Troop (band)

Troop
Two members of Troop in 2015: Steve Russell (left) and John Harreld (right)
Background information
Origin	Pasadena, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, new jack swing
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Atlantic Bust It Warrior
Members	Steve "Random" Russell John "Jon Jon" Harreld Rodney Benford Reggie Warren Allen McNeil

Troop is an R&B group from Pasadena, California. The group has had five number one singles and ten top ten singles on the Billboard R&B Charts. They have also completed five albums, which include three certified gold and one certified platinum album. TROOP is an acronym for "Total Respect Of Other People". The group is most notable for a series of number-one R&B hits, including two popular cover versions of songs such as "All I Do Is Think of You" and "Sweet November", originally performed by the musical acts, The Jackson 5 and The Deele respectively. They also had a number-one hit with the original song "Spread My Wings".

The group began in the late 1980s after they won a televised (Puttin' on the Hits) talent contest that later drew interest from record labels. Troop, consisting of childhood friends Steve Russell, Allen McNeil, John Harreld, Rodney Benford, Reggie Warren and signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut single Mamacita from their self-titled album in 1988. Mamacita reached Number 2 on the Billboard's R&B Charts.

After the release of their debut album, Troop released Attitude, which included songs such as Spread My Wings and All I Do is Think of You (a Jackson 5 cover), which were both Number 1 on the Billboard R&B charts and remained in the top 10 on the charts for several weeks.Attitude was certified platinum in 1990, afterward, Troop released their third album Deepa in 1992 from which the single Sweet November made Number 1 on the Billboard's R&B charts. The group followed up with two more albums A Lil' Sumpin' Sumpin' (1994) and Mayday (1998), both of which were re-released in 2005.