Howard Hewett

Shalamar Backstage, 1983, with Howard Hewett at left

Howard Hewett (* 1. October 1955 in Akron , Ohio ) is an American R & B - and Gospel - singer who primarily as lead singer of the disco - soul band Shalamar became known.

Career

Hewett's career began as a dancer in the US television show Soul Train , which has been offering a podium almost exclusively to Afro-American artists from the fields of R&B , soul , hip-hop , jazz and gospel since 1971 . There he danced with Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel; the three were discovered by Shalamar founder Dick Griffey and made the band's singers. Hewett was Shalamar's lead singer from 1979 to 1985 and was featured on the band's many hits. In 1984 he sang on Stanley Clarke's album Time Exposure titled Heaven Sent You .

In the mid-1980s, Hewett started a solo career. He signed a deal with Elektra Records and recorded the album I Commit to Love in 1986 , of which two songs, I'm for Real and Stay , entered the R&B charts. Also on I Commit to Love was the gospel song Say Amen , with which he entered the gospel charts and became Hewett's signature tune. In 1990 he released the album Howard Hewett with the hit Show Me , followed in 1992 by the LP Allegiance , which was less successful than its predecessor. During this time, Hewett also recorded several duets with well-known artists such as Dionne Warwick , Anita Baker and Stacy Lattisaw .

After the album It's Time (1995), Hewett stopped making solo recordings for a time, but continued to sing as a guest on albums by jazz artists such as Joe Sample , Brian Culbertson and George Duke . In 2001 he released his gospel album The Journey , which was followed by a live album a year later.

In 2005, Hewett made a comeback as Shalamar with Daniel and a new singer . The band took part in the UK television show Hit Me Baby One More Time , in which the audience rated which former star should win a new recording contract. The new Shalamar did not win, but stayed together for the time being and have since performed again as Shalamar in clubs or otherwise give concerts.

Others

• Hewett was married to actress / singer Nia Peeples from 1989 to 1993 .
• Hewett sang with La Toya Jackson on her only US hit single Heart Don't Lie (1984).
• Hewett received a 1986 Grammy Award for co- writing Shalamar's song Don't Get Stopped in Beverly Hills , which was used in the movie Beverly Hills Cop .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1986	I commit to love	-	-	-	-	US159 (16 weeks) US	First published: 1986
1988	Forever and Ever	-	-	-	-	US110 (12 weeks) US	First published: 1988
1990	Howard Hewett	-	-	-	-	US54 (21 weeks) US	First published: 1990
1994	It's time	-	-	-	-	US181 (2 weeks) US	First published: 1994

More albums

• 1992: Allegiance
• 2001: The Journey
• 2007: If Only

Singles

Chart success as a lead musician

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1986	I'm for Real I Commit To Love	-	-	-	-	US90 (3 weeks) US	First published: October 1986
1990	Show Me Howard Hewett	-	-	-	-	US62 (7 weeks) US	First published: May 1990

Chart successes as a guest musician

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1996	This Is For The Lover In You The Day	-	-	-	UK12 (5 weeks) UK	US6th platinum (20 weeks)US	First published: October 5th, 1996 Babyface feat. Howard Hewett, LL Cool J & Jody Watley

See also

• Shalamar
• Jody Watley

swell

1. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US

Web links

• Howard Hewett's web presence
• Howard Hewett at Allmusic (English)
• Howard Hewett at Soulwalking
• Howard Hewett in the Internet Movie Database (English)