Stephanie Mills' future on stage may have been foretold when, at age 9, she won the Amateur Hour at the Harlem Apollo Theater six times in a row. Shortly thereafter, her career began to progress rapidly.
This was facilitated by her talent, diligence and perseverance. The singer is the winner of the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocalist (1980) and the American Music Award for Best Female R&B Vocalist (1981).
Stephanie Mills: Musical childhood
The daughter of a father (municipal employee) and mother (hairdresser), Mills was born on March 22, 1957 in the Brooklyn (New York) area and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area. Her early musical experience included singing in the choir at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn. But her penchant for performing began earlier. Mills was the youngest among six siblings and was the center of attention as a child.
She showed musical talent from the very beginning - she sang and danced for the family when she was only 3 years old. Perhaps her participation in the choir of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn allowed her to hone her skills as a gospel singer. The girl's powerful and clear voice was impressive. Her siblings regularly accompanied her to talent shows in Brooklyn.
Mills practically grew up on the stage. She idolized vocalist Diana Ross and never doubted that she wanted to be a singer herself. When she was 9 years old, the family saw an ad in the newspaper offering Broadway auditions for young performers.
After several attempts, Mills landed a role in the musical Maggie Flynn. This show was a "flop". But Mills met the right people who were connected with show business and promising young performers.
She also performed in other plays. At the age of 11, she took to the stage at New York City's time-honored temple of African-American performing arts, the Harlem Apollo Theater, an amateur hour-long singing competition. Some time later, Mills moved to the workshop of the troupe of Negro ensembles off-Broadway. As a teenager, she performed with the Isley Brothers and the Spinners and recorded her debut album, Movin' in the Right Direction.
Stephanie Mills: Immediate creative breakthrough
Mills' creative breakthrough came in 1974 when her stunning gospel-tinged mezzo-soprano gave her the lead role of Dorothy in the film The Magician. This is a stage version of L. Frank Baum's classic fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The show was a blockbuster that ran from 1974 to 1979. at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera and Madison Square Garden.
As a result, a miniature singer with a powerful voice began to rapidly head towards the star Olympus to world fame. Mills has appeared regularly on television talk shows and variety shows, and has released a series of popular R&B albums. She also won gold records and was awarded Tony and Grammy awards. Despite success at an early age, the artist had professional and personal disappointments. The first professional disappointment was associated with a short stay of the artist as a recording studio performer at Motown Records.
While she was touring with The Wiz, Jermaine Jackson (Jackson Five) convinced Berry Gordy (Motown's chief executive) to offer her a contract. Mills recorded a single for the album Motown (1976). It was written and produced by the renowned team of Bert Bacharach and Hal David. The album did not sell very well, and Motown Records refused to cooperate with Stephanie.
Goodbye yellow brick road
After leaving The Wiz, the singer began performing as an opening act for Teddy Pendergrass, the Commodores and the O'Jays. It soon became a headliner and impressed audiences and critics alike. After her release from Motown Records, Mills signed with 20th Century Records.
She has released three albums and a series of radio-ready R&B hits. The album What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin reached number 8. On the R&B charts in 1979. The star's next album, Sweet Sensation, hit the top 10 pop hits. And took 3rd position on the R&B chart. In 1981, Mills released the last of her albums for 20th Century Records. And hit the charts again with Two Hearts, a duet with Teddy Pendergrass. Thanks to her popularity, she received a Grammy Award. in 1980 and the American Music Award in 1981.
However, while the show business star enjoyed fame on stage and on the radio. The first of her three marriages to Jeffrey Daniels was failing. The couple married in 1980 and divorced after an unhappy union. After three successful albums with 20th Century, Stefani signed with Casablanca Records. And her popularity has waned. Her four subsequent albums, released between 1982 and 1985, produced only one R&B top 10 single, The Medicine Song. The singer landed on a daytime television show on NBC in 1983, although it didn't last long. Mills then returned to her initial success as Dorothy in the 1984 revival of The Wizard.
Stephanie Mills: Struggle on stage and in real life
In 1986 and 1987 Mills returned to the top of the R&B charts three times with the singles "I Learned to Respect the Power of Love", "I Feel Good About Everything". Despite this, Mills experienced difficulties. The second marriage ended in divorce, and dishonest curators stole millions from her.
In 1992, the album Something Real hit the top 20 R&B singles All Day, All Night. The singer remarried to Michael Saunders, a radio programmer from North Carolina.
Known to many theatergoers as a petite actress, Stephanie Mills remained an R&B star in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her melodic yet powerful mezzo-soprano voice is an instrument that is instantly recognizable. And recording contemporary urban music and touring has remained the focus of her creative energy over the years. However, in the late 1990s, Mills began to move away from pop music a bit. After experiencing financial difficulties due to unscrupulous business partners. In 1992, the singer filed a lawsuit against her financial manager, John Davimos. Since his activities led her to bankruptcy. The Mills family was threatened with eviction from their Mount Vernon estate. But a judge at the New York-based nonprofit Housing Assistance Corporation averted that crisis.
Mills released the gospel album Personal Inspirations in 1995. And in 2002 she returned to secular music with the track Latin Lover. It appeared on the band's CD Masters at Work Our Time Is Coming.
Life trials, many disappointments and constant nervous breakdowns led to depression. If it were not for willpower, qualified doctors and psychologists, as well as a great desire to continue singing on stage, the singer would have been forgotten. Today, her annual income from creativity is about $ 2 million. She still performs, takes part in various projects and TV shows and enjoys life.
