Working Class Heroes (Work)CeeLo Green

CeeLo Green

Born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway but known as Cee-Lo Green – and many other variations – The funk mainstay and Atlanta native is known for being a member of the Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob, and the Dungeon Family, but most of all for his 2010 anthem “Fuck You” and the accompanying album, The Lady Killer. With his roots in the industry dating back as early as 1991, Cee-Lo has worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill and TLC to Bruno Mars and Melanie Fiona.

Cee-Lo was instrumental in the foundation of the rise of Southern Hip-Hop and Crunk as a founding member of the Goodie Mob. In 1999, Green went on to greener pastures, signing a solo deal with Arista Records, releasing his debut Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections to minor success and following up with Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine to major success. In 2005, Cee-Lo formed Gnarls Barkley with DJ/Producer Danger Mouse, producing two albums, St. Elsewhere (2006) and The Odd Couple (2008), the former supported by the surprisingly massive hit “Crazy”, which Rolling Stone chose as its song of the decade. Arista and Legacy Records produced the compilation Closet The Best of Cee-Lo Green the Soul Machine on October 31, 2006 combining his solo success with his Goodie Mob and Dungeon Family work. In 2010, Cee Lo topped all of that with the R&B sensation “Fuck You” (also known as “Forget You” and “FU”), which was Top 5 in 14 regions, including #1 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Scotland – since being certified 7 times Platinum, and considered one of the most successful singles of the digital download era. His third album The Lady Killer produced “Fuck You” and 5 other singles, including “Fool For You” and “Bright Lights Bigger City”, and 3 Grammy wins for the Soul Machine. His next solo album, Heart Blanche, came in 2015, led by an epononymous single dedicated to the late actor “Robin Williams”.

Cee-Lo has also created an impressive resume in television and film, notably as one of the original judges for the reality competition show The Voice, sitting for 4 years alongside Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton. He has appeared or voiced in T-Pain’s The Musical, Robot Chicken, The Boondocks, Anger Management, Class of 3000, Hotel Transylvania, Sparkle, Mystery Men, Glee, and Parenthood. Musically, Cee-Lo re-recorded the theme song to Kung Fu Panda for the adapted series, contributed to the Sex and The City 2 and Twilight soundtracks, The 2013 NFL Thursday Night Football theme and has performed on The Late Show, Saturday Night Live, WWE Summerslam, the 2011 New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, and at the Super Bowl XLVI (46) Halftime Show alongside Madonna. Cee Lo also had his own 2014 docu-comedy CeeLo Green’s the Good Life, but this was cancelled in the face of rape allegations and Twitter backlash.