Portrait (band)
Portrait is an American R&B vocal quartet, consisting of members Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Irving Washington III, Eric Kirkland and Philip Johnson.
Career
The group, which hailed from Los Angeles, California debuted in 1992 with a self-titled album riding on the end of the new jack swing era. The disc featured two hits on the charts: "Honey Dip" reached #18 on the R&B charts.[1] The group's second single, "Here We Go Again!", which sampled Michael Jackson's, "I Can't Help It", featured similar sounds and reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992.
The group was featured in an episode of Family Matters, titled "Stormy Weather", performing "Here We Go Again!".
Throughout 1993 and 1994, Portrait could be heard lending their voices to various projects, appearing on the soundtracks to the movies, Addams Family Values and Blankman, as well as singing on the Black Men United song, "U Will Know" for the Jason's Lyric Soundtrack. Portrait also provided backing vocals on the Quincy Jones single "Slow Jam", which featured Babyface and Tamia on lead vocals, in 1995. The song reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
Also in 1995, the group released their second album, All That Matters. The album had a few minor hits, with "I Can Call You" reaching #22 on the R&B charts and "How Deep Is Your Love," a cover of the Bee Gees song, briefly appearing on the Hot 100.[1] However, the album itself suffered from poor sales, spelling what was essentially the beginning of the end of the group.
Despite this, a year after the release of All That Matters, the group recorded an album exclusively for release in the Asian market. The album, entitled Picturesque, featured Portrait's previously released cover of "How Deep Is Your Love" as well as several other covers of popular songs.
The group faded from the scene after the release of Picturesque, only to resurface with their fourth album entitled Share My Love, which they independently released in 2005.
Members of the group worked on outside projects. Philip Johnson appeared on Tash's 1999 solo debut Rap Life on the song "Only When I'm Drunker", a sequel to the song "Only When I'm Drunk" by Tash's group Tha Alkaholiks. Michael Angelo Saulsberry became a producer, working with artists like Busta Rhymes, Jon B., Raphael Saadiq, El DeBarge and Faith Evans, among others.
In May 2013, Portrait announced that they were reuniting and would be performing in the near future.
Discography
| Year | Album title | Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Portrait | 70 |
| 1995 | All That Matters | 131 |
| 1996 | Picturesque | N/A |
| 2000 | Greatest Hits | N/A |
| 2005 | Share My Love | N/A |
