ANITA BAKER

Anita Baker—multiple Grammy Award winner, composer, producer, mother and all-around superstar—contemplated long and hard before she got ready to take her show on the road again. But finally, in early 2003, the woman who gave birth to "fireside love songs" and such classic gems as "Giving You The Best That I Got," "Just Because" and "Fairy Tales" pulled together her tight rhythm section and her faithful background singers and rehearsed; hoping to start a buzz and see if the timing was right, for a Welcome Back. She thought that her return would be like many singers, who, if gifted enough, have the opportunity to take a break and return to what they do best.

Her "break" had now spanned many years and the tone and the texture of the industry had changed. The singers were young and flexible; many of the songs were trite and questionable. Anita wondered if she built it, would they come. And come they did, in droves.

They came because most singers are not Anita Baker. Just as soon as she decided to get back onstage, amphitheatres and arenas came calling and legions of fans came running, taking the 8-time Grammy winner around the country, before crowds of excited music lovers who were as overwhelmed by her return as they were stunned by her departure.

CHARLIE WILSON

As one of the most familiar voices in R&B music, Charlie Wilson needs no introduction. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native and former lead singer of the funkadelic brotherly trio, the GAP Band, is now going two for two with his second solo album, on Jive Records, entitled UNCLE CHARLIE. The album is scheduled for release in February, 2009.

Once dubbed "the de-facto father of new jack swing," artists like Aaron Hall and R. Kelly have long paid homage to his characteristic vocal style. Labelmate, Kelly, wrote and produced the hit single, "Charlie Last Name Wilson," from the gold-certified CD of the same name.

From classic R&B GAP Band hits like "Yearning for Your Love" and "Outstanding" to collaborations with Justin Timberlake on "Signs" and Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams on the Grammy nominated track "Beautiful," Wilson continues embracing contemporary music with his phenomenal vocal style and unique licks.

"It is a true honor to be able to continue to work with today's hottest and biggest artists and as long as they still want me I am here," Wilson said of his career's longevity.

The first single, "There Goes My Baby," is a hauntingly beautiful song written by multiple Grammy winner Babyface and Calvin Richardson, and produced by Gregg Pagani. "When they presented me with this song, I knew it was a winner," says Wilson. "I was in love with it."