Horace Brown

A smooth R&B singer and songwriter who placed four singles on Billboard's R&B chart during the post-new jack swing mid-'90s, Horace Brown sang for his Baptist minister father's services during his youth, and played trombone and saxophone in high school marching band.

The Charlotte, North Carolina native set a course for a career in professional basketball, but a knee injury permanently sidelined him and pushed him toward music.

In addition to the gospel music heard in church, Brown was influenced by a spectrum of other musical styles as he was growing up, and counted Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Sting among the artists he admired.