La Bouche

Mixing elements of House and R&B that share mass appeal, the mid-1990s pairing of vocalist Melanie Thornton and rapper Lane McCray as La Bouche created a dance sensation that spread in popularity throughout Europe and across to the U.S. The project's mastermind was Frank Farian -- the man behind Boney M and Milli Vanilli. Thornton, a vocalist born in South Carolina who'd studied jazz and blues, was touring in Germany when she met McCray, an Alaskan-born musical theater fan stationed there with the American Air Force. The act's fame peaked in 1995 with the crowd-pleasing dance workouts "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover." La Bouche released an album in 1998 that garnered little attention. In November of 2001, two days before their next album hit the shelves, Thornton was killed in a plane crash en route to a performance.