Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American R&B/soul band from Oakland, California. During the band's heyday from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, it was composed of D'Wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Ray Wiggins) on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums, keyboards, and background vocals. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Toni, Toné" as a joke, until they realized it "had a nice ring to it". After a stint as musicians on Prince's Parade Tour in 1986, the trio formed Tony! Toni! Toné! back in their hometown of Oakland that same year. The band first found success performing around the San Francisco Bay Area. They released their debut album Who? in 1988. Their debut single, “Little Walter,” reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart; three more singles from the album reached the Top 10; and the album was certified gold. Tony! Toni! Toné! started producing their own music and found more mainstream success with their second album The Revival in 1990, fueled by the No.9 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Feels Good”. The Revival also included the R&B No.1s "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" and "Whatever You Want" and was certified platinum. The group achieved their greatest commercial success with the double platinum certified and critically acclaimed Sons of Soul album in 1993, which included the Hot 100 top 10 hits "If I Had No Loot" and "Anniversary" and top 40 hit "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow". With the group's reliance on traditional soul and R&B values of songwriting and instrumentation, Sons of Soul is considered a precursor to the neo soul movement of the late 1990s. Tony! Toni! Toné! disbanded after the release of their platinum certified fourth album House of Music (1996), which critics cite as their best work.
