Zelma Davis facts for kids

Zelma Davis is a singer and songwriter born in Liberia who became famous in America. She is best known for her hit dance songs like "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." and "Just a Touch of Love." She sang these songs with the music group C+C Music Factory.

Zelma also appeared in the music video for the group's huge international hit, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)". With C+C Music Factory, she has won four American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and two MTV Video Music Awards. She also received a Grammy Award nomination.

A Look at Her Music Journey

When C+C Music Factory first became popular in late 1990, Zelma Davis was presented as the main singer. However, other female singers also sang on the group's first album, Gonna Make You Sweat.

Zelma appeared in the music video for the album's most famous song, "Gonna Make You Sweat." In the video, she moved her lips to the song, but the actual singing voice belonged to another artist named Martha Wash.

Martha Wash felt it was unfair that people thought Zelma was the voice behind the hit song. Martha had also sung for another group, Black Box, where models also lip-synced to her voice in videos. Because of this, Martha filed a lawsuit against C+C Music Factory.

This happened around the same time as a big scandal involving another group, Milli Vanilli, who were caught lip-syncing. Because of this, some people unfairly accused Zelma of not being a real singer. However, Zelma had actually sung many songs on the group's album, Gonna Make You Sweat.

In 1992, Zelma appeared on the American TV show Blossom. A year later, in 1993, she sang a version of Dennis Edwards's song "Don't Look Any Further" for Dave Koz's album Lucky Man.

In 1994, Zelma Davis worked with C+C Music Factory again for their second album, Anything Goes!. The first song from this album, "Do You Wanna Get Funky," featured both Zelma and Martha Wash. This song reached number one on Billboard's Dance chart. Zelma also sang on the song "I Found Love" from the same album.

In 1997, she released a song called "I'm Calling (Say It Loud)." This song was part of the soundtrack for a documentary film called When We Were Kings. In 2000, Zelma released a single called "Power," which also hit number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

In June 2008, Zelma was featured on DJ Heavygrinder's song "Mind Reader." In August 2008, Zelma Davis and Amber released a new version of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," originally by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand. In 2009, she released another song with DJ Heavygrinder called "Chains of Love."

In January 2015, she released a song with Dank called "1994 (Rhythm Is Right)." In 2017, Zelma Davis appeared in the TV series "Dr. Ken".

Awards and Recognitions

Zelma Davis has received several awards and nominations throughout her career, especially with C+C Music Factory.

American Music Awards

Grammy Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

• Note: These awards and nominations are shared by Zelma Davis with the C+C Music Factory group.

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart