Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Mills has one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music, an ultra soulful songstress whose onstage energy and power inspires standing ovations wherever she performs. She is a legendary Grammy© and American Music Award©-winning recording artist with five best-selling albums and ten Billboard #1 singles.

The legendary singer is back and launching her new single, “Can’t Let Him Go” from the forthcoming release Born For This! in stores early in 2004. She’s recorded the project with such star songwriters and producers as Gordon Chambers, the New York-based Flavahood Productions, and BeBe Winans. Stephanie is excited about the creative freedom she is experiencing while recording Born For This!

"This collection is an updated version of what I do," she says. "I wrote some songs myself, collaborated with the producers and everything really came together for the album which will be on my own label.

For her many fans the world over, that’s welcome news: for, without a doubt, Stephanie Mills is truly back in stride again, stronger and more soulful than ever!

A Career History
Over the span of a 25 year illustrious career, Stephanie Mills has distinguished herself as an actress and performer who is as at home on the Broadway stage as she is in the recording studio.

Hit records such as "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love," "Home" and "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin’’ have become enduring classics. Stephanie’s critically acclaimed appearances in shows like the four-time Tony Award-winning "The Wiz" and "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God" have assured her of a consistently loyal following among fans, industry insiders and critics alike. The loyalty that she has inspired in her audience has seen her through a twenty-five year career filled with accomplishments and achievements.

Stephanie’s journey as an enduring performer began like that of so many of her contemporaries; singing gospel in church in her native Brooklyn. Her vocal abilities became evident early on and by the age of nine, she was mesmerizing crowds in her first Broadway musical "Maggie Flynn," sharing the stage with co-stars Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy.

Other early credits included appearances in such pop culture classic, shows like "Captain Kangaroo," "Wonderama," "The Electric Company" and "String" (presented by the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City).

For six consecutive weeks, an eleven-year old Stephanie won the famous Amateur Night at the renowned Apollo Theater and a first recording, "I Knew It Was Love" landed her the much-coveted role of Dorothy in the Broadway musical "The Wiz" at the age of fifteen. For five years, Stephanie wowed packed houses with her amazing vocal gift and after making albums for ABC and Motown, she signed with 20th Century Records in 1979.

Working with producers James Mtume & Reggie Lucas, Stephanie recorded "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin’’" and by 1984, she had climbed the charts with major hits: "Sweet Sensation," "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (a gold single), "Two Hearts" (a duet with Teddy Pendergrass), "Keep Away Girls," "How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?" and "The Medicine Song." Stephanie scored three best-selling albums in a row with "Whatcha Gonna Do…With My Lovin’?", "Sweet Sensation" and "Stephanie" in the span of just two years.

The ‘80s were a golden period for the petite vocalist: signed to MCA Records, Stephanie was responsible for a string of hit singles and albums. "I Have Learned To Respect The Power of Love" (1986), "I Feel Good All Over" and "(You’re Puttin’) A Rush On Me" (both from 1987), "Something In The Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" (both 1990 recordings) all topped the R&B charts. The 1987 album "If I Were Your Woman" was No. 1 on the R&B Albums chart and was a Top 30 pop best-seller; while the 1989 album "Home" was also a Top 5 R&B and Top 100 charted LP.

Returning to the stage, Stephanie toured the country in the early ‘90s with "The Wiz" and during the past decade, she has appeared in a number of highly-acclaimed roles in such shows as "Your Arms Too Short With Box" (starring with Teddy Pendergrass), "Children Of Eden," "Ragtime," "Play On" (a tribute to Duke Ellington’s music), "His Woman, His Wife" and "Black Nativity." The recipient of NAACP Image Awards, Stephanie’s multi-faceted career has also included recurring roles in popular television soap operas "Search For Tomorrow" and "One Life To Live."

In 1994, Stephanie returned to her gospel roots with "Personal Inspirations," an album that won praise with both gospel and secular audiences, netting her "Stellar Award" and "Dove Award" nominations.

Stephanie marked a return to recording in 1999 with the dance music cut "Latin Lover," produced by Masters At Work and in 2000, she did a duet with BeBe Winans for his Motown album "Love And Freedom." Stephanie’s music has frequently been sampled during the last few years and in 2001, she was a special guest on rapper DMX’s "The Great Depression" album, reprising the vocals from her first 1979 hit "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin’" for the track "When I’m Nothing."

Following a dazzling performance at comedian Sinbad’s Soul Festival in Aruba, Stephanie began touring again in 2001 and has been wowing audiences on shows with artists like The O’Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, The Isley Brothers, Carl Thomas and at festivals that have included Mary J. Blige, India.Arie, Alicia Keys, Babyface and Smokey Robinson.

She says, "It’s been wonderful being back onstage and singing songs from all parts of my career. So many people have asked me when I would have a new record out and I would just say ‘soon.’ I was surprised because, so many times, people forget about you if you don’t have a new release! But then after the birth of my son Farad last year, I felt revitalized. I felt like singing and performing again”.

“I think I’m more creative musically and when I do a lot of my material now, I can relate to it more than ever. The experiences in life make you sing differently. And," she adds, "One of the results of having my child has been that it’s definitely made my voice stronger. I can sing higher and hold notes longer..."

Look for Stephanie Mills to make another mark in her wonderful career as fans begin to discover the creative energy and soulful singing that is a mainstay of her voice and more so than ever on Born for This!

Stephanie Mills first came to fame as "the little girl with the big voice" as the star of the hit Broadway play, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book, -The Wizard Of Oz. She had many R&B hits such as "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me," "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" along with one certified million selling single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before." In addition, she also had five gold albums: Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', Sweet Sensation, Stephanie, If I Were Your Woman and Home.

Born on March 22, 1957 in Brooklyn, NY, Mills honed her rich vocals singing gospel music at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church as a small child. At age 9, she began appearing in the Broadway play +Maggie Flynn. She was presented with first prize after winning "The Amateur Hour" talent contest six weeks straight at New York's famed Apollo Theater when she was nine. That success led to her being chosen as the opening act for The Isley Brothers, eventually becoming good friends with lead singer Ronald Isley. Many years later, Isley would manage and later marry singer/songwriter Angela Winbush, who co-wrote one of her number one R&B hits. Mills' debut album, Movin' In The Right Direction was recorded for ABC Records in 1974. A year later, she won the role of Dorothy in +The Wiz. Her rendition of the beautiful ballad "Home" was a showstopper, mesmerizing audiences nightly for a number of years. The original cast recording of The Wiz was produced by Jerry Wexler and issued by Atlantic Records in spring 1975. Curiously, when +The Wiz was made into a full length feature film by Motown Records' film division and Universal Pictures, Diana Ross played the role of Dorothy instead of Mills. The film ended up being a major flop.

Singer Jermaine Jackson referred Mills to Motown head Berry Gordy, who signed her to the label. Her Motown debut was For the First Time, written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, being issued in October 1976. For the First Time is a sweet affair with Mills convincingly covering Bacharach/David standards, most of which were originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. In 1978, she signed to 20th Century Records and was teamed with the hit production duo of James Mtume -- later leader of Mtume, who had a gold single with "Juicy Fruit" -- and Reggie Lucas. Her first LP for the label, Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', went gold, going to number 12 R&B and number 22 pop on Billboard's charts in summer 1979 and spawned the singles, "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and "You Can Get Over." Her next LP, Sweet Sensation (#3 R&B, #16 Pop, spring 1980) yielded "Sweet Sensation," "Never Knew Love Like This Before," and the radio-aired LP track, "Try My Love." Around this time, she briefly married former Soul Train dancer Jeffrey Daniels of the group Shalamar. Next came the LP titled Stephanie in spring 1981, which also was a huge hit, peaking at #3 R&B and #30 Pop. The album included notable songs such as "Two Hearts" -- a midtempo duet with Teddy Pendergrass -- "Night Games" and the radio-aired LP cut, "Don't Stop Doin' What Cha Do."

In 1981, Mills switched to Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Her LPs for the label included Tantalizingly Hot, Merciless and I've Got The Cure. During 1983, she had her own NBC-TV daytime talk show and reprised on role in a Broadway revival of The Wiz. She also signed with MCA Records, where she released her Stephanie Mills album.

The first single from the Stephanie Mills album was "Stand Back," in late 1985, which also included the passionate ballad "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love" was initially written by Rene Moore and Angela Winbush -- best known as the hit singing duo Rene & Angela -- as a gospel song and originally was recorded by Alton McClain and Destiny on their self-titled 1978 Polydor LP. The original version is available on Polygram's Power of Love: Best of Soul Essentials Ballads. Because of its massive radio play as an album track, Mills' version of "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love, -- produced by Philly Soul keyboardist Ron Kersey -- was reissued as an A side holding the #1 R&B spot for two weeks in spring 1986. Its follow-up, "Rising Desire" reached #11 R&B in summer 1986.

Her next LP's title cut was the Clay McMurray/Gloria Jones/Pam Sawyer song, "If I Were Your Woman," originally a 1971 #1 R&B, #9 Pop smash for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Philly-based producer Nick Martinelli gave Mills her second #1 R&B hit with "I Feel Good All Over," written by husband and wife songwriting duo, Gabriel Hardeman and Annette Hardeman. The song held the #1 R&B spot for three weeks in spring 1987. Originally submitted to Mills' fellow MCA labelmate Patti Labelle by the Hardemans, the track was included on Mills' LP If I Were Your Woman, issued June 1987 and peaked at #30 Pop in summer 1987. Paul Laurence produced and co-wrote with Timmy Allen the chugging '"(You're Putting) a Rush On Me" giving the singer her third #1 R&B hit in fall 1987. The single made it to #85 Pop and was followed by "Secret Lady," which landed at #7 R&B in late 1987. Her covers of "If I Were Your Woman" and "Where Is The Love" followed. All were included on her If I Were Your Woman album, which peaked at #1 R&B, #30 Pop in summer 1987. Following these hits, Mills contacted Ronald Isley about working with singer/songwriter/producer Angela Winbush who had hits as half of Rene and Angela and was forging a hit-filled career as a recording artist and producer for the group Body among others. The collaboration between Mills and Winbush resulted in another #1 R&B single, "Something In The Way You Make Me Feel," in summer 1989.

Having starred for five years in the smash Broadway show The Wiz and recorded the song "Home for the play's 1975 original cast soundtrack album, she wanted to record the song again as a posthumous tribute to the play's producer, Ken Harper, and the song's composer, Charlie Smalls. On her new version of "Home," Take 6 sung the background vocals. The song went to #1 R&B in late 1989 and was followed by "Comfort Of A Man" and "Real Love." The Home LP ended up peaking at #5 R&B, #82 Pop in summer 1989. She then recorded a charting single with J.T. Taylor titled "Heart To Heart" in late 1991. Her final MCA album, Something Real included the hit "All Day All Night" and "Never Do Wrong." Following this album, she recorded a gospel album, Personal Inspirations, for Interscope Records and recorded several tracks at Philadelphia International Records with Bunny Sigler among others in the late '90s. ~ Ed Hogan, All Music Guide