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| Amii Stewart |
| An Aquarian born in 1956 in Washington D.C., Amy Stewart was the fifth of six children. Her father, who worked at the Pentagon and couldn't discuss his top secret work with his family, taught Amy to play music. At nine she took dance lessons, but her guidance counselors in junior high school tried to steer her away from a career in show business. Her high school principle came to her rescue, he was her uncle, he arranged her class schedule so she could enroll in "Workshops For Careers In The Arts," the first arts school of it's genre in the nations capitol. Through the 'Workshops' she performed in many productions including the Emmy Award winning special "Genesis Juba And Other Jewels" while in her teens. There already was an Amy Stewart registered with Actor's Equity, so she changed the spelling of her name to Amii. She began attending Howard University in Washington but soon left to work with the D.C. Repertory Dance Company, studying ballet and modern dance. At 19 she joined the touring company of the Tony Award winning musical "Bubbling Brown Sugar," appearing first in Miami then on Broadway and finally London, where Amii was recognized not only as a singer/dancer, but also for her ability as an assistant director/choreographer and actress. While in London she appeared in "All God's Children," an award winning BBC Television Network special as assistant choreographer and lead dancer. It was in London that she met record producer Barry Leng. She was suffering from a cold the day she audtioned for him, but he liked her singing anyways. Their first recording was the Barry Leng/Simon May composition "You Really Touched My Heart" for the Hansa Records label. The record generated enough interest to merit the recording of several more tracks for an album release. Barry and Simon wrote four more songs for the album. For good measure three "oldies" were used, "Get Your Love Back," a Gamble/Huff tune, The Doors "Light My Fire," for which Leng and May wrote an uptempo song to incorporate with as a medley and a cover of Memphian Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood." When the album was completed, disco was at it's fevered pitch and the ailing American label Ariola Records quickly optioned the recordings. Their first release was a 12" single of "Knock On Wood." The song was not the usual 4/4 disco beat, and many D.J.'s found it hard to mix. However it quickly found an audience and entered the charts on January 27, 1979. Twelve weeks later it hit the number one spot, earning Amii her spot in musical history. It eventually sold more than 8 million copies world-wide. By March the single had gone Gold and by August it went Platinum. The album achieved Gold status in February before it hit number nineteen on the Top Forty. Not a bad start. The follow-up, a medley of "Light My Fire/137 Disco Heaven" was released on a promotional-only red vinyl 12" single and quickly raced up the club charts. It did not find the same reaction on the radio charts, stalling at number 69, it did however go top five in Britain. With the unexpected success of their first album Amii and Barry were rushed into the studios to duplicate their success. The 1979 release of "Paradise Bird" followed the previous formula of original tunes peppered with covers. Once again recorded in London for Hansa Records and once again optioned by Ariola America. Ariola was in the throes of death, having around a year to live and promotion for this album suffered. One 12" single was released. "Jealousy" had all the power and rumble of "Wood" but didn't achieve the same level of success. The album didn't garner any sales awards and quickly disappeared. Thanks to Hansa's promotion and Amii's international success the album did much better on the England charts. By 1981 Amii was branching out musically by recording with producers Narada Michael Walden and the team of William Anderson and Raymond Reid. Her third album "I'm Gonna Get Your Love," released on Handshake Records in the U.S., is her most versatile and her second most successful. The album produced 3-12" singles: "Digital Love," "I'm Gonna Get Your Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go." The duet of "My Guy/My Girl" with (the late) Johnny Bristol proved to be the album's most successful release. A video of it followed previous videos of "Knock On Wood" and "Jealousy." Her success found her hosting "The Midnight Special" as well as appearing on shows like "Dinah Shore," "Merv Griffin," "Top Of The Pops" and "Soul Train." Her voice is featured on the soundtracks to "Killer Fish" and "Secrets Of The Sahara." She even branched out into commercials doing "It's Fantasy" for Compari. Touring also became a mainstay of her career taking her to Mexico, South America, Japan, Canada, Europe and even a sold-out 40 show tour of Russia! By 1985 Amii was once again on the charts with a 12" single for Emergency Records. "Friends" was a totally different approach to dance music for Stewart, downbeat, mellow and sexy. It went to number 12 in Britain but only found similar success here in the clubs. The album "Try Love" preceded "The Best Of Amii Stewart 1977-1985." Sedition Records also remixed and re-released several of her earlier hits for 12" singles in 1985. Her collaboration with Giorgio Moroder in 1986 produced the album "Time Is Tight" to critical acclaim. Her artistic achievements brought her to the attention of Ennio Morricone and led to the recording and release of 1987's "Pearls: Amii Sings Ennio Morricone." The self-produced "Magic" was released in 1992, followed by her tribute to those that inspired her, "Lady To Ladies" in 1993. The album, which went Gold, inspired a sequal, "The Men I Love" in 1994. Moving to Italy she continued her career with songs on many Italian films and television. She appeared with Dee Dee Bridgewater (1993) and Randy Crawford (1994) at the Festival Di San Remo. Both also former disco stars that moved onto other types of music. Her appearances on "Christmas At The Vatican" ('93-'94) won her rave reviews. In 1996 she returned to London to record "Love Affair" with producer Ken Brian Foreman. While 1999's "Unstoppable" features her greatest hits, some remade and remixed, and a stunning version of "Private Dancer." She continues to tour extensively and is very involved in local Italian television and movies. She is still as beautiful as ever and her voice never sounded better. |
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