I'm listening to one of the Launch stations, and fairly frequently they play Rose Royce. Most of the times, the songs are taken from this collection:



I have an entirely different collection, and I've only heard selections from this set on Launch, so I don't know if their information is correct. But the woman singing lead on Wishing on a Star is definitely NOT Gwen Dickey. I know she left the group and was replaced, but did they later re-record some of the hits they had while she was with them?

Not that I'm aware of,,,

Rose Norwalt didn't sing "Wishing On The Star" its Gwen Dickey.

You can tell the difference between the 2 by listening to "Wishing On The Star" aaaand "GOLDEN TOUCH".

Speaking of the latter,,,,,

No,they DID actually rerecord their classics
after Gwen left.They re-recorded some of the classics
Norman Whitfield songs in the 80's.
A very stupid thing 2 do of course.
The magic of Gwen's voice & Normans production is gone
& replaced with a more plastic production.
U have 2 B careful when buying a Rose Royce collection
that it don't include those later versions.
I have a cheap LP collection with those later versions
,but the classical compilation with side A is called
"dancing side" & side B is called "romancing side"
is all the original versions.

Another group that re-recorded their songs was
"Harold Melvin & the Blue Note" after Teddy Pendergrass left.
/peace Manki

manki said:

I agree. It just dosen't sound right at all.

such sacrilege...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Damn Right

manki said:

that's the one I've been pumpin'

Hotlegs said:

That's why I was confused. Gwen's one of my favorite vocalists, and when I heard those versions of Rose Royce songs without her voice it threw me for an earache loop! Those songs aren't the same without her.

CinisterCee said:

Now, this is the collection that I would get.

Gwen "Rose" Dickey,who was their female lead singer from the beginning,left the band in 1980.She was replaced by Richee Benson,who remained with the band throughout the 80s and 90s.This line-up released a "Greatest Hits" compilation that features newly recorded versions of the songs.In 1995,they also released a Live album.I saw Rose Royce in concert a few times in the late 90s (with Benson as the lead singer) and they put on an incredible show.

CinisterCee said:

That's a cool compilation,but this one is even better...

Released in 2001 on Rhino Records.All the hits are accounted for,and there are also key album tracks,excellent liner notes,and rare photos.This compilation even includes a few of their latter-day singles,with Richee Benson on lead vocals.

ooh,that spacey intro 2 "pop your fingers"
with those synths is magical!!! 1 of the best intros!
/peace Manki

btw,there is Live DVD of a show that was recorded in the mid-90s.

I recently saw them in Santa Cruz, CA. The "Fine" young lady singing lead on those popular classics was very good!(Sorry, can't remember her name ) I mean she sounded so much like the original recordings. I got a checne to speak with the band leader Kenny Copeland (lead vocals on "I Wanna Get Next To You")after the show and told him how much i thought she sounded like the Gwen Dickey. He agreed and told me that when they first got together with her (current singer), they told her that she had to be on point 'cause the songs are bigger than her. Mr. Copeland was a very nice guy, btw.