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Jade was a R&B group active during the early to mid-1990s. The group consisted of Tonya Kelly, Joi Marshall, and Di Reed. During their brief yet successful career, Jade released two full albums, one exclusive live album, and had a string of popular R&B singles.
The group Jade was originally comprised of members Joi Marshall along with two other members with the named Angie and Debbie and, as such, was first known as JAD. However, when Angie and Debbie were dropped from the label, Tonya and Di were signed on by Vassel Benford and the group's name was extended to Jade.
Jade is often categorized as a "manufactured" R&B group - a common industry trend during the early 90's. The girls showed no individual personalities like the R&B girl trio TLC, nor were they portrayed as a closely knit brood of singers such as Boyz II Men or En Vogue. Instead, their record label, Giant Records, placed them together because they had good looks, nice voices, and sex appeal. All three were given a very 90's-modern urban look, complete with flashy neon colors, exposed mid-riffs, and on occasion, long, thick braided extensions. Vocally, their harmonies meshed well with the new jack swing/uptempo R&B tracks and sultry slow jams they would sing on over the next few years.
Jade's first success was on the Class Act soundtrack in 1992. Their hit single, "I Wanna Love You", was one of the breakout songs on the soundtrack. It led the way for their best known single, "Don't Walk Away." The single climbed all the way to #2 on the Pop charts and was certified gold by the RIAA in 1993. The single would go on to sell 1.5 million copies worldwide. This song, as well as other hit singles such as the aforementioned "I Wanna Love You," "Looking for Mr. Do Right," and "One Woman," helped to push their debut album, Jade To the Max, to platinum-selling status.
The group became very popular over the next year. They were given a session on BET's Listening Party Live (BET's attempt at the live small-concert sessions MTV made popular with their MTV Unplugged series). This session was made into a CD in 1993, but sales were mediocre. Jade was the first, and last, group to have a Listening Party, album released.
In 1994 the band appeared in the movie The Inkwell. This was also the same year Jade would release their second full album, Mind, Body & Song. The first single, "5-4-3-2 (Yo! Time Is Up)", saw little commercial success, though it did crack the top 20 on the R&B charts. Jade's second single, "Every Day Of The Week", was a modest hit, peaking at #20 on Billboard's Top 100, thus helping to propel Jade's second album to certified Gold status. Unfortunately, the group would disband in 1994 though not to inner conflicts between group members, but to mismanagement of their funding by their label. After seeing very little financial return for their musical efforts, the three young ladies opted to pursue other business opportunities outside of the music business.
In 1997, they briefly rejoined to contribute the track "Keep on Risin," to the soundtrack for the film The Sixth Man.
Jade has not released any albums since 1994. Former member Joi Marshall continues to sing as an independent gospel artist and released an album, Testimony and Praise, in 2005. She also wrote the book Answers to the 20 Most Asked Questions about the Music Business in 2004. Di Reed owns her own real estate business. Tonya Kelly also owns her own business as an interior designer.
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