Some artists have been around for decades while others have a few hits and fade away leaving you to wonder… Where are they Now? P.M. Dawn is one such group that gained quite a bit of popularity in the 90s with several mellow radio-friendly hits but seemed to fade into obscurity in the mid-90s. That leaves the question… Where are they Now?
You probably already know that P.M. Dawn was a group of two dudes, but most of you probably don’t even know their names or aliases. The group is actually comprised of two brothers named Attrell & Jarrett Cordes. Atrell was known as Prince Be or Prince Be the Nocturnal while Jarrett was called DJ Minutemix or J.C. the Eternal. The brothers had music in their blood as their stepfather was George Brown a founding member of Kool & the Gang, and Prince Be started spinning records and composing songs around the 9th grade.
In 1989 P.M. Dawn released their first single “Ode to a Forgetful Mind” under an independent label named Warlock, but it wasn’t until 1991 that the duo hit the big time. After a few false starts P.M. Dawn’s debut album, “Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience” was released (what a title) and the world was introduced to the group through their first real hit “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”. I remember listening to that mellow melody in the early 90s and still have it in my playlist today. The groups 2nd single was “Paper Doll” which you might not remember as well if not for the fact that they drilled the word “Paper Doll” into your head throughout the song. Seriously… they said it well over 100 times throughout the course of the song.
After a bit of touring and before releasing their second album P.M. Dawn found success again with a hit on the Boomerang soundtrack and a song practically everyone that lived in the 90s knows called “I’d Die Without You”. The group released “The Bliss Album…?” which included the Boomerang hit along with another good cut called “Looking Through Patient Eyes”. After that it the group releases a few more records with “Jesus Wept” and “Dearest Christian, I’m So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad.” but neither had anywhere near the success of the group’s first album or follow-up. The original lineup’s last album was “Dearest Christian” but they did put out a greatest hits collection in 2000.
Unfortunately, this is a tale that doesn’t end all that well as things went a little downhill with the brothers from there. In early 2005 Prince Be had a stroke that left him paralyzed on one side of his body, but that didn’t quite stop the duo. Still reeling from the effects of his stroke, the group appeared on the short-lived NBC show “Hit Me, Baby, One More Time” beat out several other groups and won claiming a $20,000 prize. Prince Be is a diabetic and the in a gracious gesture the group donated the prize money to the juvenile diabetes foundation. After the show, DJ Minutemix decided to leave the group to pursue other projects which led to the introduction of The Doc Of The Dawn-Doc.G aka Dr. Giggles who is the Cordes brothers’ first cousin.
The group started touring again in 06’ to promote a new album planned for release, and in 2010 P.M. Dawn Greatest Live Hits was released. In 2011 The Doc released his first solo work called “The Purr-Script-Shun”. Unfortunately, hard times struck again in 2009 when Prince Be had another stroke and had to have his leg amputated below the knee due to an infection. With Prince Be’s blessing Doc. G continues to tour and perform the classic P.M. Dawn cuts along with his own material around the world. That’s the last word we’ve got on the happenings of the dynamic duo known as P.M. Dawn, and even if they aren’t putting out hits today we’ve still got those mellow classics of the 90s to fondly remember them by.
