Lipstick, high heels and sultry vocals conjure up images of the quintessential girls group, right? In 1979 a drummer and creative visionary by the name of Bernadette Cooper turned the music world on its ear by creating the funky girls group with the sexy name, “Klymaxx.”

 

A six member all female band with an R&B pop sound and vibe that celebrated “girl power” long before the Spice Girls or TLC were even thought about. Members Bernadette Cooper, Lorena Porter, 

Cheryl Cooley, Lynn Mosby, Robbin Grider and Joyce Irby made history as the only all female R&B/Pop band to go platinum. 

 

Klymaxx got their big break when Solar Records exec, Margaret Nash urged her boss Dick Griffey to check the band out. They were immediately offered a record deal. With their first two albums creatively controlled by male producers and songwriters, the members of Klymaxx knew they had to write their own music from a woman’s perspective. This tenacity birthed their third album, “Meeting in the Ladies Room” which spawned the female anthems, “Men All Pause,” “Meeting in The Ladies Room and the band’s most successful hit, “I Miss You” sung by bassist Joyce “Fenderella” Irby. 

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