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Barbara Lewis | |
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 Barbara Lewis in 1966 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Barbara Ann Lewis |
| Born | February 9, 1943 Salem, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | R&B/Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1962 - 2017 |
| Labels | Atlantic |
Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) [1] is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. [2]
Lewis was born in Salem, Michigan, United States. [2]
She was writing and recording by her teens with record producer Ollie McLaughlin, a black DJ at Ann Arbor radio station WHRV, now WAAM. Lewis's first single release, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da" in 1962, did not chart nationally, but was a local hit in the Detroit, Michigan area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP, including the hit "Hello Stranger" which reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organ. Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns produced her million-seller "Baby I'm Yours" (U.S. #11), written by Van McCoy. Berns also produced the followup "Make Me Your Baby" (U.S. #11) which had originally been recorded by the Pixies Three, and Lewis's final Top 40 hit "Make Me Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor and Billy Vera. [3]
At the end of the decade, she released a grittier-sounding album on Stax Records.
Over the next decade, a number of other artists had success with Lewis' songs. Her own composition "Hello Stranger"—which had been remade in 1966 by the Capitols—was a regional hit in 1973 as remade by Fire & Rain [4] and in 1977 Yvonne Elliman's version reached the US Top 20 and the UK Singles Chart Top 30: Elliman's version also topped the US Easy Listening chart for four weeks. In 1985 Carrie Lucas's remake of "Hello Stranger" was a Top 20 R&B hit and in 2004 Queen Latifah remade "Hello Stranger" for her The Dana Owens Album .
Lewis had dropped out of public view for years after her career slowed in the 1960s. It was only after Elliman's hit in 1977 that she was tracked down by Casey Kasem for his AT40 show on June 4 of that year. According to Kasem, nobody knew where she had ended up, including her agent, who did not even know where to send her checks for the Elliman cover. According to Kasem, she was hoping to be rediscovered in Michigan when he found her.
Health issues forced Lewis to retire from singing in 2017. [5]
"Baby I'm Yours" charted in versions by country singer Jody Miller and Debby Boone (the B-side of her single "God Knows"). In Canada, Suzanne Stevens had a hit in 1975 with a disco version of "Make Me Your Baby". Cover versions of her songs continue into the new millennium, with the Arctic Monkeys including a version of "Baby I'm Yours" as a B-side to their 2006 single "Leave Before the Lights Come On".
In 1995, Lewis's "Baby I'm Yours" was featured on the soundtrack for the film The Bridges of Madison County , and in 2016 "Hello Stranger" was featured on the soundtrack for the film Moonlight . In 2019, "Hello Stranger" was featured towards the end of the final episode of the British TV series Giri/Haji .
She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999. In 2016, Barbara Lewis was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. [6]
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960.
Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 in the UK Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was also #5, giving her 3 top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she dedicated herself to her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.
Kelly Marie is a Scottish singer, best known for the song "Feels Like I'm in Love", a No. 1 hit in the UK in 1980.
Bobby Robinson was an American independent record producer and songwriter in New York City, most active from the 1950s through the mid-1980s.
Barbara Mason is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song "Yes, I'm Ready". She has released 12 albums, including her 1965 debut with Yes, I'm Ready, and has had 14 top 40 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart.
"It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the Cashbox magazine R&B charts with it in 1964. Recorded by dozens of artists and groups around the world in the decades since, the song became an international hit once again when remade by Cher in 1990.
"If I Can't Have You" is a disco song written by the Bee Gees in 1977. The song initially appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in a version by Yvonne Elliman, released in November 1977. The Bee Gees' own version appeared a month later as the B-side of "Stayin' Alive".
"Baby I'm Yours" is a song written by Van McCoy which was a hit in 1965 for Barbara Lewis, the original recording artist. The song was featured in the 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County and was included on the soundtrack album. It was also featured in the TV movies The Midnight Hour (1985) and An American Crime (2007), as well as being briefly featured in Baby Driver.
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light".
"Love Me" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, released on the 1976 album Children of the World. It was also included on the compilation albums Bee Gees Greatest and Love from the Bee Gees, which was released only in the UK.
The History of Rock and Roll is a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969, and again in 1978 and 1981. It is currently distributed as both a 2+1⁄2-minute short feature on internet networks, and a two-hour weekly series hosted by Wink Martindale, distributed to radio stations nationwide. This list below reflects the contents of the more widely heard 1978 version of The History of Rock & Roll.
"Hello Stranger" is a 1963 hit single by Barbara Lewis that spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in Billboard, crossing over to #3 on the pop chart.
"Make Me Your Baby" is a song written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins. The most successful recording was a hit for Barbara Lewis in 1965.
"She Called Me Baby" is a country song written in 1961 by Harlan Howard.
Steppin' Out is a 1976 album containing the works of Neil Sedaka. In America it was the third and final album of a trilogy of albums issued by The Rocket Record Company. Outside America Steppin' Out was issued on the Polydor label. In 1998, the Varèse Sarabande label reissued Steppin' Out and included four bonus tracks.
Brown Sugar was a British, London-based female vocal group who formed in 1976. The members were Pauline Catlin, Caron Wheeler and Carol Simms. Although short lived, the trio were influential and topped the British Reggae Chart on three occasions.
Tamiko Jones is an American singer. Her most successful record was "Touch Me Baby " in 1975.
"Slip Away" is a song written by William Armstrong, Marcus Daniel, and Wilbur Terrell and performed by Clarence Carter, featured on the 1968 album This Is Clarence Carter.
Ollie Anderson McLaughlin was an American record producer and record label owner. He discovered Del Shannon, and also organized or produced recordings by Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Dorothy Ashby, Barbara Lewis, and the Capitols, among many others.
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