Alexander O'Neal

Alexander O'Neal (born 19 November 1953), is an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter and arranger from Minneapolis, Minnesota. In a career spanning more than 30 years, O'Neal is an accomplished soul and rhythm and blues singer. O'Neal came to prominence in the middle of the 1980s as a solo artist, releasing fourteen singles that entered the top forty charts in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s. His solo singles, sometimes dealing with lost love include "If You Were Here Tonight", "Fake", "Criticize", "The Lovers", "(What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me", "The Christmas Song", "All True Man", "Love Makes No Sense", "In the Middle" and ¨What's Missing¨. He is also known for duets with fellow R&B singer and Tabu labelmate Cherrelle such as "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This". AllMusic has described O'Neal as having a "tough voice [that] has the same grain and range as that of Otis Redding."

O'Neal was born in Natchez, Mississippi. After graduating from high school in Natchez, he attended Alcorn State University. At age 20 he relocated to Minneapolis, where he performed with several bands including The Mystics and Wynd Chymes. He became a member of Enterprise for a brief period before joining Flyte Tyme, a band which included Monte Moir, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Alexander O'Neal (album)

Alexander O'Neal is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was originally released in 1985 by Tabu and Epic. The songs were largely recorded during 1984 to 1985 in sessions that took place at Creation Audio in Minnesota, and Larrabee Sound in Los Angeles, California, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

On release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics. One of O'Neal's most commercially successful solo albums, it went on to peak at #92 on the Billboard 200 and reached #21 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album launched four charting singles in the UK. "If You Were Here Tonight" peaked at #13 on the UK Singles Chart; "A Broken Heart Can Mend" peaked at #53; "What's Missing" at #90; "You Were Meant to Be My Lady (Not My Girl)" at #98. In the UK, the album sold more than 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the BPI.

The album was re-released on 8 April 2013 on Tabu's new Re-born imprint featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 7", and 12" mixes.