Robert Clivilles and David Cole together became a dynamic force that deeply affected the sound of the late 80's to the mid 90's Dance, POP and Urban World Music Scene.
Robert first met David in the 80's while djing at a Club called Better Days in Manhatten, quickly after meeting each other at the club they had become good friends.
Prior to meeting each other Robert Clivilles had co-produced and mixed one of David Coles favorite club songs which also happened to of become Mr. Robert Clivilles's first no. 1 Billboard radio/club smash and also a Paradise Garage club classic along with producer John Fair titled "Jump Back" by the artist Dhar Braxton released on Sleeping Bag Records.
At the time of first meeting each other, David Cole was working as a keyboardist for World reknown Remixer Shep Pettibone who was a good friend of Bruce Forrest (resident dj of better days dance club). Bruce was responcible for introducing david cole to shep and was also the person who gave Robert Clivilles the chance to play at Better Days as a sub for him on his days off.
Robert at the time of meeting David owned an Independant Record Company called New York Groove Records and also Grooveline records along with then company partner Jim Mcdermott located in Queens which released 2 singles titled: "it's too late" by dance diva Tanya Wynne and also the now Latin Hiphop Smash Classic: "Don't take your love away" by Lydia Lee Love.
David and Roberts very first collaboration in the studio was on the "remixes" of both singles: "It's too Late" & "Don't take your love away". Dave came in to do a keyboard overdub session for Robert, after their 1st studio encounter together, David continued to work for Shep Pettibone and then also for Arthur Baker and Robert continued to run his Dance Label.
As the friendship became a bond, Robert repeatedly tried talking David into forming a partnership, but dave was hesitant at 1st, it took some time. David at the time was concentrating on a singing career which Bruce Forrest and Shep Pettibone had been working on for david and Dave was also hooked at the time on all the Stars shep was working on for which david was playing all the keyboard overdubs on.
Our friendship continued to grow and became brotherly like family, we both had our eyes set on Stardom but from seperate paths back then, Dave from a singers view and Robert from a record producers view.
Then one day Robert and Dave were hanging out in the village, David was excited because he had done all the overdubs on his 1st big project, the Janet Jackson remix of Pleasure Principal, As we entered the record shop and hunted for the 12inch to check the credits, there was no sight of "davids" name on it, this was the first time I wittnessed Davids heart break to the point of tears.
There and then I looked over at David and promised, Dave if you allow us to come together, in a years time we will become the number 1 Remixers and Producers and we will dominate the charts, Dave broken up decided there and then, "Let's do it".
Clivilles and Cole Music Enterprices was then Born.
And the reign as Dj, Musicians, Record Producers, Songwriters, Remixers and Arrangers began and conitnues till this day with over 20 million singles and over 125 million Albums Sold all around the World and still counting.
Not only did Clivilles & Cole dominate the mid 80's upto the mid 90's but they also took their time out to also help jumpstart the careers of other dance heavy weights how to get around the recording studio: David Morales, Little Louie Vega, Hex Hector, Kenny Dope, Harry "Cho Cho" Romero ect... ect..
Now C & C Music Factory actually was founded by accident while I was partying and having to many drinks back then explains Robert Clivilles.
There is no bio that exists in the press that tells you the whole truth and nothing but the truth of how C + C Music factory became to be.
So we'll tell you how it really went down - It started after David Cole and Robert Clivilles had already dominated the Dance charts with a plethora of dance remix classic after classic from 85 till 90, Clivilles & Cole infact were responcible for the "reproduced" credit that has since then taken over on record label credits instead of what use to be just the plain old "remix by" credit that remixers were given at the time, "No Puff sorry but you didn't invent the Remix.
It was because of their total musical re-productions on the songs they were working on at the time that demanded the credit to get a facelift.
Rob and Dave also in the year of 86/87 as a duo had begun their assault on the songwriting, production and arrangement end with their first production of the top 40 pop chart smash hit performed by the Cover Girls titled " Because of you" following up with their own creation: girl group Seduction scoring another 4 consecutive penned top 40 pop hits ( your my one & only, heartbeat, could this be love and it takes two to make it right).
Somewhere in late 89 early 90, Kenny Diaz a neighborhood friend of Robert Clivilles's from 28th street had approached Robert about a group he was in called Trilogy, he had asked Clivilles to take on the group to manage and produce them, so after discussing it with david, the deal was done. One night somewhere in the year of 91 frustrated and exhausted from a few back to back recording sessions Clivilles had been producing on, as well as on some remixes with David, a small riff went down between the 2, probably due to exhaustion of work, the guys decided to call it a night, Rob took the weekend off and on the following monday night went with trilogy to their favorite monday night spot "the China Club", got drunk and just partied the night away with the fellas, it was during that night robert toasted in the corner felt a change needed to happen with the type of work he was doing and that trilogy his boys was the group to do it with, as he was sitting there and listening to the music Hex hector was spinning, he thought about everything he had done upto that moment, djing at all the hot clubs, meeting david, becoming partners and together making a dream come to life, but still feeling like an employee for labels fixing their broken records into hits and not making the right money for it, then tasting pop success with Seduction but not going multi-platinum, he felt there was something still missing in his career, something to define him personally for what he stood for as a DJ.
One minute he felt he had lost his touch and another minute he felt he had to make a statement, it was the liquor working on him, having another shot of teguila, the dj blasted one of his favorite records " Set it off" and Clivilles watched the dance floor go insane then right after that the dj played a few more hiphop club songs (rob loved hiphop growing up), right there and then an idea popped up, rob ran over to trilogy and said I got a hot idea and that week robert went into the studio and created what he would call his DJ Anthem that would define his harlem upbringing in Hiphop, his Dj success in the Dance clubs and his Radio dream hit mashed it all together and it went a little something like this - EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!.
Robert still remembers when he asked David how he liked the record after playing him a rough mix of it, david said, it sounds like a record that was created to be a hit, in fact not many that were in the studio at the time felt it except 2 guys, allen and francios k, Rob thought everybody else was crazy or just buggin at the time, this record is hot! What do you mean D it was made to be a hit? of course records are made to be hits, Lol, then Dave cool as always, said okay it's hot and supported Rob and they finished some overdubs that night.
Moving forward, Trilogy rejected the song " they thought it was to POP for them at the time and then Martha Wash decided not to be a part of the group because it was a dance project and at the time she was trying to be taken more serious than just a dance act she told us.
So to fix it, Dave and Rob put together what became the members of the final group for the 1st album, "Freedom, Zelma, Debra Cooper, Dave and Rob".
Around the time of the release of the single because the record had a fresh sound Robert didnot want anyone to know that it was Clivilles and Cole who had produced or written the record, so he had Larry Yasgar at Columbia put out a white lable with just the title of the song and a question mark on the top where the artist name usually goes. The guys tested the song in the clubs and it just took off like a rocket.
At that time dave still going along with the idea that no one was to know who made the record submitted the name Byron & Manuel as a possible artist name, Clivilles & Coles legal middle names, Rob thought it sounded a bit corny, but robert watching the way it was rocking the clubs to def, changed his mind as he always does and said nope, we have to call it C&C Music Factory, dave really wasn't feeling the name, so they needed to get someone in the middle to help make the final decision. During a Columbia meeting, Robert mentioned to Donnie Ienner that they needed Larry Yasgar and himself to hear both group names and help make the final decision, Ienner heard both names and immediatly along with Larry Yasgar said of course it has to be C&C Music Factory, so this is how the name & group C + C Music Factory was born and founded, pretty cool right?
How C and C Music Factory the group was born? On a tuesday in mid 1991, Robert Clivilles frustrated and burnt out from doing remix after remix, Partying in the China club the night before, phoned up his then manager Barbara Warren Pace to book him some studio time at Axis recording studio.
Rob had a brainstorm for a record after partying and djing all night at the China Club that monday night with resident DJ Hex Hector and hanging with his boys and group Trilogy. The recording room was booked, Robs work crew: his programmer Allen Friedman and his sound engineer Acar Key all packed in the small B control room at Axis ready to work, during the 1st half of the day the beat, bass and precussion was started, the now famous guitar riff came quick right after that.
Later that day robert was still not happy with the final music product, something was still missing, after thinking for a while rob turned around and asked his then programmer allen friedman if he could take a live drum kit sample and break it down on the keyboard seperately and create a drum kit from it (kick, snare, hihat, toms,crash all seperated) to then play it live over the 808 drum pattern that was already playing, when that was tested "Magic Happened", the groove was now smoking, the next day, Martha Wash was called in as a hired session singer as many times before by robert and david for their ideas, Martha was given the instructions to repeat a dozen riffs as Robert sang them off to her from the vocal booth, next he gave her the now famous belting Dj riff command of "Everybody dance now! " and then last but not least the chorus was recorded: Come on lets Sweat, Baby, let the music take control, let the rythem move you and then Rob got stuck.
He tried a few things to finish the chorus but he just didn't like anything that was coming out, now before that weekend had started, rob and david had, had a little riff so they weren't really talking during that prior weekend of partying, but Rob didn't hesistate and called dave right away and told him that he had started a record and had gotten stuck, so david cool as always requested robert to let him hear it over the phone and to sing what he had.
Dave told robert that it was done already not to change anything, just to simply repeat the chorus that was already written over again, excited because it worked, rob told dave to come over and finish a few more ideas with him, while dave was on his way to the studio, Rob thanked, kissed and sent Martha home and then took the vocal riffs and the Dj commands that martha had laid a few takes of and layed them all out on the keyboard and spent the next few hours arranging the vocals throughout the song the way he heard it and made it sound as if martha was really singing them where he was placing them.
A few hours pasted and dave arrives, robert quickly sings dave in his ear a sax line and a hi string idea, david plays it for Robert and not soon thereafter a Classic is born and completed.
Now fact is that "Gonna make you Sweat" was originally created by robert for his personal friends and then group Trilogy as their first debut single, so when the track is done, he plays it for them over and over, after a few listens, Trilogy member Duran Ramos goes up to Robert and says that the guys as a whole was not feeling the track for the group, they felt the record was to pop for them, robert tried to convince the guys that it could be a big hit for them, but with no luck the guys pass, at the same time Robert sends a tape to Larry Yasgar who then plays it for Donnie Ienner then President of Columbia Records and another tape is sent to Bruce Carbone then working at Polygram Records ( bruce carbone and larry Yasgar both worked together at Atlantic Records and Vendetta at A&M records along with robert & dave). Donnie Ienner signs it to an album deal right on the spot, after 1 listen, as is, with no rhyme recorded yet because no one was chosen for the track yet due to trilogies rejection, it was just the music and martha riffs banging the sound system in his office to pieces. Rob not being able to get trilogy excited about the record then approaches Freedom Williams then an intern/assistant engineer at Quad Sound recording studios in new york whom robert and dave had made friends with during session breaks in the hallway and whom Clivilles had just months before helped put on the b-side of C&C's girlgroup Seduction single to rhyme on a song called "Get Dumb" he wanted for the clubs.
Freedom excited immediately jumps in and takes the oppratunity. Also dropping out of the chance to be in the C & C Music factory group not so long after trilogy is Martha Wash, she tells Robert and David that she wanted to be taken more seriously as an artist in the music industry and that being a member of yet another dance music group at that moment she felt would stall that chance. So Cole and Clivilles after respecting trilogy and marthas view moved forward, auditioned and hired the remainder of the singers for the recording of the debut album, Zelma Davis (whom sang on 70% of the debut on the C&C Music Factory album), Debra Cooper (whom sang on "things that make you go hmm" and later on Clivilles & Coles classic "Pride a Deeper Love").
Completing the final 1st members of The now classic pop group known as " C+C Music Factory" which churned out the Worldwide smashes: Gonna Make you Sweat, Here we go Lets Rock and Roll, Things that make you go Hmmm, Just a touch of Love, Robi- rob's boriqua anthem, Do you wanna get funky and Take a toke.
During the production of the C&C Music factory albums the producers chose a solid line up for each of their album projects: Martha Wash, Freedom Williams, Zelma Davis, Debra Cooper, Trilogy, Q-Unique, girl trio: Ask Me and Victor Latimore.
What was really important to the success of all the albums was how Robert Clivilles assembled the tracks, melding his harlem upbringing "Hip hop" and as a dj his club sensibilities to mindlessly catchy pop song hooks which resulted in several Monsterous Worldwide PoP Classic Smashes. Also what many fans and music industry insiders did not know is that Clivilles wrote and produced the a-side of the C&C Music Factory Album (Gonna make you Sweat, Here we Go and Things that make you go hmm.) and David Cole wrote and produced the b-side of the album, but both always shared the producers credit on the whole album together.
Unfortunitely not so long after the "things that make you go hmm" music video shoot, Freedom Williams left C and C Music Factory on to a very unsuccessful solo career (which is the reason why freedom didnot participate on the "Just a touch of love" video with the rest of the group of the 1st album). Robert and David tried to reason with Freedom not to leave so early, C&C at the time promised williams that if he would stay, they would produce his solo debut album right after the 2nd album and tour, but freedom, well, wanted to be free to make his own style of music, so Clivilles & Cole sold Williams solo rights to Columbia Records.
Cole & Clivilles went on to produce, write and sell 125 million albums working with Super Stars such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklyn, New Kids on the block, C&C Music Factory albums 2 and 3, Lisa Lisa and the cult jam, Clivilles & Cole's greatest remixes, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, Donna Summers, Taylor Dayne, James Brown, Pet Shop Boys, Dina Carrol. The List keeps on going all the way till now in the Years of 2005 with C&C's latest creation M.V.P. (M.ost V.aluable P.layas) which toped the Uk POP chart at no 3 and sold 200 thousand singles in Europe and opened up Live for the Nelly and Snoop Dog arena concerts.,
In those now famous words by Diddy "We won't stop. because we can"t stop"
David Cole and Robert Clivilles are another page withen the story book of the American Dream coming to life. Robert Clivilles and David Cole were raised in very similar backgrounds and upbringing: poor, large families and raised in the ghetto wonderland in the streets of New York.
Robert born in Spanish Harlem, then raised in Money makin Manhattan and the Lower East Side as well as Part time in Puerto Rico.
David born in Tennesse then raised in New Jersey.
Both with their eyes focused on Musical Success but from differant perspectives with one common ground, "To Make it Happen".
I remember back in the day, I showed david my bedroom where I slept with my 4 other brothers all stacked up like sardines and then he showed me the couch in his living room that served also as his bedroom. We would laugh about it and then we would get serious and say "we gotta change it".
Robert Clivilles and David Cole made that change happen and soared into Iconic Status in the Dance, POP and Urban Worlwide Music Scence as Songwriters, Record Producers, Arrangers, Djs and Remixers. Everything they touched turned into an instant classic. They are responcible for selling over 125 million albums and over 20 million singles around the world. They have won any and every single award that exists on the planet a few times over having anything to do with "Music": MTV, Grammies, Billboard, ASCAP songwriters, American Music awards, World Music, Latin, Urban, the list keeps going.
In early 1995 David Cole passed away and Robert Clivilles literally walked away from the Music Industry voluntarily after the then CEOs of Sony Music Entertainment dropped C & C Music Factory on the exact day of David Coles burial. It was hard for me Mr. Clivilles recalls because I had lost a very close friend and brother and as I was experiancing that great lost, as a second smack, the people that I had worked so hard and made so much money for delivering nothing but hits over the years did not take note through out the years that C&C Music Factory was my personal baby and vision withen our partnership. So I left and learned reality of life holding the memory of spending many weeks with david at the side of his hospital bed that there was much more to life than battling the Politics of The Music Bussiness and that life is just to short to waste it.
Now after 12 years since davids passing, Robert Clivilles has decided to return to his first love, "Making Music", most recently making noise with one of his recent projects, M.V.P. (M.ost V.aluable P.layas) whose first single titled: Roc ya Body (mic check 1,2) hit no.3 on the European POP Charts as well as went no.1 on Z100 & KTU twice, you can check the M.V.P. video out on Robert Clivilles's personal Myspace music page located on C&C's top friends. New singles of differant performers produced by Robert Clivilles will be released in Spring of 2009.
WE HATE TO HAVE TO STATE THIS ON OUR PAGE BUT THIS IS DIRECTED AT MR. "FREEDOM WILLIAMS", FREEDOM, COULD YOU PLEASE STOP FALSELY CLAIMING TO BE A CO-FOUNDER OF C&C MUSIC FACTORY, IT'S POSITIVELY A FALSE CLAIM, YES YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST ARTIST THAT JOINED THE GROUP AND WE ENJOY THOSE FOND MEMORIES WE SHARED WITH YOU, BUT CLAIMING TO BE A FOUNDER?
WE ALSO RESPECT VERY MUCH THAT YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO PERFORM THE 3 CLASSICS YOU RHYMED ON AND WE VERY MUCH SUPPORT YOU 100% IN PERFORMING THEM, BUT PLEASE, DO YOUR SHOWS UNDER YOUR OWN NAME "FREEDOM WILLIAMS", IS IT TO MUCH TO ASK FOR YOU TO HAVE RESPECT FOR SOMETHING THAT IS OURS AND REPRESENTS OUR MUSIC LEGACY SOLELY.
ALL THE OTHER PERFORMERS THAT WERE PART OF C&C MUSIC FACTORY CONTINUE TO RESPECT IT AND PERFORM THEIR SHOWS UNDER THEIR PERSONAL ARTISTIC NAMES, WE ASK YOU HUMBLY AND ALL CLUB PROMOTERS AND BOOKING AGENCIES TO PLEASE STOP USING THE C&C MUSIC FACTORY NAME UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY C&C PERSONALLY WHOM IS OWNED SOLELY BY MR. ROBERT CLIVILLES.
FOR ME IT'S AWESOME BROTHER TO WATCH SOMEONE LIKE YOU TAP INTO THEIR GIFTS & TAKE THEM TO A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL....YOUR WORK & COLLABS WITH DAVID ARE "TIMELESS"!!!
I just wanted to tell you I really respect what you do as a musician/producer/dj. I like the fact that you write and not just take credit for someone else's ideas like many other people do all the time,but really write. I LOVE the fact that your Boricua from Harlem and you took the road less traveled like most other artists from there and going into dance instead of rap/ hip hop.
I like the fact that you fused so many ethnic latin,tribal, and dance together. All the work you did on various projects that I heard through the years. As a kid I used to open cd covers after I listened to a song to see if that was you. But, given that the sound is so unmistakable to me it's equal to George Harrison's signature guitar sound on any project or Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar wailing on "Let's Dance". As a musician I am mixing world beats with dance etc and I really am glad that I had people like you to admire to make me get out of my head and think " I could fuse this with this, or fuse this with that" and could experiment with different forms that wouldn't ordinarily be accepted in western culture.
Thanks for helping give me a foundation of world music like that to get me started.
I think that is AMAZING!!!!!!! Happy Writing Chammo.
WHAT CAN I SAY...THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST..HEY WHO AM I KINDING...I WILL SAY IT...THE BEST DANCE GROUPS OF ALL TIMES...TRAILBLAZER AT IT'S BEST. I LOVE THIS GROUP AND THANK GOD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE WORKED WITH ALL OF YOU...OH I MISS IT...I CAN'T DANCE LIKE THAT ANYMORE...LOL THANKS FOR THE EXPERIENCE... BT LOVE ALWAYS TO YOU ROBERT AND THE C&C LEGACY...
Thanks for the add. WOW, you guys just threw me back, into my hardcore days of dancing and working the clubs. By the way I always loved dancing to... Pride for Deeper Love. Man does that bring back memories like , Palladium, Red Zone, Red Parrot, 1018, Area (at Studio 54),Webster Hall... etc. There was an energy back then, in the clubs, that I don't feel today as much. Ah; what a pity, the city doesn't feel the same. But hearing the music always brings me back. Keep, keepin on !!!!!
merci. c+c est dans mon TOP 40 direct. j'ai toujours le plaisr de les ecouter particulierement live dans 1 mix fais pour le ministry of sound en 1995. HOMMAGE
Much Respect! Your a Legend in the Freestyle Community we will never forget what you did for our music. Come by anytime... Freestyle Legends Support Group!
Hey bro! Hows it going? I'm spreading the C&C vibe wherever I can to let people know the dons of dance music r on their way back!! Still get sooo much excitement when I listen to ur classics! "gonna make u sweat!" (damn right!)...well then u better show them how to "Do it properly!". Mucho love from the UK!
Robert Clivilles and David Cole together became a dynamic force that deeply affected the sound of the late 80's to the mid 90's Dance, POP and Urban World Music Scene.
Now C & C Music Factory actually was founded by accident while I was partying and having to many drinks back then explains Robert Clivilles.
How C and C Music Factory the group was born? On a tuesday in mid 1991, Robert Clivilles frustrated and burnt out from doing remix after remix, Partying in the China club the night before, phoned up his then manager Barbara Warren Pace to book him some studio time at Axis recording studio.
