TLC was among the biggest girl groups of the 1990s, racking up three of the biggest hits of the decade, which still stand the test of time today.
The three band members, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas thrilled fans with their distinctive sound, which fused several musical genres, including R&B, pop, hip-hop and soul.
But less than a decade after their most successful album CrazySexyCool spawned two of their biggest hits, Waterfalls and Creep, Lisa Lopes was dead and the two remaining band members were left to pick up the pieces.
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TLC formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1990 after an Atlanta-based record producer and one of his clients, a teenager named Crystal Jones, came up with a concept for a girl group with a hip-hop image.
Jones put out a call for two girls to join her, and was answered by Tionne Watkins and rapper Lisa Lopes.
Lopes was born in Philadelphia to parents LaWanda, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes Sr., a US Army staff sergeant. Lopes described a troubled childhood with a “very strict, very domineering” father.
Her parents separated when she was at school and she spent the latter part of her childhood with her paternal grandmother.
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By 10, Lopes and her younger siblings, brother Ronald Jr, and sister, Rain (nicknamed Reigndrop) had formed The Lopes Kids and performed gospel songs at local events.
In 1990, she moved to Atlanta, where she met Jones and Watson, with whom she formed “2nd Nature” and began working on a demo tape.
They impressed their first manager Perri “Pebbles” Reid, but she changed their name to TLC, an acronym for Tionne, Lisa and Crystal, before arranging for them to audition for a local record label her husband was involved in.
He wanted to replace Jones, so Rozonda Thomas joined the group. To get around the name issue, Watkins became “T-Boz”, Thomas became “Chilli” and Lopes adopted the name “Left-Eye” because it was her most prominent eye.
The new trio were soon recording backing vocalists for Jermaine Jackson before their debut album, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip, was released in 1992. The album was a critical and commercial success, with three top 10 singles.
Lopes’ most prominent relationship was with American footballer Andre Rison, but their relationship was volatile, with each accusing the other of domestic violence.
In 1994, Lopes set fire to Rison’s new shoes following a violent argument, which caused his house to catch on fire.
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At the time, Lopes was close friends with the late rapper Tupac Shakur, whom many believe she dated.
Rison once said in an interview that when he arrived back at his burning home, Shakur was picking Lopes up in his limo.
Lopes was later arrested and charged with arson, but eventually got off with probation and a fine. The two reconciled and had an off-on relationship until shortly before her death.
TLC released their second album CrazySexyCool in 1994. It sold 7.7 million copies in the US and Rolling Stone ranked it in the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
All four singles from CrazySexyCool reached the top five, with Creep and Waterfalls reaching number one.
The band won a slew of awards. Despite this, contract issues led the band to file for bankruptcy, and the members began to work on solo projects.
Their third album, FanMail, was released in 1999. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and went on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide.
The first single, No Scrubs, was a worldwide hit, as was the second single, Unpretty, which became an anthem for millions of girls. The official video has been viewed more than 58 million times on YouTube.
The album won three Grammy awards; Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
They embarked on a world tour, but Lopes started to publicly express her frustration over her vocals being left off tracks. In a letter published in ET, she even challenged the other members to record solo albums and see which one performed the best.
They settled the feud but took some time off to pursue personal interests, with Lopes releasing a solo album, Supernova.
In 2000, she collaborated with Spice Girls member Melanie C on the hit single Never Be the Same Again.
On August 1, 2001, TLC reunited to perform Waterfalls at MTV’s 20th anniversary party.
Lopes went back to working on her second solo album while also working with TLC on their fourth album.
But before either project could be completed, Lopes died in a car crash on April 25, 2002, while filming a documentary in Honduras.
The 30-year-old was behind the wheel of an SUV when she swerved to avoid a truck and then an oncoming car before the vehicle rolled several times and hit two trees.
Lopes, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and died instantly. Her official cause of death was severe head injuries.
The three passengers survived, and the collision was recorded on video from inside the vehicle.
The resulting documentary, The Last Days of Left Eye, was released in 2007.
In 2023, The Mirror said the documentary gave new details about the earlier tragedy that resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy just weeks before her death.
Lopes was reportedly a passenger in a rented minibus driven by her personal assistant Stephanie Patterson, which fatally struck the boy when he darted in front of their vehicle as it travelled along a road in Honduras.
Lopes’ attorney revealed the incident was never reported to police after Lopes covered the boy’s hospital bills and funeral, and gave the family money.
But during the documentary, Lopes said she believed a spirit had been stalking her. She believed the spirit had meant to kill her, but instead killed the boy, whose surname, Lopez, was eerily similar to her own.
At the time of her death, Lopes was setting up two educational centres for Honduran children.
Her family went on to start the Lisa Lopes Foundation to provide neglected and abandoned youth with the resources to increase their quality of life.
The foundation shared her personal motto, “Energy never dies… it just transforms.”
It has provided clothes to children in underdeveloped villages and provided funds to an orphanage in Honduras.
The documentary revealed Lopes adopted the eight-year-old daughter of a woman she met in rehab. The girl’s name is believed to be Snow, while she previously adopted a 12-year-old boy, Jamal.
Little is known about her children.
After a short break following Lisa Lopes’ death, TLC continued working on their album, 3D, which was released in 2002.
The band broke up the following year but reformed a year later. They went on to release a new album in 2017, and continue to tour today.
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