Pebbles took a hiatus from singing contemporary music in 1997. Before then, she was one of the prolific R&B singers who produced top-charting songs. She also founded a music group that scored nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, she returned on stage after 12 years outside the entertainment industry. However, she did not return as an R&B singer but as a gospel artist. So, what is her story, and what made her transition to gospel music?

Pebbles is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, music executive, and producer. She is the founder of TLC, an American girl group known for their singles Creep, Waterfalls, No Scrubs, and Unpretty.

The personality is a Grammy-nominated recording artist who sang top-selling hits like Mercedes Boy, Girlfriend, Always and Giving You the Benefit. Although she produced some top R&B songs, she stopped singing in 1997 to focus on her faith, family, and rebuilding her life.

Pebbles’ profile summary

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Early life

The singer was born Perri Arlette McKissack on 29 August 1964 (age 57 as of 2022) in Oakland, California, United States. She grew up in Oakland in an African-American family alongside her four siblings (Veronica A. McKissack-Gonzales, Gennifer McKissack, Albert G. McKissack, and Craig C. McKissack).

Lilly J. Nelson (mother) and Albert McKissack (father) are her parents. Unfortunately, Pebbles’ sister, Veronica A. McKissack-Gonzales, died on 31 December 2013 in San Leandro, aged 51. Her parents divorced when she was six years old. That forced her mother to raise her and her siblings alone.

Her mother worked as a waitress and bookkeeper and ensured her small salary was enough to feed and take her children to school. While growing up, many people considered the star white because of her light skin. However, she is black because her parents are African-American. But she gets her complexion because her parents are light-skinned blacks with white parents.

Pebbles wanted to be a singer when she was young. Then, when she turned 16, she got her start in the music industry as a backing vocalist for the percussionist and band leader Bill Summers.

Professional career

Perri started her music career when she was 16. First, she worked as a backing vocalist for Bill Summers and the funk band Con Funk Shun. Then, she was lucky enough to land a production deal with a local musician. However, the deal did not go through because she became pregnant with her first child, Ashley Victoria, at 16.

The singer opted to marry the child’s father but dissolved the marriage after a year. The pregnancy derailed her career for a while. As a result, she went to work in an Oakland real estate office. Luckily, he met a contractor named George L. Smith, who bankrolled her with $80,000, giving her a second chance in music. Perri did not disappoint.

In 1987, she released Mercedes Boy, a shimmering single that topped the charts worldwide. She then recorded a self-titled album the same year, which peaked at number five on the US R&B Charts. Perri then released two more albums, Always (1990) and Straight From My Heart (1995). But after the success of her first album in 1987, she formed an Atlanta-based production company called Pebbitone in 1989.

She also founded a record label titled Savvy Records. Then, in 1990, she founded the American girl group TLC, whose members were Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas. The group released top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than 90 million records before its dissolution in 1995.

Perri stopped producing songs in 1995 to focus on her faith, family, and rebuilding her life. In 1997, she underwent a religious conversion and changed her stage name to Sister Perri. Then, she founded the Women of God Changing Lives (WOGCL) Ministries and became an ordained minister. In 2008, she returned with her fourth album titled Prophetic Flows.

Husband and children

Perri has been in five marriages throughout her lifetime. Her first marriage was in 1982, but it ended after a year. However, she had a child named Ashley Victoria Winzer, born in January 1982. Pebbles’ second marriage was to George L. Smith, an Oakland contract. The two were in marriage from 1983 until 1987.

They lived in San Francisco, where Smith had a daughter named Jennifer, born in 1972. In 1989, Perri married LA Reid, an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. The couple welcomed their son Aaron Alexander in November 1989. Unfortunately, the two divorced in 1996.

In 2000, Perri married former MLB player Otis Nixon. The two had been neighbours for a decade but never spoke. However, they became friends after meeting at a prayer group. They enjoyed four years of marriage but divorced in 2004.

In 2012, Perri married Excel Sharieff, an administrative law judge. The couple has kept their relationship out of the public eye and may still be together as of 2022.

Pebbles’ net worth

Perri started her career in 1980 as a singer. However, she quickly transitioned to work as a songwriter, businesswoman, music executive, and producer. Thus, she has made her money from album sales. Furthermore, she ran a record label in the 1990s and made her money through royalties. Her net worth is $25 million.

In 2014, she filed a $40 million defamation lawsuit against Viacom. She accused the company of portraying her as a “conniving and dishonest business woman who hoodwinked three innocent girls and exploited their talent for her own personal gain” in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.

Pebbles fast facts

Pebbles is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman, music executive, and producer. She is best known as the founder of the girl group TLC known for her singles Mercedes Boy, Girlfriend, Always, and Giving You the Benefit. She has been in five marriages and has three children.

Are you interested to know Cha Eun-woo? Tuko.co.ke shared an article about the singer. Cha Eun-woo has appeared in high-profile movies like My Brilliant Life, Decibel, Hit the Top, Gangnam Beauty, and Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Kyung.

Cha Eun-woo is a South Korean singer, actor, and model under the label of Fantagio. He is one-sixth of the South Korean boy band Astro. The group made its debut in February of 2016 with the EP Spring Up and followed in July with the EP Summer Vibes.

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