(March 1, 2015) We are very sad to report that Charmayne Maxwell of the popular 90s group Brownstone, has died. One of the three members of the now defunct group, Maxwell was married to Danish music producer Carsten “Soulshock” Schack, with whom she had a son. Sadly, she reportedly died from a tragic accident at a soccer game in the Los Angeles area, where the couple lived. Little more is known of the accident, though TMZ has reported that it involved a cut wound on her neck.
Brownstone was a Grammy Award nominated female R&B group popular during the mid-1990s. They are best known for the 1995 hit single, “If You Love Me.” They also had some success with the singles “Grapevyne”, “Pass The Lovin'”, and “I Can’t Tell You Why” (originally recorded by the Eagles).
The three original members of Brownstone were Maxwell, Nichole “Nicci” Gilbert, and Monica “Mimi” Doby. The group was founded in Los Angeles after the three singers met each other after going to different auditions around the city. They formed the group, and less than a year later were signed to Michael Jackson’s MJJ Music Record Label. They recorded their debut album, From the Bottom Up which spawned the hit “If You Love Me” (written by Gordon Chambers and recorded by him on his 2007 release Love Stories). In 1995 the band was awarded with a Grammy nomination and a Billboard Music Award.
After extensive touring around the globe, Doby left the group. She was replaced by Kina Cosper and the group had a moderate hit with “5 Miles to Empty”. However, the group failed to regain their popularity, and their subsequent albums were considered commercial failures.
Since the group broke up Gilbert has had small roles in a few movies and TV, most recently as a regular member of TV One’s R&B Divas. Maxwell had an on again, off again career in Europe as a recording artist. Doby left the business, married, is a teacher, and has two children.
Though still quite young, Charmayne Maxwell made an indelible mark on R&B music in the 90s, and her death is a real loss to music fans everywhere.
Portions of this article are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikepedia article Brownstone (band)
Thanks to Gary Van den Bussche of Disco, Soul, Gold