Claudette Ortiz is the boo that broke up the City High crew.
Ever wonder why one-hit wonder R&B group City High broke up? Can't say we've lost much sleep over it either, but according to former member Robbie Pardlo, who spilled beans while appearing on A&E's Intervention, the fact that Claudette Ortiz, his onetime girlfriend and the trio's smoking hot lead vocalist, left him and married City High's third member, Ryan Toby, had a little something to do with it and his subsequent descent into alcoholism.
Can't say we're shocked. Women have been breaking up bands for decades, from the inside and from the periphery. Just check out these examples of women driving a wedge into musical groups...
THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, and Denny Doherty
WHAT HAPPENED?: Despite her marriage to John, Michelle Phillips was caught getting it on with band mate Denny Doherty. Although the band eventually welcomed Michelle back (after using a temporary replacement, Jill Gibson, for some time), nothing is the same after you share penis juice with a fellow group member. Nothing.
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THE BEATLES
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono
WHAT HAPPENED?: By the late '60s, constant bickering between McCartney and Lennon resulted in weak musical production as a whole, but Ono, who is now an iconic figure for so many Asian art school girls who want to find their very own hairy white dude in Williamsburg, solidified the split by infiltrating the crew and convincing Lennon that he was better than his band and should incorporate weird artsy fuckery into his music. Ono she didn't! Yes, she did.
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ABBA
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Anderson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad
WHAT HAPPENED?: Things were great when these two corny couples were happily married, but when Ulvaeus and Fältskog divorced in 1979, then Anderson and Lyngstad followed suit in 1981, nobody much wanted to hang around making extremely shitty and annoyingly upbeat pop music. Another win for divorce!
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THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Nick Cave, Rowland Howard, and Anita Lane
WHAT HAPPENED?: Howard, who joined Cave's group Birthday Party as a guitarist, knew Cave's girlfriend, Lane, from his school days. Before long, he knew her carnally on a bed in front of Cave, which kind of ruined the band's chemistry.
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FLEETWOOD MAC
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks
WHAT HAPPENED?: The rocky relationship the two rock stars (along with the rest of the group members) shared throughout '60s and '70s worsened when they broke up but made a lot of money with songs about it on the album Rumours. Eventually they couldn't stand each other anymore and Buckhingham famously referred to Nicks as a "schizophrenic bitch" before dipping out in the '80s. They did later get back together (on stage) for that tour money, however.
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UNCLE TUPELO
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Monica Groth Farrar
WHAT HAPPENED?: Creative differences, misunderstandings, and egos are always staples in band breakups. It was no different in this case, except for Tweedy's direct challenge to Farrar's manhood. Apparently, Farrar saw Tweedy stroke the hair of his then girlfriend (and current wife), Groth, and found out about Tweedy's hidden obsession with her. Hair stroking?! Shoot, if it was gonna split up the band, he should've at least got his tip in.
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THE FUGEES
MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM: Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill
WHAT HAPPENED?: Jean and Hill were secretly seeing each other for much of the time they were in the Fugees together, but, according to the trio's weakest link, Pras, 'Clef was "kinda, like, playing with her emotions." Due to his failure to fully wife her, L-Boogie started also seeing Bob Marley's son Rohan, who was married at the time, and when news broke that Lauryn was pregnant, Wyclef thought the kid was his—but it wasn't. Thanks in part to their strained relations, Hill went solo on that ass, put out a hugely successful solo album (which included the 1998 dis track for Jean, "Lost Ones"), and had four more kids with Rohan.
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