| The Jets | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Birth Name: | The Wolfgramm Family |
| Origin: | Robbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1985–present |
| Label: | MCA, Shadow Mountain, Liberty Park |
| Associated Acts: | Boys Club, My Sisters, Against the Season, Jett17 |
| Current Members: | LeRoy Wolfgramm Eddie Wolfgramm Haini Wolfgramm Rudy Wolfgramm Kathi Wolfgramm Elizabeth Wolfgramm Moana Wolfgramm |
| Past Members: | Eugene Wolfgramm (deceased) |
The Jets are a Tongan American family music group from Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] The Jets are composed of brothers and sisters LeRoy, Eddie, Eugene, Haini, Rudy, Kathi, Elizabeth, and Moana Wolfgramm, who perform pop, R&B, and dance music.[2] They started performing as a family band in 1977. The group enjoyed worldwide success in 1985–1990, performing three world tours, and producing five top-10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The original band consisted of the eight oldest children of Maikeli "Mike" and Vaké Wolfgramm, who were originally from Tonga.[3] The family has 17 children: 15 by birth, and two, Eddie and Eugene, by adoption. The children attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School. The family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The band initially called themselves Quasar[3] after a now-defunct brand of television sets. They changed their name to the Jets, a name taken from the Elton John song "Bennie and the Jets", on the suggestion of manager Don Powell.[4]
Member Eugene Wolfgramm died on April 15, 2024, at the age of 57.[5]
The original members of the Jets had a number of Billboard Hot 100 hits, five of which reached the top ten, including the 1986 single "Crush on You",[3] which peaked at No. 3 in July 1986 (No. 5 UK, No. 4 US R&B, No. 4 US Dance). They are also known for the singles "You Got It All", "Cross My Broken Heart", "Rocket 2 U", and "Make It Real". "Sendin' All My Love", which peaked at No. 88 on the Hot 100, reached No. 1 on the Billboard dance chart. "You Got It All" and "Make It Real", both ballads featuring lead vocals by Elizabeth Wolfgramm, were No. 1 hits on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[6] The band was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1988 for the song "Rocket 2 U" that featured lead vocals by Haini Wolfgramm. The Jets also performed the theme song for Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers in 1989.
The group performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the seventh game of the 1987 World Series, held in Minneapolis, and at Game 3 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals in suburban Bloomington. The band also performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Jets' original lineup consisted of eight of the siblings.
In 1988, Eugene Wolfgramm and Joe Pasquale formed the duo Boys Club, which recorded for MCA Records.[3] Boys Club released the song "I Remember Holding You", which reached No. 8 on the Hot 100.[3] Eugene later reunited for the album The Best of the Jets (1990), but he and other siblings (Eddie, Elizabeth, Kathi) eventually left the band in succession. The band was also featured on the soundtrack for The Disney Afternoon, on which they performed the Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers theme song. They also appeared on the soundtracks for Burglar (1987) ("Tough Guys"), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) ("Cross My Broken Heart"), The Karate Kid Part III ("Under Any Moon"), and The Family Man (2000) ("La La Means I Love You").
American pop singer Britney Spears recorded a new version of "You Got It All" in 1997,[8] which appears on international editions of her 2000 album Oops!... I Did It Again. Musical artists Arnee Hidalgo, Pinay, and MYMP have also covered the song. "Crush on You" is featured as the base sample for the French house anthem "Intro" by Alan Braxe and Fred Falke (2000).
Pop singer Aaron Carter included "Crush on You" on his first album, which became a top-10 single in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom in 1997. Singer Nayobe recorded a version of "Make It Real" that became a hit in Latin America. Exposé recorded a version of "The Same Love" on their 1992 self-titled album. More recently, the UK electronic music act Nero sampled "Crush on You" on their 2011 track of the same name.
As of 2022, there are two touring groups of Jets, which include original members:
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] | US R&B | CAN [10] | UK [11] | ||||||||||||
| 1985 | The Jets | 21 | 16 | 77 | 57 | MCA | |||||||||
| 1986 | Christmas with The Jets | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||
| 1987 | Magic | 35 | 26 | - | - |
| |||||||||
| 1989 | Believe | 107 | 74 | - | - | ||||||||||
| 1995 | Love People | - | - | - | - | Liberty Park | |||||||||
| 1997 | Love Will Lead the Way | - | - | - | - | Shadow Mountain | |||||||||
| 1998 | Then & Now | - | - | - | - | Cold Front | |||||||||
| 2006 | Versatility | - | - | - | - | Hip-O | |||||||||
| 2014 | Reunited | - | - | - | - | Refinement Records | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Best of The Jets
| |
| 2001 |
| |
| 2004 | Greatest Hits
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [13] | US R&B [14] | US Dan [15] | US A/C [16] | AUS [17] | CAN | NLD [18] | NZ [19] | UK | |||||||
| 1985 | "Curiosity" | - | 8 | 21 | - | - | - | - | 23 | 41 | The Jets | ||||
| 1986 | "Crush on You" | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | 9 | - | 43 | 5 | |||||
| "Private Number" | 47 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| "You Got It All" | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 11 | - | - | 79 | ||||||
| 1987 | "Cross My Broken Heart" | 7 | 11 | 8 | - | - | 17 | - | 32 | - | Magic | ||||
| "I Do You" | 20 | 19 | - | - | - | 68 | - | - | - | ||||||
| 1988 | "Rocket 2 U" | 6 | 5 | 3 | - | 79 | 12 | 90 | - | 69 | |||||
| "Make It Real" | 4 | 24 | - | 1 | - | 6 | - | - | - | ||||||
| "Anytime" | - | - | - | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| "Sendin' All My Love" | 88 | 72 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| 1989 | "You Better Dance" | 59 | 73 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Believe | ||||
| "The Same Love" | 87 | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| 1990 | "Somebody to Love Me" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| "Under Any Moon" (re-issue) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| "Special Kinda Love" | - | 83 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | The Best of The Jets | |||||
| 1991 | "Forever in My Life" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||