Attrell Cordes

Attrell Cordes, the lead singer of the R&B group P.M. Dawn, died June 17, 2016, of kidney failure in New Jersey, according to multiple news sources. He was 46.

The singer, also known as Prince Be the Nocturnal, was one-half of the influential R&B duo alongside his brother Jarett, also known as DJ Minutemix. Their hit, “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss,” featuring a sample of Spandau Ballet’s hit “True,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. Follow-up singles “I’d Die Without You” and “Looking Through Patient Eyes” also reached the top 10.

The brothers formed the band in 1988 in their native Jersey City, New Jersey. According to their website, the name “P.M. Dawn is an abbreviation of the idea that in the darkest hour comes the light.”

Their blend of hip-hop and '70s-style soul caught on in the early '90s, and their first two albums – “Of the Heart, of the Soul and the Cross: The Utopian Experience,” and “The Bliss Album…?” – both achieved gold record status and impressed music critics. The delicate, piano-laced “I’d Die Without You” was also featured prominently on the soundtrack of the Eddie Murphy film “Boomerang.”

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Later albums proved less commercially successful. DJ Minutemix left the group in 2005 and was replaced by the brothers’ cousin Gregory Lewis Carr II, also known as Doc. G.

Cordes had a history of health problems. He had a stroke in 2005 and struggled for many years with diabetes.

“Prince Be Rest In Peace Forever More, Pain from diabetes can’t harm you anymore, My Heart is at Peace B-Cuz U suffered so long, Tell Grandma I said Hi & Stay Blisstatic & Strong,” read a post from his cousin Doc G. on P.M. Dawn’s official Facebook page.

Cordes is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children.