Ce Ce Peniston - Finally (1991)

Cecilia Veronica - a.k.a. 'Ce Ce' - Peniston was born 6.9.69 in Dayton, Ohio, but raised much of her childhood in Phoenix, Arizona. As so so so many of her black counterparts and peers, she started to begin to sing in her local church choir. While at college, she used to participate in school plays, karaoke contests - and, what is little known, beauty pageants. She eventually claimed the title of Ms. Black Arizona in 1989 and Ms. Galaxy in 1990.
Enjoying poems, she claims that she wrote the lyrics to her breakthrough and most successful track 'Finally' in college at a Chemistry class.
Her music career began in January of 1991, when Felipe 'DJ Wax Dawg' Delgado, her friend and a record producer based also in Phoenix, asked Ce Ce to record back-up vocals for Tonya Davis, a black rapper known as Overweight Pooch. But the Overweight Pooch’s album flopped and Felipe faced contractual disputes with A&M, the record company. Manny Lehman, a former DJ and back then A&M Art Director, had noticed the powerful voice of Ce Ce as back-up vocalist and offered Felipe a second chance, commissioning him to produce a track for Ce Ce herself as a solo artist. Felipe called on a friend, Rodney Jackson - the two met through mutual friends in Arizona - who co-produced the Ce Ce’s 'Finally'. The song burst on to the US club scene in October 1991 becoming an instant dance anthem, while achieving a respectful starting position abroad. Within three months, the single would reach sales of over 3 million worldwide. The track has become one of the classics from the early 1990s. It has also become a somewhat gay anthem. No surprise then that it the track was featured in one of the most iconic gay movies there is: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Ce Ce Peniston - Finally (1991)
CAN#1, UK#2, JPN#2, IRL#5, US#5, NL#5, AUS#7, NZ#8, AT#9, CH#12, DE#16, BE#16, FR#39


Ce Ce Peniston - Finally by Hakunamatata67