Jermaine Stewart

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Jermaine Stewart
Born September 7, 1957(1957-09-07), Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Origin Columbus, Ohio
Died March 17, 1997 (aged 39), Homewood, Illinois, U.S.
Genre(s) pop, R&B, soul, funk, funk-rock, New Wave, dance
Occupation(s) Singer, dancer, songwriter
Years active 1984 — 1997
Label(s) Arista Records, Reprise Records
Associated acts Shalamar, Culture Club

Jermaine Stewart (September 7, 1957 - March 17, 1997) was an American pop singer, best known for his Billboard hits, "The Word Is Out" from his 1984 debut album of the same name, and "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" in 1986, from the album Frantic Romantic.

Contents

[edit] Biography

 This section reads like a review and may need a cleanup. Please help improve this article to make it neutral in tone and meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (June 2009)

Born in Columbus, Ohio, to parents Ethel M. and Eugene Stewart, he always enjoyed dancing and in school would often give dance lessons to other children for $1 a lesson. In 1972, the Stewart family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he took her first steps toward a career in entertainment. This was followed by a stint on Soul Train as a dancer.

Soon he became a backup singer and dancer for Howard Gallant while recording backup vocals for such artists as Culture Club. He was featured prominently on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers and as a result the group used their influence to help him land a solo recording deal with Arista Records.

Stewart hit big with the song "The Word Is Out" from the album of the same name. The 1986 Frantic Romantic album with the hit single "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" quickly went on to become a million seller, and a second single, "Jody", was released, the inspiration of the song being Jody Watley of Shalamar. A modest success, "Jody" reached both the United Kingdom and United States top 50. A UK-only ballad, "Don't Ever Leave Me", reached 76 on the British charts.

Stewart's third album was probably his most successful internationally. Titled Say It Again, the production was handled largely by André Cymone who had previously worked with Prince and Jody Watley. The result was a collection of danceable pop and dance funk tracks. Supported by international live dates with his band, "The Party", the title track became Stewart's second U.S. top 40 Billboard hit and also reached the R&B top 10. In the UK, it made it all the way to number 7, helping the album into the top 40.

Jermaine's hand-picked band began with Michael Licata in the Spring of 1985. JS saw Licata playing drums at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach. Two days later, Licata was in NYC meeting Jermaine's contacts at Arista Records. Licata was introduced as his new drummer and musical director.

Eventually, Jermaine and Licata looked at over 600 musicians from around the world and narrowed it down to the following: Michael Licata (drums/musical director); Aaron McLain (guitar); Orlando Simms (bass); Robin Lyle (keyboards); Thomas Hatcher (keyboards); Sam Menkemeller (percussion); Chris Guerzo (temporary early keyboards); Andre Maclin (background singer/dancer); Indira Tyler(background singer/dancer); Dominique Karan (background singer/dancer).

With Jermaine imposing a very strong opinion on playing ability coupled with a great image, these final choices took months and eventually comprised THE PARTY. The Los Angeles Times' gave them a glowing review regarding their Universal Amphitheater appearance in June of '88. The all too short SAY IT AGAIN spring/summer tour was witnessed by fans only in the US that began in Oklahoma City, OK (sometime in April/May '88) and unfortunately ended in Santa Barbara at the end of June '88. Jermaine's show stopping performance continued to blow headliners THE JETS off the stage night after night which eventually led to his being thrown off his middle spot of the tour. Stacy Q opened the show and JS went on second. THE JETS headlined. Jermaine's less-than-politically correct manager, Ian Wright threw gas on the fire and did more damage with his abrasiveness regarding the tour dismissal and with Arista Records execs in general. Wright's abusive personality pretty much rubbed everyone the wrong way and single-handedly contributed to the demise of Jermaine Stewart. Jermaine never rebounded from the bridges burnt by Ian Wright. Wright died in 1997 in the UK.

The next three singles all received their remix treatment from Phil Harding, the mixer behind such hits as "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". "Get Lucky" (UK #13), "Don't Talk Dirty to Me" (UK #61) and "Is It Really Love" (did not chart) found considerable European success, particularly in Germany, where "Don't Talk Dirty to Me" was one of the biggest selling records of 1988, making the top 5.

At this point, Stewart was highly focused on the mainstream pop market. His fourth and final album under his contract with Arista Records, What Becomes a Legend Most, was filled with radio-friendly pop tunes. The first single, "Tren De Amor", reached number 76 in the UK charts, while the followup, "Every Woman Wants To", reached number 95. Commercial success eluded this album, and a label change followed.

In 1989, Stewart sang "Hot and Cold", co-written by Andy Summers, which featured over the closing credits on the film Weekend at Bernie's. In 1992, Stewart teamed up with Chicago producer Jesse Saunders for his last recorded work, an album for Reprise Records. Titled Set Me Free, the album marked a return to the dance funk style of Say It Again. The title track was released as a single in the U.S., but sold poorly. The album remains unreleased.

[edit] Death

Stewart died of AIDS-related liver cancer on March 17, 1997 at age 40 in the Chicago suburb of Homewood, Illinois. [1]

In 2005, a compilation CD celebrating Stewart's contribution to 1980s R&B, including several of his hits and a few previously unreleased tracks, was released by BGF Records, an Ohio record label run by Stewart's brother.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • 1983: "The Word Is Out"
  • 1985: "I Like It"
  • 1985: "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off"
  • 1986: "Frantic Romantic"/"Versatile"
  • 1986: "Jody"
  • 1987: "Don't Ever Leave Me"
  • 1987: "Say It Again"
  • 1988: "Don't Talk to Me Dirty"
  • 1988: "Get Lucky"
  • 1989: "Is It Really Love"
  • 1989: "Tren De Amor"
  • 1990: "Every Woman Wants To"
  • 1992: "Set Me Free"

[edit] References

  1. ^ Easley, Terri. Seasons of Destiny. Xulon Press. p. 123. ISBN 1-606-47152-X. 

[edit] External links


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Stewart"
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