Birth name David Bryon Cole Name David Cole Years active 1981–1995 | Occupation(s) Producer, Composer Genres Dance Role Songwriter | |
Born June 3, 1962
Johnson City, Tennessee, USA ( 1962-06-03 ) Associated acts C+C Music Factory, Robert Clivilles, Martha Wash, Deborah Cooper, Mariah Carey, Freedom Williams, Jim Carrey Died January 24, 1995, New York City, New York, United States Music groups C+C Music Factory (1989 – 1995), The 28th Street Crew Albums Anything Goes!, C+C Music Factory Awards Grammy Award for Album of the Year Similar People Robert Clivilles, Freedom Williams, Zelma Davis, Martha Wash, Mariah Carey | ||
David Bryon Cole (June 3, 1962 – January 24, 1995) was an American songwriter and record producer. Cole was one half of the dance-music duo C+C Music Factory, which he founded with musical partner Robert Clivillés.
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Robert Clivillés and David Cole also produced various hits for other artists such as Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Deborah Cooper, and many others. After Cole's death in 1995, partner Robert Clivillés continued to keep C+C Music Factory going through his own production work.
Musical career
In the late 1980s Robert Clivillés and David Cole were active in 2 Puerto Ricans, a Blackman, and a Dominican and The 28th Street Crew. At the time they were the driving force of the short-lived Brat Pack. Cole also released one solo-single called "You Take My Breath Away" in 1988. The duo were also responsible for the formation of pop group Seduction, for whom they wrote and produced a string of Top-10 hits. They contributed to the career of former The Weather Girls vocalist Martha Wash who at the same time was one the lead vocalist for the dance act Blackbox. In 1990 Clivillés and Cole released a single, featuring later C+C Music Factory rapper Freedom Williams, called "Get Dumb! (Free Your Body)" as The Crew. But the duo's biggest success was the group C+C Music Factory that scored worldwide in 1991.
Controversy
"Get Dumb (Free Your Body)" sampled parts of a 1983 song "The Music Got Me" without permission. Author of "The Music Got Me", Boyd Jarvis, sued Clivillés and Cole in 1990 for copyright infringement and demanded $15 million in royalties.
Four years later, Kevin McCord filed the copyright infringement lawsuit against Mariah Carey, Cole, Clivillés, and Columbia Records because, according to McCord, they took parts of his song called "I Want to Thank You," originally sung by Alicia Myers, and made "Make It Happen" out of it without permission. McCord eventually accepted a settlement offer of about US$500,000.
Death
Cole died on January 24, 1995, after a long illness. The official cause was announced by Robert Clivillés as complications from spinal meningitis brought on by AIDS. He was buried at East Ridgelawn Cemetery in Clifton, New Jersey.
The song "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey, featuring Boyz II Men, was written in memory of David Cole.