Jevetta Steele | |
|---|---|
 Jevetta and Jearlyn Steele at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair | |
| Background information | |
| Born | November 11, 1963 Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1985–present |
Jevetta Steele (born November 11, 1963) is an American R&B and gospel music singer. [1] [2]
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Steele eventually migrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota to become a criminal lawyer. [1] Steele later embarked upon a solo career within music and the stage. She also went on to be a member of gospel group The Steeles along with her sister Jearlyn and three brothers. [1] [3]
In 1983, Steele landed the lead role of Ismene in the touring show, The Gospel at Colonus . [3] [4] [5] She went on to appear in productions of Smokey Joe's Cafe , Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope , Ain't Misbehavin' , Crowns, and Double Infidelities. She later composed the musical Two Queens, One Castle, which opened to critical acclaim. [1]
Bob Telson, the composer of The Gospel at Colonus, used Jevetta Steele as a singer for different soundtracks he worked on. A collaboration with Telson has become her most well-known lead vocal performance, on the 1988 Telson-penned song "Calling You" from the movie soundtrack of Bagdad Café . The song was nominated for an Academy Award. The song was released as Steele's debut single and became a big airplay hit around Europe, as well as achieving top 10 positions in Sweden and in France, where she was especially successful. The success in France led to a recording contract there and in 1989 she released a follow-up single, again produced by Telson, titled "I Will Remember", which failed to chart.
Starting in 1988, Steele, on her own or with her singing family group The Steeles, became a very much in-demand session singer. It was through those sessions that she met Prince and his associates, and worked closely with him providing vocals on his records and the artists he produced from the period 1989–1995.
At the same time as these sessions, Steele worked on her debut album, Here It Is. Primarily recorded at Paisley Park and produced by Tommy LiPuma, Ricky Peterson and Maurice White, the album was first issued only in France during 1991 and was later reissued in 1993. [6] [7]
Steele's debut album reached No. 15 on the Blues & Soul UK Hiplist chart. [8] The LP also included her hit "Calling You", and featured a cover of Dionne Warwick's "Say A Little Prayer For You". [7] [6] That same year, Steele's group The Steeles released their debut album Heaven Help Us All.
Steele can also be heard on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Corrina, Corrina singing "Over the Rainbow".
She has recorded and toured with Prince, George Clinton, 10,000 Maniacs, and Mavis Staples. She appeared on the album Memorial Beach , recorded by the Norwegian group a-ha, performing backing vocals on the songs "Lie Down in Darkness" and "Move to Memphis". Her most recent album is a 2006 collection of original and classic jazz selections called My Heart.
Niki Haris is an American singer and dancer of pop, R&B, dance music and jazz. She was one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001, and the guest lead vocalist on various Snap! singles in the early 1990s.
The Emotions are an American soul/R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time.
Kelly Cherelle Price is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Fantasy." She rose to wider prominence in 1997 following her uncredited performances on the number-one single "Mo Money Mo Problems" by The Notorious B.I.G. and the top-five single "Feel So Good" by Mase, prompting her to perform as a lead artist. Her debut studio album, Soul of a Woman (1998) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's lead single, "Friend of Mine" reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Sarah Dash was an American singer. She first appeared on the music scene as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Dash was later a member of Labelle, and worked as a singer, session musician, and sidewoman for The Rolling Stones, and Keith Richards.
Cynthia Johnson is an American singer, songwriter and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the band Lipps Inc. with the worldwide smash hit "Funkytown".
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving member. During her time in the group, she recorded the hit singles "I'll Take You There" and "Let's Do It Again". In 1969, Staples released her self-titled debut solo album.
"Corrine, Corrina" is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter. However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams. The song is familiar for its opening verse:
"Calling You" is a song from the 1987 film, Bagdad Cafe. It was originally recorded by American R&B and gospel music singer Jevetta Steele. Bob Telson, the songwriter, also recorded his version. Both versions appeared on the movie soundtrack. The song was critically acclaimed and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 61st Academy Awards.
The Gospel at Colonus is an African-American musical version of Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. The show was created in 1983 by the experimental-theatre director Lee Breuer, one of the founders of the seminal American avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines, and composer Bob Telson. The musical was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show had a brief run on Broadway in 1988.
Barbara Weathers is an American R&B/soul singer, and former lead singer of R&B vocal group, Atlantic Starr.
"A Fool in Love" is the debut single by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first release with the stage name "Tina Turner" although she had been singing with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since 1956. It was the first national hit record for bandleader Ike Turner since the number-one R&B hit "Rocket 88" in 1951, for which he did not receive proper credit.
Kirk Whalum is an American R&B and smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. He toured with Whitney Houston for more than seven years and soloed on her single "I Will Always Love You", the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. He was also featured on many Luther Vandross albums, most often playing on the singer's covers of older pop and R&B standards such as "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "I ", and "Love Won't Let Me Wait".
Táta Vega is an American vocalist, whose career spans theater, film, and a variety of musical genres.
Xscape is an American girl group from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1991 by Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, LaTocha Scott, Tamera Coggins-Wynn, and Tamika Scott. The following year Coggins-Wynn left the group and Xscape became a quartet. They were discovered by Jermaine Dupri who signed the group to his So So Def label. The group released their debut album Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha in 1993, which spawned two of their biggest hits, "Just Kickin' It" and "Understanding". The album was certified Platinum on February 1, 1994. Xscape has sold more than 9 million records worldwide.
Robert Eria Telson is an American composer, songwriter, and pianist best known for his work in musical theater and film, for which he has received Tony, Pulitzer, and Academy Award nominations.
Crystal Johnson is an American singer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. She has performed in a variety of stage productions and has collaborated with a wide array of well-known artists including Anthony Hamilton, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Mobb Deep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Angie Stone, Usher and many others.
The Institutional Radio Choir was a gospel choir that recorded between 1962-2003. The choir began in 1954 at the Institutional COGIC in Brooklyn, NY, under Bishop Carl E Williams Sr. After recording an album entitled: "Well Done," the choir backed up Shirley Caesar on her two albums, I'll Go and My Testimony. Caesar allotted the choir's director two songs on the album, one of which was entitled (When Trouble Comes) Stretch Out. The song went on to become a gospel standard, especially in Pentecostal circles. The choir went on to record over 20 albums, most of which charted in the Top 10 on the Gospel Billboard charts.
Barbara Weathers is the debut album by R&B singer Barbara Weathers released upon Reprise Records in 1990. The LP got to No. 18 on the UK Blues & Soul Hiplist chart.
J.D. Steele is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and choir director best known for his work with Prince, as the J.D. Steele Singers in "The Gospel at Colonus", in musical theatre, and as a member of the vocal group The Steeles.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
