Johnny Gill Jr., a new Jack Swing R&B singer, was born on May 22, 1966, in Washington, DC, to Johnny Gill Sr., a Baptist minister, and Annie Mae Gill. He began singing in church and with his family’s gospel ensemble, Little Johnny, at the age of five, and “Wings of Faith” with his brothers, including Bobby, Jeff, and Randy Gill, who later became a solo recording artist and a member of the group II D Extreme. Gill began his schooling in 1972 at Kimball Elementary School in Southeast Washington, where he later attended Sousa Junior High.
However, his strong interest in music led him to study at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC in 1980. His high school academic studies were completed by professional tutors in 1984 due to his performance schedule and demands. Gill was the sixth and final member of New Edition, a popular R&B/pop group.
Gill’s solo career began in 1983, when he released “Super Love,” his first Top 30 R&B single. In 1985, he released his first solo album, Chemistry. He replaced Bobby Brown in New Edition in 1988. Gill was nominated for “Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal” at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1988 for the single “If It Isn’t Love.” The following year, on the single “Where Do We Go From Here,” Gill collaborated with R&B singer Stacey Lattisaw. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart.
Gill was nominated for “Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male” at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990 for the album Johnny Gill. The album included several hit songs, including “My My My,” which peaked at number 30 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and stayed there for 9 weeks; and “Wrap My Body Tight,” which peaked at number 57 and stayed there for 3 weeks that year. “Rub You the Right Way,” one of the album’s singles, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. ‘My My My’ dominated the US and R&B charts and reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached the top spot on the ‘US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and was among the Top 10 on the ‘US Billboard 200’ chart. It sold a million copies.
Gill released “Provocative” in 1993, and three years later, in 1996, he reunited with New Edition to record Home Again Together. That same year, he released Let’s Get the Mood Right, which included the single “It’s Your Body,” which peaked at no. 19 on the R&B chart and no. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1997, he formed the ensemble supergroup LSG with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat.
“Curious” peaked at no. 23 in the UK and no. 28 in R&B in 1998. His son, Isiah Gill, was born in 2006, and in 2011, he released the album Still Winning. Johnny Gill won the Soul Tracks Readers’ Choice Award for Album of the Year for Game Changer II in 2019.