Klymaxx was created and formed in 1979 by Bernadette Cooper (producer/drummer/vocals); the other original members included Lorena Porter Shelby (lead vocals),
Cheryl Cooley (guitar), Robbin Grider (keyboards), and Lynn Malsby (keyboards).
Joyce "Fenderella" Irby (bass/vocals/producer) joined the band later, before the recording of their debut album. The women developed their core sound in rehearsal, and continued with Cooper becoming the band's figurehead.
Their debut album
Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman was released in 1981, and their second album was
Girls Will Be Girls.
However, their first album to achieve national recognition was the 1984 released
Meeting in the Ladies Room, featuring the top 5 US
Billboard R&B chart successes "
The Men All Pause," written by Cooper and Irby, and the
title track. The band's self-produced "I Miss You," penned by Lynn Malsby, became the band's pop breakthrough, peaking at #5 on the
Hot 100. Critics mentioned that Irby's voice was similar to
Michael Jackson's, according to music historian Scot Brown.
[1] Bernadette Cooper wrote and produced much of the band's material, and subsequently began writing and producing for other artists from the mid-80s onward, including
Cheryl Lynn,
Shalamar,
Madame X and
Mazarati. She subsequently signed to
MCA Records as a solo artist, and released the 1990 album
Drama According to Bernadatte Cooper, featuring cameo appearances from
Teena Marie and
Chuckii Booker.
The group disbanded in 1989,
[2] with some members releasing further albums.
[3] Following the breakup there was a legal confrontation involving Cooley’s unauthorized use of the band's name and trademark
[2][4], leading to the trademark decision
Cheryl Cooley v. Bernadette Cooper and Joyce Irby.
[5] Klymaxx without Cooley appeared again together in a 2003 episode of
VH1's Bands Reunited.
[6] Klymaxx officially reformed shortly afterward, now billed as Klymaxx featuring Bernadette Cooper.
On June 25, 2019,
The New York Times Magazine listed Klymaxx among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the
2008 Universal fire.
