Ten City

Ten City
Ten City
	(left to right): Burke, Stingily, Lawson; (1994)
Background information
Also known as	Ragtyme
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	House, R&B
Years active	1987–1996; 2021-present
Labels	Atlantic, EastWest Records America, Columbia, Ultra Music
Members	Byron Stingily; Marshall Jefferson;
Past members	Byron Burke; Herb Lawson;

Ten City (derived from intensity) is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house.^[2]

Biography

Formerly known as Ragtyme, the group comprised vocalist Byron Stingily, guitarist Herb Lawson and keyboardist Byron Burke and were augmented by producer Marshall Jefferson.^[3] The group was signed by Atlantic Records and released the album Foundation^[3] in 1989, which became the group's only album to cross over, peaking at No. 49 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[4]

Ten City is best known for the singles "Devotion", "Right Back to You" and "That's the Way Love Is,"^[2] which hit No. 1 on the US dance chart and No. 8 on the UK Top 40 in 1989.^[5] Stingily, who left the group and became a successful solo artist, re-recorded the song and brought it back to No. 1 on the US dance chart in 1999.

In 2021, Stingily teamed up with producer Marshall Jefferson to release "Be Free" on Ultra Music,^[6] the first single in 25 years to be credited to Ten City.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] Its parent album, Judgment, was nominated for a Grammy Award that year in the category of Best Dance/Electronic Album.^[11]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Label	Peak chart positions		Certifications
Year	Album	Label	US R&B ^[4]	UK ^[5]	Certifications
1989	Foundation	Atlantic Records	49	22	BPI: Silver^[12]
1990	State of Mind	Atlantic Records	—	—
1992	No House Big Enough	EastWest Records America	—	—
1994	That Was Then, This Is Now	Columbia Records	—	—
2021	Judgment	Ultra Records	—	—
2023	Love Is Love	Helix Records	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

The Best of Ten City (Ibadan, 2001)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
Year	Single	US Dance ^[13]	US R&B ^[13]	UK ^[5]	IRE ^[14]
1987	"Devotion"	—	—	—	—
1988	"Right Back to You"	8	—	80	—
1989	"Funny Love"	—	―	—	—
	"That's the Way Love Is"	1	12	8	11
	"Devotion" (re-release)	17	—	29	22
	"Where Do We Go?"	28	34	60	—
	"Suspicious"	—	—	—	—
1990	"Whatever Makes You Happy"	16	53	60	—
	"Superficial People"	22	—	96	—
	"I Should Learn to Love You"	―	—	―	—
1992	"Only Time Will Tell" / "My Peace of Heaven"	2	―	63	—
1993	"Fantasy"	20	―	45	—
1994	"The Way You Make Me Feel"	—	―	—	—
1994	"Goin' Up in Smoke"	21	―	―	—
1996	"Nothing's Changed"	—	―	—	—
1996	"All Loved Out"	―	―	―	—
2021	"Be Free"	―	―	―	—
2021	"On It"	―	―	―	—
2022	"Piece of My Heart"	―	―	―	—
	"A Girl Named Phil"	―	―	―	—
	"Love Is Love"	―	―	―	—
2023	"I Love Me"	―	―	―	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.