Judy Torres-The Greatest Hits

Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, and raised in a single parent home, at the young age of 17, Judy Torres was discovered in a nightclub in the Bronx, Sidestreet, where she competed in a Gong Show. George Vascones, one of the judges who almost gonged her for being humorous, approached her and soon became her first manager. Knowing Judy needed original material, he soon introduced her to producer and friend, Mickey Garcia. "No Reason to Cry" was soon released and after a year or so of promotion, Profile Records signed her, and subsequently released "Come Into My Arms". Radio stations throughout the country played both songs and shortly became the favorites of people from all around. The success of these two singles granted her the opportunity to record her first album entitled "Love Story" for which she reached the Billboard Dance charts and received wonderful reviews. The self-titled single was released along with "Love You, Will You Love Me", "Please Stay Tonight" and "Missing Part". Although Judy was pursuing a degree while in college, Judy was forced to leave because of the success of the album. There was a huge demand for her to tour all over the United States, and was opening for celebrities such as Gladys Knight, the late Tito Puente, Menudo, Celia Cruz, La India and Lisa-Lisa. She even received network coverage when she brought Geraldo Rivera on stage to dance with her at Nassau Coliseum.

In 1992, her second album, "My Soul" was released, and Billboard sang her praises once again, comparing her to the sirens of the time such as Whitney Houston. The single, "I Love You for All Seasons" debuted and received national airplay and also became Judy's first video. Judy has since has been featured on hundreds of compilations as well as recordings on Mic-Mac, Critical, Intersound and others.

Fifteen years later, Judy still packs nightclubs throughout the country without having a recent hit on the radio. The reason? She believes she's worked very hard to be an entertainer as much as a singer. She feels that connecting with the audience is vital to the show and she wants to sing with them, for them, but not at them. She also tries to remain balanced and down to earth as much as possible so that she and the audience remain connected. She is unafraid to speak her mind, she is not flustered if her costume tears or if a heckler tries to disturb her. But it is her innate ability to touch the audience and love them with sincerity that keeps her alive. Her personality and performance skills have brought her to other careers such as Off-Broadway, plus size modeling for Ashley Stewart Stores, getting her story published (Chocalate for a Woman's Dreams), performing her one woman cabaret shows, and a career with radio. She has worked at WKTU in New York for the last five years, appearing on the KTU morning show for a year and a half, and hosting her own #1, successful freestyle show Sunday evenings from 8 to 10p.m. In her spare time, she volunteers at Aquinas High School as assistant director/choreographer to the musicals, and donates her spare time to charities such as Boys and Girls Club, Covenant House and Promesa. She is a frequent speaker at local schools where she addresses the importance of having a mission in life and the importance of a healthy self-esteem.

She is currently recording a greatest hits album where three original songs will be included as well. She cannot wait to surprise her audience with her next project: an original album showing her growth as a vocalist. No doubt, through Judy's vocals, is and will be one of freestyle's best.

Source: discogs

Tracklist:

1. Love You Will You Love Me
2. Come Into My Arms
3. Love Story
4. Out Here On My Own
5. Every Little Lie
6. Every Time
7. My Soul
8. Holdin` On
9. I Can`t Wait
10. Back In Your Arms
11. Missing Part
12. No Reason To Cry
13. Please Stay Tonight
14. Windows
15. Come Into My Arms - (remix)

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Judy Torres - My Soul

Sorry for such a small pic of the album cover, This is Judy torres 2nd album that was released on profile records in 1992 by this year I already saw the downfall of freestyle so I never peeped out this album but it's worth to hear it, produced by Elvin Molina & Mickey Garcia there's also a couple productions by Chris Barbosa, Mark Liggett, & Frankie Cutlass. Thanks goes to Angellovef for sharing this.

Tracklist:

1		I Love You For All Seasons (3:49)
2		Every Little Lie (4:16)
		Producer - Chris Barbosa , Mark Liggett
3		I Go Crazy (3:59)
4		My Soul (4:37)
5		You're My Everything (4:14)
6		Where Is Your Heart (3:44)
7		Windows (5:00)
8		I Can't Wait (4:23)
		Co-producer - Frankie Cutlass
9		Hold Me, Kiss Me (3:45)
10		If Your Dreams Look Like Mine (4:02)

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Various- Freestyle Greatest Beats : The Complete Collection Vol # 2

By the spring of 1986, Freestyle was exploding in New York clubs. New York radio however, was not impressed. Nor were radio stations around the country. With the exception of HOT 105 in Miami, and Power 106 in Los Angeles, who made the first singles by TKA, Nayobe, and Expose #1 hits in South Florida and Southern California respectively, radio station program directors ignored Freestyle.

Power 106 (KPWR) and Hot 105 (WQHT) were pioneers of a new type of station that were starting up in early 1986 - crossover radio. These were CHR stations that leaned heavily toward Dance music. The target audience for Power 106 and Hot 105 was the large English-speaking Latin population of these two cities. The success of those stations brought attention to the large hole left in New York radio when WKTU signed off the air three years earlier. On August 13, 1986, WAPW, a fledgling CHR station in New York, changed its call letters to WQHT and switched its format to that of its sister station in L.A. (Power 106). WQHT (Hot 103) began playing much of the hits by TKA, Sweet Sensation, and Expose in the same rotation as Pop superstars like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Freestyle tracks like TKA's "One Way Love" and Sweet Sensation's "Hooked On You" received new life and the success of these tracks as well as the just- released "Show Me" by the Cover Girls helped get them added to stations around the country. Freestyle was now getting national attention.

Despite the renewed interest in the older Freestyle tracks, these artists were already releasing their follow-up singles. In the fall of 1986, Sweet Sensation released "Victim of Love" and TKA released "Come Get My Love," a raw, more club-oriented and less pop sounding record than "One Way Love." It set the tone for a new crop of Freestyle records produced by Mickey Garcia and Elvin Molina that were released in late 1986 and early 1987, including "I Won't Stop Loving You" by C-Bank and Judy Torres' follow-up single "Come Into My Arms." Both of these tracks became huge hits in a new club called Heartthrob, which opened up in the old building that had housed the Funhouse. The owners of Heartthrob were able to convince Little Louie' Vega to leave the Devil's Nest to play at the new club. At around the same time a new club, 1018, opened a half a mile away and directly competed with Heartthrob, often outbidding each other for the exclusive performances of Freestyle artists. The demand for Freestyle was so great that both clubs prospered and the artists wound up performing at both clubs, often on the same night.

In early 1987, Sa-Fire also released her follow-up single, "Let Me Be The One." Like "Come Get My Love," this song was a departure from the sound of her first single. It proved to be a welcome one as the song outperformed its predecessor in chart performance and sales.

The Cover Girls second single "Spring Love," again a departure for them, didn't fare as well. They were, however, able to bounce back in a major way with their third single. "Because Of You." The song, produced by Louie Vega and Robert Clivilles and written by David Cole before the latter two went on to become mega-producers with C&C Music Factory, became perhaps the favorite Cover Girl song of all. It reached #24 on the Pop charts and top 10 on the Dance charts in the spring of 1987 and propelled their debut album to nearly gold status.

"Like A Child" was the second single from Noel. "Silent Morning" was a tough act to follow, and although it did not match the success of "Silent Morning," it set the pace for his successful self-titled debut album. Joyce Simms, although not Hispanic, was enjoying the distinction of having the first Freestyle record to cross over into the R&B market with the classic "(You Are My) All and All." It was also one of the first Freestyle records to crack the European market.Although Freestyle was still in its early stages, it was fast becoming dance music for the 80s.

By the summer of 1987, WQHT (Hot 103) was on top of the ratings in New York, and it was their heavy emphasis on Dance music, especially Freestyle, that got them there. The success of Hot 103 broke down the walls for Freestyle at the mainstream station WHTZ (Z-100) in New York, which was one of the most influential Top 40 stations in the country at the time. When Z-100 started playing the biggest Freestyle hits happening on Hot 103, other mainstream stations around the country followed. Power 96 in Miami, whose playlist was loaded with the latest Freestyle tracks, rose to the top of the ratings in Miami, as did Power 106 in Los Angeles, following the same formula.

Soon after, another city - Chicago - came on board. Through the exposure of club D.J.'s and a college station called WCRX at Columbia College, Freestyle began making noise in the Windy City. Clubs like the Riviera and venues like the Navy Pier Ballroom began throwing Freestyle jams with performances by Sa-Fire, TKA, and the Cover Girls.

In June of 1987, TKA released their third straight hit single, "Scars Of Love," the title track from their first album. The album would go on to become a Freestyle classic, spawning six hit singles. The fourth single, "Tears May Fall," was played as an instrumental on a bootleg tape in clubs for over a year before it was released in November 1987. This streak of hit singles earned them their title "Kings of Freestyle."

The fight for the title of "Queens of Freestyle" was more competitive. The Cover Girls' third single was the ballad "Promise Me," another hit for them. "Inside Outside," their fourth and final single from the hugely successful "Show Me" album brought them back to the clubs in a big way and continued their hit streak. But the abundance of female artists in Freestyle as well as the fact that the Cover Girls would be taking time off to record their second album, left the door wide open for someone to step in and swipe their title.

India, whose real name is Linda Bell Caballero, made brief appearances with TKA in their early shows. Although she never sang on any of their singles, she did record a version of "Dancing on the Fire" with TKA and performed it at a few of their shows. When India decided to record on her own, she took the idea to remake Jellybean's "Dancing on the Fire" with her. Jellybean, reproduced the track (without TKA) and released it as her first single.

Nayobe, along with India, was one of the most gifted female vocalists in Freestyle. She proved this with her slamming performance on her fourth single, "Second Chance for Love."

Source: Part 2 of Joey Gardners article. Tommy Boy Music & Timber Records
ClubFreestyle.Com

Tracklisting:

01	TKA	Come Get My Love (4:37)
02	Cover Girls, The	Because Of You (5:53)
03	Noel	Like A Child (5:19)
04	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam	Can You Feel The Beat (5:35)
05	Sweet Sensation	Victim Of Love (4:55)
06	Safire	Let Me Be The One (6:42)
07	Nayobe	Good Things Come To Those Who Wait (5:16)
08	Judy Torres	Come Into My Arms (7:12)
09	C-Bank	I Won't Stop Loving You (5:57)
		Vocals - Diamond Eyes
10	Giggles	Love Letter (5:06)
11	Joyce Sims	(You Are My) All And All (6:08)
12	Sequal	It's Not Too Late (5:13)

Various- Freestyle Greatest Beats : The Complete Collection Vol # 1

"What is Freestyle? In order to answer that question you'd have to go back as far as the death of Disco back in the early 80's. Disco was Pop music in the late 70's and one of the biggest radio stations in the country was Disco 92 (WKTU-FM) in New York. Disco 92's core audience was made up primarily of Hispanics and Italian Americans. When Disco faltered in the early 80's, so did WKTU's ratings. In a move to bolster their sagging ratings, WKTU changed their format (and eventually their call letters) to a more mainstream pop format and eventually to rock. Another station cross-town, WXLO (99X) also was changing its format. By 1981, 99X changed to 98.7 KISS-FM, an urban station hoping to chip away at WBLS' stronghold on New York's African American audience. In 1983, WHTZ (Z100) went on the air to take on WPLJ for the mainstream, primarily white audience abandoned by WKTU. Through all these format changes, one demographic - the huge Hispanic audience in New York went - overlooked. Most Latins opted for KISS-FM and WBLS, who did play the occasional club record, but other Latins found an alternative to hear new music. They went underground.

In 1982, when Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released "Planet Rock," a new sound was born. Some called it "hip-hop be-bop" or breakdancing music. While most of the neighborhood clubs were steadily closing their doors for good, some Manhattan clubs were suddenly thriving. Places like the Roxy, the Funhouse, Broadway 96, Gothams West, and Roseland who played this new sound were packed. Records like "Play At Your Own Risk" by Planet Patrol, "One More Shot" by C-Bank, "Numbers" by Kraftwerk, "Al-Naafiyish (The Soul)" by Hashim and "I.O.U." by Freeze became huge hits in New York. Some producers wisely copied the sound and made songs that were more melodic. Records like "I Remember What You Like" by Jenny Burton, and "Let The Music Play" and "Give Me Tonight" by Shannon were all over New York radio. Many of these performers performed at the Funhouse and Roseland to packed dance floors. The people packing these dance floors were young Latins, mainly Puerto Rican. The D.J.'s who played the music, (i e. Jellybean, Tony Torres, Raul Soto. Roman Ricardo, etc.) were also Hispanic. However, those on stage performing these songs were not, neither were most of the producers making the music.

There were exceptions. In 1984, Nayobe released her first single "Please Don't Go." Nayobe, a Cuban American who was sixteen years old when she recorded the song, was the discovery of Andy Panda who co-produced and co-wrote the song "Please Don't Go" became an instant club classic and served as a bridge between the Shannonesque records that were flooding the market and the sound that developed the following year - Latin Hip-Hop. This was also true of Jellybean's remake of the classic "The Mexican." The single that many consider the first true Latin Hip-Hop record was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's "I Wonder If I Take You Home." The song was originally signed to Personal Records in New York and not released in the U.S. It was licensed to CBS Records in England and became a big club record on import. The response the record received from the Latin Hip-Hop clubs led Columbia Records to pick up the single for U S release where it became an anthem for teen-age girls. The song reached #34 on the Pop charts in August of 1985 and Lisa Lisa became a role model for young Hispanics all over her hometown of New York.

It was also 1985 when I discovered three young Puerto Rican teens named Tony, Kayel and Aby - TKA. Kayel came to Tommy Boy Records, where I worked at the time, with rap demos, but I turned them all down. When he told me he could also sing, I agreed to go to a performance at a sweet sixteen party in the basement of a church in East Harlem. It was there I first heard "Scars of Love," a song Kayel wrote that they would perform over the instrumentals of the biggest rap tracks of the moment. When I saw the reaction of the largely Latin crowd of kids, I knew I had to do something to get them signed. It was at this party that I also met the Latin Rascals - Tony Moran and Albert Cabrera, whose names I knew from their editing work on Arthur Baker and John Robie productions and their D.J. work on WKTU and KISS-FM. We went into the studio and recorded a rough version of "Scars Of Love." By summer of that year TKA had begun to build a following in New York performing the song for free wherever someone would let them, such as radio station events and benefit concerts. Word of mouth finally reached Tommy Boy Records who decided to sign the group. Although we had recorded a rough version of "Scars Of Love," we felt it needed reworking and decided to record a new song to be TKA's first single.

At the same time, Andy Panda was working on a new girl group he envisioned as being a Latin version of the Supremes. The group was the Cover Girls. He and the Latin Rascals produced a demo for the group and began working on a stage show for the girls. Andy and I were Iooking for the same thing; a group that Hispanics could look up to and feel represented by.

On August 2, 1985, a club called the Devil's Nest opened its doors on the corner of Webster and Tremont Avenues in the Bronx. The club was originally intended to be a salsa club but the turnout was very light and the club owner, Sal Abbatiello, knew he had to think fast to keep the club alive. After a visit to a Manhattan club called Inferno which was packing in a large Latin teen crowd, he decided he should try to make Inferno's formula work in the Bronx. In order to succeed, he needed the right D J., the most popular new D J. on the street, to draw the crowd to the Devil's Nest. He heard about a young Puerto Rican D.J. who didn't play in clubs because he was too young, but when he played at local street jams, crowds followed him. The D.J. was Little Louie Vega. Two weeks later the Devil's Nest booked Expose, hired Little Louie, and Sal crossed his fingers. Luck he didn't need. The combination of Little Louie's following and the popularity of Exposé's hits "Point Of No Return" and "Exposed To Love" paid off. The club was packed and stayed packed week after week.

Little Louie started playing "Show Me" by the Cover Girls and "One Way Love" by TKA on demo reels. They soon became Louie's biggest records even before they were officially released. On March 1, 1986, one week after the release of "One Way Love," TKA performed at the Devil's Nest. The club was packed with kids waiting to see who sang the record that they had heard in the club for weeks. When TKA walked on stage, the crowd went crazy. In all honesty, the show was rough around the edges, but the crowd loved them. They were happy to see one of their own on stage. TKA wound up repeating their entire show twice that night.

The same response greeted the Cover Girls at their first performance at the Devil's Nest. Dressed in sequined gowns, Caroline Jackson, Sunshine Wright and then lead singer Angel Sabater nervously took to the stage to perform "Show Me" for the first time. By the first few notes of the intro to the song, the crowd was screaming and pushing to the stage to get a closer look at the Cover Girls. By the song's end, the whole audience was singing the chorus and the Cover Girls, no longer nervous, exuded the confidence of twenty-year veterans of the business. To the Devil's Nest, they were the Supremes - their Supremes. Although Freestyle was not conceived at the Devil's Nest, this is where it was born."

Source:

Part 1 ofJoey Gardners article, Tommy Boy Music

ClubFreestyle.Com

Tracklisting:

01	TKA	One Way Love (5:15)
02	Cover Girls, The	Show Me (4:43)
03	Noel	Silent Morning (4:23)
04	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam	I Wonder If I Take You Home (5:39)
05	Sweet Sensation	Hooked On You (5:10)
06	Nayobe	Please Don't Go (5:54)
07	Leather & Lace	Tender Heart (3:37)
08	Jellybean*	The Mexican (5:18)
09	Safire	Don't Break My Heart (5:21)
10	Information Society	Running (7:43)
11	Judy Torres	No Reason To Cry (8:58)
12	Exposé	Exposed To Love (3:35)