Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch

The younger brother of New Kids on the Block’s Donnie Wahlberg, Marky Mark entered the music industry in the early '90s before launching the second phase of his career, acting. Employed as an underwear model for Calvin Klein, his two albums did little to dispel his image as a clothes horse for white rap, even though all of his Funky Bunch (who included DJ Terry Yancey and five mixed-gender dancers) were black. Mark enjoyed almost instant success when "Good Vibrations," featuring a sample of Loleatta Holloway’s disco hit "Love Sensation," topped the U.S. charts in July 1991 and broke into the U.K. Top 20. It was followed by the Top Ten single "Wildside," a revision of Lou Reed’s urban mantra "Walk on the Wild Side." The attendant debut album, Music for the People, achieved platinum sales in 1991. His second album failed to provide significant sales and like New Kids on the Block, Marky Mark’s association with the Billboard charts had ended by the mid-'90s. He then returned to his full name, Mark Wahlberg, and enjoyed a successful career in acting, and eventually production, when he produced the popular cable television series Entourage. ~ Rovi Staff, Rovi