Boy Krazy (sometimes mis-remembered as “Boy Crazy”) are one of those small but revealing footnotes in pop history: a short-lived New York girl group whose one big hit arrived two years late, whose album was largely built from repurposed Kylie Minogue material, and whose members went on to very un-girl-band lives. Their story also says a lot about the late phase of the Stock Aitken Waterman “Hit Factory”.
1. Origins and Formation
Boy Krazy were assembled in New York City in the early 1990s by a management company that auditioned singers for a PWL-linked girl group concept. The original line-up was:
Kimberly Blake Johnna Lee Cummings (often simply credited as Johnna) Josselyne Jones Ruth Ann Roberts (a former Miss Junior America) Renée Veneziale
The idea was straightforward: pair American aspirant pop stars with the ultra-reliable British songwriting/production machine Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), then still closely associated with hit-making for Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Jason Donovan and others. SAW and the broader PWL camp would provide the songs, sound and production; the New York management would handle image and U.S. positioning.
The group’s name itself signaled their positioning: a playful, teen-oriented twist on “boy crazy,” aimed at the same market that had embraced SAW-produced teen pop in the late 80s.
2. The First Phase: “That’s What Love Can Do” (1991) and Early Misfire
2.1 Debut single and UK chart disappointment
Boy Krazy’s debut single, “That’s What Love Can Do”, was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and released in the UK in July 1991 on PWL.
Stylistically, it was textbook SAW:
bright synth-pop production, big key-change chorus, tightly stacked harmonies, an instantly memorable topline sung by Johnna Cummings.
Yet it only managed #86 on the UK Singles Chart and failed to make an impact elsewhere at that time.
Shortly after the first single’s underwhelming performance, Renée Veneziale left the group, and Boy Krazy continued as a four-piece.
2.2 Second single and continued underperformance
In 1992 the group released a follow-up single, “All You Have to Do”, again with PWL involvement. It fared no better commercially, stalling at #91 in the UK and failing to chart elsewhere.
At this stage, Boy Krazy looked like a failed SAW side project: a transatlantic girl group that had arrived just as the Hit Factory’s chart dominance was fading and UK tastes were shifting away from glossy late-80s dance-pop.
3. Belated Breakthrough: The Remix Era (1992–1993)
3.1 U.S. club traction and Denver radio
The turning point came not from a major label push, but from club culture and regional radio. In 1992, a remixed version of “That’s What Love Can Do” began to gain traction in U.S. clubs and on dance radio.
A Denver station, KQKS, is credited in the album liner notes with “breaking” the song when a staffer began playing the remix in late 1992; the track snowballed from there into wider U.S. airplay.
3.2 U.S. hit status
The remix was given a 1993 U.S. re-release, where it finally landed as a significant hit:
#18 on the Billboard Hot 100 (16 weeks on the chart) #1 on U.S. CHR/Pop airplay according to Radio & Records Top 10 in Canada and mid-chart presence in Australia and a second-chance UK showing in 1993.
In effect, That’s What Love Can Do became a classic early-90s “lost hit”: sonically closer to 1987–89 SAW records, but finally embraced in the U.S. Top 40 environment dominated by New Jack Swing, hip-hop, and adult contemporary. Commentators have noted that it sounded like an ‘80s SAW single time-warped into 1993, which may explain both its nostalgic appeal and why it never launched a sustained career.
4. The Album and Collapse (1993–1994)
4.1 Boy Krazy (1993)
Riding the U.S. success of the single, their self-titled album Boy Krazy was released in February 1993 by Next Plateau/London/PolyGram.
Key points about the album:
Produced primarily by Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, with the two biggest singles (“That’s What Love Can Do” and “Good Times with Bad Boys”) credited to the full Stock Aitken Waterman trio. Recorded at the PWL Hit Factory in London. Notably, each member sang lead on at least two songs, giving the album a democratic, multi-lead structure unusual for manufactured pop groups of the era. Several tracks were repurposed SAW material originally demoed or written for Kylie Minogue or cut by other acts (e.g., “That Kinda Love”, “Love Is a Freaky Thing” initially recorded by The Cool Notes; “One Thing Leads to Another” previously issued by Yell!).
Despite the hit single, the album itself failed to chart meaningfully, even in North America.
4.2 Second U.S. single: “Good Times with Bad Boys”
The follow-up single, “Good Times with Bad Boys”, reached #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #32 in Canada—respectable but far from breakout numbers.
Planned fourth single “Love Is a Freaky Thing” never reached release, partly due to waning commercial momentum and internal instability.
4.3 Departure of Johnna Lee Cummings and disbandment
Later in 1993, lead vocalist Johnna Lee Cummings left the group. The remaining members attempted to develop material for a second album, but with diminishing label enthusiasm, the project was shelved and Boy Krazy quietly disbanded soon after.
In essence, the group’s lifespan as an active recording act was roughly 1991–1993, with their mainstream visibility compressed into a single U.S. chart season.
5. After the Group: Careers of the Members
Post-Boy Krazy, each member took a markedly different path, illustrating how a one-hit-wonder experience can disperse into wrestling, agency work, yoga, and an ultimately modest solo career.
5.1 Johnna Lee Cummings
Pursued a solo career in the mid-1990s under the mononym Johnna. Released the album Pride (1996) and several singles; “Do What You Feel” reached #43 on the UK singles chart. After a few releases, she faded from the mainstream music industry. A 2007 short documentary, Expect Less, posted on YouTube by filmmaker Kimberly Craig, features Cummings discussing her life after Boy Krazy and the challenges of post-pop-star adjustment.
Cummings’ career typifies the difficult transition from manufactured group member to solo artist in a rapidly shifting pop landscape.
5.2 Ruth Ann Roberts / Rue DeBona
Rebranded under her real name Rue DeBona, she entered professional wrestling media. Co-hosted WWE’s “After Burn” from 2003–2004 and became a familiar on-screen personality within the WWE ecosystem. Later moved into television hosting roles such as with Ion Television’s short-lived Firebrand, a commercials-as-content experiment.
Her path illustrates media cross-over, using on-camera experience from the group to pivot into sports-entertainment presentation.
5.3 Josselyne Jones (Josselyne Herman-Saccio)
Transitioned behind the scenes as a producer and agent, founding Josselyne Herman & Associates in New York. Became a coach with Landmark (The Landmark Forum and Advanced Course), working in personal development and leadership training.
Jones’ trajectory highlights a move from pop performer to creative entrepreneur and motivational educator, leveraging performance skills into business and coaching.
5.4 Renée Veneziale
Following her 1991 departure, she sang in various bands including Fig, Delux and RnR, indicating continued engagement in music at a more grassroots level. Also worked as a theater actress and eventually became a yoga teacher, reflecting a gradual migration from mainstream entertainment into wellness and local arts.
5.5 Kimberly Blake
Information is comparatively sparse: later “where are they now?” features suggest she stepped largely away from public celebrity, focusing on family life and private pursuits.
Collectively, these post-band careers underscore how short-run pop stardom often becomes a springboard to adjacent fields—media, coaching, wellness—rather than long-term musical fame.
6. Boy Krazy in the Arc of Stock Aitken Waterman’s Career
To understand Boy Krazy’s historic role, we have to situate them in the late phase of Stock Aitken Waterman.
6.1 The Hit Factory context
Throughout the late 80s, SAW dominated UK and European pop, crafting massive hits for Rick Astley (“Never Gonna Give You Up”), Kylie Minogue (“I Should Be So Lucky”), Bananarama (“Love in the First Degree”), Dead or Alive (“You Spin Me Round”), and many others.
By 1990–91, their golden era was waning:
Musical tastes were shifting toward New Jack Swing, grunge, alt-rock, and U.S. R&B/hip-hop. Some flagship acts (notably Kylie Minogue) were seeking artistic reinvention and/or moving away from PWL. Matt Aitken left the team in 1991, leaving Stock and Waterman to continue on many projects, including much of the Boy Krazy album.
6.2 Boy Krazy as a late-SAW experiment
From a producer-career perspective, Boy Krazy represented:
An attempt to secure a U.S. foothold with an American act while still using the classic SAW sound. A recycling of high-quality but surplus SAW compositions, including tracks originally earmarked for Kylie and other PWL acts, now repackaged for the group’s album. Evidence of SAW’s late-period strategy of maximizing their back catalogue and proven formulas just as their dominance was slipping.
“That’s What Love Can Do” is now frequently cited in retrospectives as one of the last classic SAW-style singles, embodying their signature hook-laden, Hi-NRG-inflected pop even as it surfaced on American radio in a very different era. Classic Pop Magazine’s SAW song rankings place it among their notable works, specifically noting that it arrived “towards the end of their golden run” yet still achieved a U.S. Top 20 showing.
In that sense, Boy Krazy’s success is historically asymmetrical:
For the group, it was a belated breakout that they couldn’t convert into career longevity. For Stock Aitken Waterman, it was a late proof that their template could still generate hits—but mostly by appealing to markets (like U.S. Top 40 and Canadian pop radio) that were slightly out of phase with UK trends.
6.3 Legacy within the SAW narrative
Within the broader SAW story, Boy Krazy are often remembered for:
Demonstrating that remixing and re-marketing could breathe new life into catalogue tracks—a practice that would become standard across the industry. Providing a rare American girl-group vehicle for the Hit Factory sound, distinct from the mostly British or Antipodean acts SAW had shepherded earlier. Contributing one of the most enduring “cult favourite” SAW singles, widely loved by fans even though the group remain a one-hit wonder in mainstream memory.
7. Catalogue Afterlife and Cultural Memory
7.1 2009 digital reissues and unreleased tracks
In 2009, Boy Krazy’s catalogue was digitally reissued, including:
The original album, Three previously unreleased tracks (“Exception to the Rule”, “I’ll Never Get Another Chance Like This”, “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”), Numerous remixes, including mixes prepared for the cancelled single “Love Is a Freaky Thing”.
This reissue reflects both niche but persistent fan interest and a broader wave of 80s/90s pop nostalgia that has brought many SAW-era works back into circulation.
7.2 “Lost hit” status
Music blogs, pop historians and retro podcasts frequently cite “That’s What Love Can Do” as:
A “lost ’90s pop classic” that would have been a much bigger album-launching hit had it come out during SAW’s mid-80s peak rather than the early 90s. A staple of 90s-themed playlists and wedding sets, often recognized by melody even when the artist’s name escapes listeners.
In that sense, Boy Krazy’s legacy is disproportionate to their discography: one album, three singles, and a handful of unreleased tracks that continue to circulate among collectors and streaming diggers.
8. Conclusion: Boy Krazy’s Place in Pop and Production History
Boy Krazy’s story can be summarized in three interlocking arcs:
A Manufacturing-Era Girl Group Assembled through auditions, plugged into a pre-existing hit-making machine, and marketed in a crowded early-90s teen-pop environment. Achieved chart life largely thanks to remix culture and regional radio enthusiasm, not traditional top-down promotion. An Object Lesson in Timing Their debut single was too late for the late-80s SAW peak and too early to benefit from mid-90s teen-pop revivals. The eventual hit arrived in 1993, a year when their sound was already slightly out of fashion in the UK but still warmly received in parts of North America. A Footnote in the Stock Aitken Waterman Canon Boy Krazy stand as a late-period SAW project that still produced one undeniable hit, providing a bridge between the classic 80s Hit Factory era and later waves of Europop and dance-pop that drew on similar formulas. Their album showcases SAW’s practice of recycling and re-deploying strong song ideas across multiple acts and markets.
Post-band, the members’ lives illustrate the diverse afterlives of pop-manufactured fame: a modest solo career, a wrestling-media personality, a talent agent and life-coach, a yoga-teaching former theater actress, and a largely private ex-pop singer. Together, they embody both the fleeting nature of chart success and the lingering cultural life of a single, well-crafted pop song that—for many listeners—still defines a slice of the early 1990s.
