For the TV series character, see Stephanie Mills (All in the Family)
Stephanie Mills
(born March 22, 1957) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B and soul singer, a former Broadway star, and was originally given the title as "the little girl with the big voice."
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Career
Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of 9. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the world-famous
Apollo Theater a record six times. The victory lead to her being cast in her first
Broadway role, the orphaned child of a runaway slave in the short-lived
musical Maggie Flynn
.
In 1973, Mills' musical career began as she opened for the
Isley Brothers. A year later, after being discovered by
Jackson 5 singer
Jermaine Jackson, she signed with
Motown Records. Her first two albums failed to generate a buzz as the label couldn't find Mills' sound, and she left the label in 1976.
In 1975, Mills' career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in an
African-American adaptation of
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
entitled
The Wiz
, where she began dating Michael Jackson. Filled with a more urban style of music and scenery,
The Wiz
made Mills a star particularly because of her stellar performance of the song "Home." It would become her signature tune for years, and would be covered later by
Diana Ross for the big-screen adaptation three years later and by
Whitney Houston for her dramatic musical performance debut on TV in the early 1980s.
Musical success was elusive until 1979, when signed under the
20th century Fox record label, Mills found her breakthrough in disco music, recording now-classic danceable songs such as "
Put Your Body In It," "You Can Get Over," and "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'." The resulting album,
What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin
, was Mills' first gold record.
She quickly followed the success with 1980's
Sweet Sensation
, which featured Mills' biggest hit to date, the
Reggie Lucas-produced "
Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980, even reaching #4 in the UK. 1981's
Stephanie
featured a top hit for her and
Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Two Hearts," while her 1983 album,
Merciless
, featured her hit cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the #3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her second UK hit with "The Medicine Song" (#29), which also reached #1 on the U.S. dance chart.
Success for Mills had peaked until 1985, when her version of the
Angela Winbush-penned "
I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. Mills truly returned, however, with her next release,
If I Were Your Woman
in 1987 under
MCA Records, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for
Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1971; a three-week #1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over" (a song her label mate
Patti LaBelle didn't want to cover); and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me," to name a few of the songs released. The album reached
platinum status.
Mills' success continued with 1989's
Home
album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man," the title track, a cover of her old standard from
The Wiz
and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel." It became another platinum record for Mills.
Mills would record one more album (1992's
Something Real
) and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1995 on
GospoCentric Records entitled
Personal Inspirations
. The set was produced by
Donald Lawrence and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." Thereafter, Stephanie took a break from recording to care for her son.
Mills returned to musical theater in 1997, playing the lead in a major production of
Stephen Schwartz's
Children of Eden
in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. Mills was heavily featured in the soundtrack CD that resulted from this production.
In 2000, Mills began a comeback with singles recorded with
BeBe Winans and rapper
DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing
Born For This
on 3 August 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go," garnered buzz at urban contemporary radio. Mills is currently touring. A 2-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled
Gold
was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year. Mills just finished production of a live DVD recorded at BB Kings in New York which will be sold online and at her shows.
Mills made an appearance in the 2007 hit gospel TV series
Sunday Best
and was recently featured in a live interview on
The Yolanda Adams Morning Show
, where she mentioned that she now has her own record label (JM Records).
Mills performed prior to
Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass at
Yankee Stadium in New York on April 20, 2008.
On a recent interview Mills says she should be releasing her Live Cd during the end of this year and also the Live CD will include two new tracks. Today Stephanie Mills is known as one of the most Underrated Singers of All Time.
Personal life
Stephanie is the fifth child born; there are six children in total.
She was romantically involved with
Michael Jackson for a short period of time while she was doing
The Wiz
.
[1]
Mills was briefly married to
Jeffrey Daniel of
Shalamar on June 13, 1980, but shortly divorced after 18 months. Divorced three times; Stephanie finally gave birth to a son, Farad in February 2001. She currently resides in
North Carolina.
When Mills married Daniel, it's rumored that a friend of Mills, allegedly tried to block the limo from leaving the church after the wedding. Mills once stated in an interview that Daniel’s friends were very unfriendly towards her and reports of domestic violence surfaced shortly after the marriage. Allegedly, singer
Jody Watley wasn’t happy about the marriage either, because she had been linked to Daniel prior to the marriage.
[2]
Daniel gave Stephanie's family the address to the wrong church because he knew they would object to her marrying him, to Mills' parents he was not on her level and personally believe he was just after her fame and money.
[3]
Discography
Awards
- 1974 – nominated for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress - Musical ("The Wiz").
- 1979 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues.
- 1980 – won Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Never Knew Love Like This Before").
- 1980 – nominated for an American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
- 1980 – nominated for Young Artist Awards: Best Young Musical Recording Artist - Female ("Two Hearts").
- 1981 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (Stephanie).
- 1981 – won American Music Award for Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
- 1983 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Merciless").
- 1989 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
- Title Unavailable
- http://panachereport.com/channels/old_school_update/OldSchoolTidbits.htm
- http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_stephanie_mills_and_jeffrey_daniel_stayed_married_for_over_twenty_year