Amii Stewart
Amii Stewart (* 29. January 1956 as Amy Paulette Stewart in Washington, DC ) is an American pop - singer , dancer and actress . At the height of the disco wave of the 1970s, Amii Stewart achieved a world hit with Knock on Wood .
Career
Amii Stewart's father enrolled her for singing and dancing lessons at the age of four, which ultimately led to a very successful career. Before signing a record deal with Hansa International , Amii Stewart appeared in the musical Bubbling Brown Sugar on Broadway .
Their first single , a disco cover version of Eddie Floyd's 1966 hit Knock on Wood , reached number 1 in April 1979 in the United States. The single then went platinum for one million units sold, followed by a Grammy nomination for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance". Amii Stewart's debut album , simply titled Knock on Wood and recorded in London, received a gold award in 1979. In the US, the song Knock on Wood was her only top 40 success, so she is considered a one-hit wonder there, while she was able to celebrate a few more successes in Europe, especially in Italy. The follow-up single Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven climbed to number 5 in the UK.
Amii Stewart's second LP, Paradise Bird , followed on from the disco sound of Knock on Wood , while the single Jealousy , which was released , made it into the charts across Europe. In Italy, Sweden and Switzerland the piece even reached the top 10. With her 1981 LP Images , Amii Stewart gradually turned away from the disco sound. The released single Where Did Our Love Go was produced by Narada Michael Walden . In 1984 Amii Stewart achieved number one in Italy , the single Friends also made it to number 12 in Great Britain. In the same year, Amii Stewart had another great success with an Italian cover of Bob Seger's We've Got Tonight , Grazie perché was recorded as a duet with Gianni Morandi . Further duets were created with Johnny Bristol , Deon Estus , Mike Francis and Randy Crawford , among others . In addition, Amii Stewart worked with Giorgio Moroder (1986) and published a collection of Ennio Morricone pieces under the title Pearls .
In 1994 Amii Stewart received a gold award in Italy for the album Lady to Ladies . Unstoppable , released in 1999, included both new songs and re-recorded versions of some of their old hits. Five years later, Amii Stewart appeared as Billie Holiday in Lady Day , and a CD with recordings for the musical was also released.
Contrary to various sources, Amii Stewart is not a sister of Miquel Brown and therefore not Sinitta's aunt either . In an interview, Miquel Brown confirmed that she and Amii Stewart are just best friends.
Discography
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | R&B | |||
1979 | Knock on Wood / Amii Stewart (UK) |
US19th
gold
(23 weeks)US |
R&B9 (21 weeks) R&B |
First published: February 1979
Producer: Barry Leng |
More studio albums
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Compilations
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Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | R&B | Dance | |||
1979 |
Knock on Wood Knock on Wood |
DE13 (27 weeks) DE |
AT6 (24 weeks) AT |
CH2 (9 weeks) CH |
UK6th
silver
(12 weeks)UK |
US1
platinum
(20 weeks)US |
R&B6 (16 weeks) R&B |
Dance5 (19 weeks) Dance |
|
Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven (Medley) Knock on Wood |
DE26 (14 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK5 (11 weeks) UK |
US69 (6 weeks) US |
R&B36 (11 weeks) R&B |
- |
First published: April 1979
Authors: The Doors / Barry Leng, Simon May Original (Light My Fire) : The Doors, 1967 |
|
Jealousy Paradise Bird |
DE31 (16 weeks) DE |
- |
CH5 (8 weeks) CH |
UK58 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: September 1979
Authors: Barry Leng, Gerry Morris, Simon May |
|
1980 |
The Letter / Paradise Bird Paradise Bird |
DE54 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK39 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: January 7, 1980
Authors: Wayne Carson / Barry Leng, Garry Morris, Simon May Original (The Letter) : The Box Tops , 1967 |
My Guy, My Girl Images |
- | - | - |
UK39 (5 weeks) UK |
US63 (8 weeks) US |
R&B76 (6 weeks) R&B |
- |
First published: July 7, 1980
Authors: Ronald White, William Robinson Original: The Temptations - My Girl , 1964 with Johnny Bristol |
|
1984 | Friends Try Love |
- | - | - |
UK12 (11 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B46 (13 weeks) R&B |
- |
First published: December 17, 1984
Author: Mike Francis |
1985 | That Loving Feeling Try Love |
- | - | - |
UK95 (1 week) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: March 11, 1985
Author and original: Tony Joe White , 1976 |
Knock on Wood / Light My Fire (New Remix) The Hits |
- | - | - |
UK7 (12 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: August 2nd, 1985
Authors: Alan Coulthard, Barry Leng Remix: Barry Leng |
|
You Really Touch My Heart (Remix) The Hits |
- | - | - |
UK89 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: October 14, 1985
Authors: Barry Leng, Simon May Remix: Barry Leng |
|
My Guy, My Girl (Remix) The Hits |
- | - | - |
UK63 (7 weeks) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: December 9, 1985
Remix: Barry Leng with Deon Estus |
|
1986 | Love Ain't No Toy Amii |
- | - | - |
UK99 (1 week) UK |
- | - | - |
First published: February 23, 1986
Producer: Bolland & Bolland Writer: Norman Whitfield ; Original: Yvonne Fair, 1975 |
More singles
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swell
- ^ The Awards Insider, Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Chart information, hitparade.ch
- ↑ a b M&D chart archive. Musica e dischi , accessed on October 21, 2015 (Italian, paid subscription access).
- ↑ Where did your Love go on Discogs.com
- ↑ Overview of Amii Stewart's Singles at RateYourMusic.com
- ↑ Gold Award Reference, Billboard, July 1994
- ↑ Lady Day - il musical di Amii Stewart e Massimo Romeo Piparo - Planet Musical ( Memento of July 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), official website for the musical
- ↑ James Arena: First Ladies of Disco: 21 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers , 2013, page 71, ISBN 978-0-7864-7581-0
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles DE UK US1 US2
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ a b Gold / Platinum databases: UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0898201864 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .
Web links
- Official website of Amii Stewart
- Amii Stewart at Allmusic (English)
- Amii Stewart at Discogs (English)
- Amii Stewart in the Internet Movie Database (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Stewart, Amii |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stewart, Amy Paulette (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pop singer, dancer and actress |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 29, 1956 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, DC , United States |