason) eventually led to the duo being dropped from Warner/Reprise, but they soon resurfaced in 1990 on EMI Records with the EP "Danger Is My Business." The track "Jack the Jill" prominently featured samples from Blue Swede's 1974 cover of B. J. Thomas' 1969 hit song "Hooked on a Feeling."
The EP was initially meant to serve as a teaser for their next full-length album Hi-Fi & Mighty. A small number of promotional copies of this full-length album were distributed, which included the tracks from the previous EP, some other all-new songs, and also a couple of remixes. However, problems with management led to the cancellation of its commercial release, and the album was shelved. Soon afterward, Times Two disbanded.
Post-breakup[edit]
Shanti Jones fronted a band called Sex & Reverb; they have produced several CDs.
Johnny Dollar subsequently performed under the name Giovanni Di Morente, and performed with El Radio Fantastique in San Francisco's Bay Area.
In 2021, a user by the name of Carl92 posted a 17-second song snippet to WatZatSong. Since its posting, it has acquired the unofficial name Everyone Knows That (Ulterior Motives), and has also exploded with a Reddit community dedicated to finding the full song. Various musicians/bands/DJ's have been contacted, with Times Two members having recently been contacted. People have noted similarities in the snippets vocalist to that of Johnny Dollar, who was known for trading off with primary vocalist Shanti Jones.
Whilst not interested in the search initially, people's interest in trying to find the song piqued Dollar's interest, with Johnny Dollar responding to Reddit user Chancellor, explaining that it sounds like him trying to blend and/or intimidate Shanti Jones. Dollar went on to explain that he played the snippet to his current bandmates as well as his ex-wife, and all of them thought it was him. He then goes on to say that whilst his memory is fuzzy, he thinks the record label was trying to push the band to record a song called Ulterior Motives, and that he wants to know who sang the demo blueprint of the song 3 into 2 before it was recorded by the band, stating that it may be a puzzle piece,[2] however, on Sunday, April 28th, the song was found to have been recorded by Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth after it was discovered in the pornographic film "Angels of Passion",[3][4] thus ruling out Times Two as having been the artist behind the song.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- X2 (1988)
- Hi-Fi & Mighty (1990) (only released in certain countries)
Extended plays[edit]
- Danger Is My Business (1990)
Singles[edit]
- "Strange but True" (1988) peaked #21 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[5] and #12 on the US Dance chart.[6]
- "Cecilia" (1989) peaked at #79 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100
- "Set Me Free" (1990)
References[edit]
- ^ [1]
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fw732q5ubldlc1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dffe1c8122f75e5f7993eddb21735039e443cdf88
- ^ https://themusic.com.au/news/viral-lost-song-ulterior-motives-found-in-obscure-80s-porn-flick/UnDoREdGSUg/29-04-24
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/29/everyone-knows-that-internet-music-mystery-solved-via-1986-adult-movie
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 847.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 260.
External links[edit]
- Times Two on Allmusic.com
- Times Two – Strange But True – release listing on Discogs.com
- [2]
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