Jeffrey Osborne

As one of the premier balladeers of ‘80s R&B, Jeffrey Osborne was the paragon of smooth. Yet the singer—who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1948—spent the first part of his career demonstrating his funkier side in L.T.D., the soul group he fronted alongside his brother Billy. After helping the band score hits like 1977’s “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again,” Osborne crossed over with the more tenderhearted “On The Wings Of Love,” a single from his 1982 self-titled solo debut that became a surprise hit in the UK two years later and a wedding staple forevermore. He teamed up with frequent collaborator—and jazz and R&B maverick—George Duke for 1983’s Stay With Me Tonight, a richly varied album whose slickness was matched by its subtlety. Though his output slowed after he reached his chart peak with his 1987 Dionne Warwick duet “Love Power,” Osborne’s vocal gifts were just as clear on 2018’s Worth It All.