UB Soul Friday: Celebrating the Multitalented Tracie Spencer

This weeks “UB Soul Friday” spotlights a beautiful, multitalented, incredible vocalist; who’s celebrating the 35th Anniversary of her sophomore album Tracie Spencer.

“Make the Difference” was released this month, 35 years ago on August 27th, 1990.

“UB Soul Friday,” spotlighting artists, albums, singles and videos that left a mark in R&B and Soul music!

Born July 12th 1976 in Waterloo, Iowa – Tracie Monique Spencer and her older sister didn’t have to look far to find musical inspiration.

The daughter of one of the original Cavaliers — a group of balladeers who opened for Jackie Wilson.

Preparing for a full-time career in music, Tracie would spend hours listening to musical legends like Billie Holiday and making home videos of herself singing tunes made popular by Diana Ross and R&B songstress Meli’sa Morgan.

Tracie Spencer began modeling in pageant competitions at the age of 5.

Tracie Spencer‘s creativity led her produce and direct her very first music videos, one of which resulted in her winning on the 1980s televised talent competition series Star Search.

Singing Whitney Houston‘s 1986 hit song “How Will I Know.”

It wasn’t long after her impressive 1986 television debut that Tracie was auditioning for executives at Capitol Records, who quickly signed the young talent and set the wheels in motion to introduce this vocal prodigy to the world.

Tracie Spencer‘s manager (and co-executive producer of her first album), Stan Plesser and the label decided to release the self-titled Tracie Spencer in 1988, when Tracie was only twelve.

The album reached the Billboard Top 40 singles chart with “Symptoms Of True Love.”

Though entering a market rife with young talent like, Debbie Gibson, J.J. Fad and Tracie‘s good-friend Shanice Wilson.

Tracie Spencer proved an auspicious debut for such a young artist.

Three of the album’s singles — “Symptoms of True Love”, “Hide and Seek” and her remake of John Lennon‘s classic “Imagine,” secured themselves a place on the Billboard charts.

In November of 1988, Tracie Spencer became the youngest solo artist to land a top 40 pop hit in more than 15 years with “Symptoms Of True Love.”

Tracie was nominated for Best New Artist of 1988, at the NAACP Image Awards.

Establishing young Tracie Spencer as an up-and-coming talent to watch out for!

It was two years before the release of Tracie Spencer‘s sophomore release, “Make the Difference,” which boldly beat the curse of the sophomore slump with five high charting singles!

“Make The Difference,” celebrating it’s 35th anniversary this month.

“Basically, this album is more of the type of music that I like to do,” stated the 15-year-old at the time. “The previous album was more of a reflection of the type of music that I could sing. ‘Make the Diference’ contains more of what I like to sing. I had a lot more say on this project because I now know more about the business and what I’m doing.”

Tracie Spencer continued, “In the past, I let other people–like my brother (Marty) and my manager (Stan Plesser) speak for me.”

The album included the monster worldwidehit, “This House.” The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Tracie‘s biggest hit to date!

The sensuous classic, R&B chart-topper “Tender Kisses,” which is still a quiet storm favorite till this day, was another Billboard R&B Top 5 for Tracie.

As a co-writer of the song, it made Tracie Spencer the youngest female artist to receive the ASCAP Songwriter of The Year Award.

The beautiful “Love Me” went to #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

“Make The Difference” showcased a remarkable maturity body of work for her age.

As far as production went: “I definitely need to learn more about it. When this album was being produced. I would go into the studio with my brother and stay really late —just to see what it’s like to stay up al hours of the night, listening to the same song over and over again. It’s a lot of work,” she stated to an industry trade. “I don’t know if I can handle staying up all day and night doing it, but it is fun.”

Tracie Spencer‘s manager at the time was also pleased with the results of her songwriting.

“Tracie’s always had a mature outlook,” stated Plesser. “Now she’s a very sensitive young woman who is able to express that when she sings and writes. I was knocked out when I heard ‘Double 0 Rhythm’ because I was impressed that young people could write such vividly beautiful things. I believe that there’s an old soul living inside of Tracie,” Plesser continued. “Some people are able to see things that their age doesn’t usually permit, and Tracie’s one of them.”

Tracie‘s brother also contributed to the tracks “This House,” “This Time Make It Funky,” “Tracie’s Hideout” and “You Make the Difference,” making the album a family affair. It was Tracie‘s oldest brother who introduced her to Billie Holiday‘s music when she was younger.

“But my father also influenced my desire to become a singer.” Tracie stated. “My father used to be a singer with a group called the Cavaliers. For about 20 years or so they opened shows for people like Jackie Wilson, Kyle McFadden, Little Willie John and other popular artists of that time.”

Though still a teenager, the album presented a more mature Tracie, enabling her to capture the attention of older audiences who identified with the the funky beats and political messages of songs like “This House.”

Maturity also allowed her to tackle romantic subjects, from a more adult perspective.

“A new image is something I really wanted to push because I have changed, especially my attitude, since I did my first album. During those years I went through a lot of changes, as all teenagers do. I became a lot more mature. What I want people to understand” she explained, “is that my music is not just for teenagers to listen to. It’s made for everyone.”

“My parents are pretty understanding with my career and are open to my ideas and opinions. We work things out together. They want everyone in our family to be successful and do what they want to do.”

Meanwhile, “Sweeter Love” and “This Time Make It Funky,” displayed the rapping talents of both Tracie and her brother Sir Spence.

The latter charted relatively well on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts.

Tracie Spencer attended Columbus High School in Waterloo, Iowa.

Tracie Spencer then retreated from the music industry to finishing her schooling and enjoy a normal teenage life.

Making the occasional contribution to movie soundtracks, including 1993’s CB4 on “It’s Alright,” and the 1997‘s Good Burger soundtrack, with “I’ll Be There For You,” and 1998‘s Down In The Delta (“The Rain.”)

She also served on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund as a teen and was given the Martin Luther King Christian Leadership Award for being a positive role model to youth and traveling across the US and abroad as part of a “Stay In School” program.

Tracie Spencer demonstrated her maturity by deciding to take time off from recording to finish high school. “Before settling in Los Angeles, I decided to take time out to finish school in Iowa, where I became involved with sports and began to have a life that was a little more normal.” Tracie once stated. “I wasn’t even a teenager when I started out and having a normal kind of childhood is difficult if you’re in the business. I wanted some time to experience life as a teenager.”

While Tracie Spencer took time off to complete her education, fans anxiously awaited her return to the studio, often wondering what had happened to the rising star?

Finally, in 1998 when she hooked up with Soulshock and Karlin, she was ready. “I’ve grown up a lot,” she reflected on at the time. “I come from a very closely knit family so when I first left Iowa for L.A., I kept wanting to run back home. But I had to learn to be out here on my own…and I’ve been learning! That’s what people will hear on my new album. I’m a young woman dealing with real life and all that involves.”

“This is my ‘coming of age’ album. It’s going to be surprising to some people when they first hear it but the music is very reflective of what I listen to when I’m hanging out with my friends at a club or I’m listening to the radio. I was being true to myself when I wrote songs for this record and I think it shows my growth from teenage girl to young woman.”

Other songs were penned by Diane Warren, Andrea Martin, Tamara Savage and UBG‘s own Ivan Matias.

Released in June 1999, “Tracie” was a mature, urban soul collection set to deliberately reach the audiences of young divas, such as Brandy and Monica – who at the time ruled the R&B charts.

Tracie crafted an album filled with blazin’ jeep-styled jams and heartfelt ballads.

From the hip hop flavor of the first single It’s All About You (Not About Me), which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

To the late night feel of the sensual jam No Matter, one of the seven tunes Tracie co-wrote for the album.

Tracie showcases the musical skills of a powerhouse vocalist in a truly contemporary setting.

One of the albums highlights, “Still in My Heart,” the second & final single from the project.

Reaching the Top 30 on the Hot Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.

Released in March of 2000. The beautifully written ballad, was penned by Soulshock and Karlin, Ivan Matias and Andrea Monica Martin.

Speaking on her growth with that project, Tracie stated: “Over the last few years, I’ve gone through the things that all young girls and guys go through. You know, making new friends, the dating scene, typical teenage stuff. And yes, I’ve definitely been in love and had my heart broken. All of that helped me out in writing songs for this album. It’s more emotional for me than anything I’ve done before, a record that deals with love and relationships from the standpoint of a young woman.”

Aware that there were new female singers who made their mark since her sophomore release, Tracie was mostly accurate when she said, “When I first started, I was out here with young artists like Shanice and in some ways, I feel like we were originators in paving the way for some of the female singers who are out here now…and we’re both still here and we’re not going anywhere!”

She made a guest appearance on the hit ABC sitcom, Family Matters. Tracie also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel and Dollhouse, which lead to her being a part of New York and LA‘s fashion weeks in 1999-2000, being styled by Derek Khan, being signed to “NEXT” modeling agency and appearing in numerous magazines.

In the 2000s, she started singing background vocals on hip-hop songs for artist such as Kanye West, 50 Cent, and Eve as well as songwriting for other artist’s projects.

She acted in the short film, “A Tale of Two Sisters” in 2004 and in 2006, she performed in a play called “Choices” in Los Angeles.

Ms. Spencer took a hiatus from the industry for a great part of the early 2000s, but still modeled and pursued other interests.

Tracie reappeared to happy fans all over the world in the fall of 2023. Later appearing with R&B songstress Shanice on Sherri Show in September of that year.

These days, Tracie Spencer is doing spot dates with other legendary R&B artists, including sets with D-Nice and working on new music!

Having began her career as a child star in an industry that’s humbled many a diva, Tracie Spencer turned a one-in-a-million opportunity to her advantage launching a career into its forth decade.

Not only does her celebrity serve as a testament to the power and tenacity of youth talent, but her decision to balance a delicate career with her studies was an example to her younger fans of the value of education.

Tracie was born to be a star and we look forward to seeing her star shine even brighter!

Take A Trip Down memory Lane with Tracie Spencer!