49ers (group)
| Company type | Music project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music, entertainment |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Gianfranco Bortolotti |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Italy |
| Products | House and Eurodance music |
49ers was an Italian house and Eurodance project comprising producers and DJs Gianfranco Bortolotti, Luca Cittadini, Diego Leoni, Pieradis Rossini, alongside vocalist Ann-Marie Smith. The ensemble derived its name from the San Francisco 49ers American football team.
In 1990, two of their tracks achieved the number one position on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart: "Touch Me" and "Don't You Love Me".
Origins and first album
Established in 1988 by producer Gianfranco Bortolotti, their inaugural single "Die Walküre" utilized a sample from Freeez's "I.O.U." and attained the 20th spot on the French Singles Chart. Following the 1989 release of "Shadows," Dawn Mitchell joined as lead vocalist. The hit "Touch Me" featured samples from Aretha Franklin's "Rock-a-Lott" and Alysha Warren's "Touch Me," while "Don't You Love Me" included a vocal sample from Jody Watley's popular track. These songs marked the group's commercial rise, with "Touch Me" peaking at number 3 and "Don't You Love Me" reaching number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Although Mitchell provided vocals on multiple album cuts, it was later disclosed she lip-synced on "Touch Me."
Subsequent albums
In 1991, they released a remix compilation alongside the single "Believe In Me," co-written and performed by Mitchell. Shortly afterward, Mitchell departed and was succeeded by Ann-Marie Smith, reportedly the 49th singer to audition for the role. Their sophomore album, Playing With My Heart (1992), yielded five singles: "Move Your Feet," "Got to Be Free," "The Message," "Everything," and "Keep Your Love."
Additional singles
The track "Rockin' My Body" climbed to number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. The group issued four further singles: "Lovin' You," "Baby I'm Yours," "I Got The Music (also known as I Got It)," and "Let The Sunshine In." The act dissolved in 1998.
In 2010, 49ers briefly resurfaced with the release of "Je Cherche Apres Titine" under Italian label Ego Music, incorporating samples from Charlie Chaplin's 1936 movie Modern Times.
Gianfranco Bortolotti revived Media Records as Media Songs s.r.l. in September 2012. Subsequently, in 2013, 49ers released "Shine on in Love" featuring vocalist Cheryl Porter.
Former members
- Gianfranco Bortolotti – production, arrangement, songwriting (1988–1998)
- Luca Cittadini – additional production, arrangement, songwriting (1988–1992)
- Diego Leoni – additional production, arrangement, songwriting (1988–1992)
- Pieradis Rossini – additional production, arrangement, songwriting (1988–1991)
- Alysha Warren (Alyesha Wallen) – uncredited lead vocals on "Touch Me" (1989–1990)
- Josy Gil Persia – performer (1988–1990)
- Dawn Mitchell – performer; vocals featured on several hits including "Don't You Love Me" and "I Need You" (1989–1991)
- Ann-Marie Smith – vocals (1991–2002)
- Cheryl Porter – vocals (2013)
- Chris Mazelle – vocals (2022)
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS |
SWE |
UK | ||
| 49ers |
|
56 | 41 | 51 |
| Playing with My Heart |
|
179 | — | — |
Compilation albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| The Remix Album |
|
| Greatest Hits 1990-2002 |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Highest chart rankings | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA | AUS | AUT | BEL (FLA) | FRA | GER | IRE | NED | NZ | SWE | SUI | UK | US | US Dance | |||
| 1988 | "Die Walküre" | — | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49ers |
| 1989 | "Shadows" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Touch Me" | — | 18 | 9 | 20 | — | 7 | 4 | 18 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 3 | — | 1 | ||
| 1990 | "Don't You Love Me" | — | 61 | — | 36 | — | 25 | 6 | — | — | 17 | 10 | 12 | 78 | 1 | |
| "How Longer" (Italy exclusive) | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Girl to Girl" | — |
116 | |
70 | 13 | |
20 | 31 | |
||||||||||||
| "I Need You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 1992 | "Move Your Feet" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Got to Be Free" | — | 182 |
46 |
— 38 | ||||||||||||
| "The Message" | — |
68 |
— 32 | |||||||||||||
| 1993 | "Everything" | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Keep Your Love" | — | |||||||||||||||
| 1994 | "Rockin' My Body" |
— |
163 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
31 |
— | |||
| rowspan=6 style=font-size:smaller;"Singles only" colspan=16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | "Hangin' on to Love" (Finland exclusive) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| rowspan=2 style=font-size:smaller; 1996 | "Lovin' You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | - | |
| "Baby I'm Yours"
9 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || - | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | "I Got the Music (I Got It)"
21 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || - || - || - | |||||||||||||||
| 1998 | "Let the Sunshine In" (France exclusive) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | - | - | - | - | ||
See also
- Cappella
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart