Michael J. Powell

Last updated

Michael J. Powell is an American R&B musician, record producer and arranger who is best known for his work as producer for eight time Grammy Award-winning soul / R&B vocalist Anita Baker. [1]

Powell was born in Chicago and lived there until his family moved to Detroit when he was nine years old. In 1974, he formed a band called Chapter 8. A year later, Anita Baker joined Chapter 8 in Detroit. They eventually got a record deal with Ariola.[ citation needed ]

The self-titled album came out in fall of 1979. Two singles hit the R&B charts: "Ready for Your Love" and "I Just Wanna Be Your Girl". Ariola Records was bought by Arista. In 1983, Powell reunited with Baker and had a hit single with “No More Tears” featured on her album The Songstress .[ citation needed ]

In 1986, choosing her friend Powell as her producer, he, along with Sir Dean Gant (who remains unpaid and uncredited as producer), created 3 multi-million selling albums: Rapture , Giving You the Best That I Got and Compositions .[ citation needed ]

Together, again with producer Sir Gant, [2] Powell worked in 1987 as producer and arranger of the song "Without You", [2] [3] a composition of Lamont Dozier, [2] that was recorded as a duet by the R&B singers Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. [2] The song was the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6 , [2] released the same year, [4] starred Bill Cosby, [4] and was also recorded for the Bryson's album Positive , [3] released in 1988. [3]

Powell also worked on "Without You" as guitarist. [3] The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary Tracks, [5] No. 14 on the R&B chart, [6] No. 85 on the UK Singles, [7] and No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100, [8] between 1987 and 1988.

He, along with Sir Gant produced the multi-platinum Baker albums Rapture in 1986, Giving You the Best That I Got in 1988 (which reached Number 1 on The Billboard 200) and Compositions in 1990.

In 1991, Powell helped produce Patti LaBelle's Grammy-winning album, Burnin' and Gladys Knight's solo album Good Woman , both on MCA Records.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamont Dozier</span> American singer-songwriter (1941–2022)

Lamont Herbert Dozier was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit. He co-wrote and produced 14 US Billboard number-one hits and four number ones in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peabo Bryson</span> American R&B and soul singer-songwriter (born 1951)

Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads including the hit singles "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack, "A Whole New World'' with Regina Belle, and ''Beauty and the Beast'' with Celine Dion. Bryson has contributed to two Disney animated feature soundtracks. Bryson is a winner of two Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Baker</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1958)

Anita Denise Baker is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s.

"A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as the singing voices of the main characters Aladdin and Jasmine, the ballad serves as both the film's love and theme song. Lyrically, "A Whole New World" describes Aladdin showing the confined princess a life of freedom and the pair's acknowledgment of their love for each other while riding on a magic carpet. The song garnered an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 65th Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 50th Golden Globe Awards. "A Whole New World" also won the Grammy Awards for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as Song of the Year, the only Disney song to do so. In the same year, the version sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals, winning the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina Belle</span> American singer-songwriter

Regina Belle is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles "Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with Peabo Bryson: "Without You", the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6, recorded in 1987 and "A Whole New World", the main theme of the Disney's animated feature film Aladdin, recorded in 1992, with which Belle and Bryson won the Grammy award. The theme song "Far Longer than Forever" from the animated movie The Swan Princess, performed with Jeffrey Osborne, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1995 for Best Original Song.

<i>Rapture</i> (Anita Baker album) 1986 studio album by Anita Baker

Rapture is the second album by American vocalist Anita Baker, released in 1986. This became Baker's breakout album and earning her two Grammy Awards. The album's first track, "Sweet Love", was a top 10 Billboard hit in addition to winning a Grammy Award. The music video for the track "Same Ole Love" was filmed at Baker's Keyboard Lounge.

Peak Records is an American record label that was founded by The Rippingtons leader and guitarist Russ Freeman and Andi Howard in 1994. Peak is distributed by Bob Frank Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Love (Anita Baker song)</span> 1986 single by Anita Baker

"Sweet Love" is a song by American R&B singer and songwriter Anita Baker from her second studio album, Rapture (1986). It was written by Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson, and Gary Bias, and produced by Michael J. Powell. It was released in May 1986 as the album's first single.

"Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" is a romantic ballad written by lyricist Gerry Goffin with Michael Masser and recorded by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack for their 1983 album of duets, Born to Love, issued as the lead single. The track—produced by Masser—became a million-selling international hit.

<i>All by Myself</i> (Regina Belle album) 1987 studio album by Regina Belle

All by Myself is the debut album by American singer–songwriter Regina Belle. Released on June 1, 1987 by Columbia Records, the album features the hit singles "Show Me the Way", "So Many Tears", "How Could You Do It to Me", "Please Be Mine" and "You Got the Love".

Chapter 8 was a Detroit soul group of the 1970s and 1980s formed by Michael J. Powell and David Washington. Anita Baker was featured as lead vocalist on their first, self-titled album on Ariola in 1979, produced by Michael and Derek.

<i>Passion</i> (Regina Belle album) 1993 studio album by Regina Belle

Passion is the third studio album by American singer Regina Belle. It was released by Columbia Records on February 16, 1993 in the United States. Belle consulted producers James Anthony Carmichael, Nick Martinelli, and Narada Michael Walden to work with her on the album. Upon release, it peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200 and number 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling over 389,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If Ever You're in My Arms Again</span> 1984 single by Peabo Bryson

"If Ever You're in My Arms Again" is a 1984 song recorded by American contemporary R&B singer Peabo Bryson. Released as a single from his album Straight from the Heart, the single peaked at number 6 on the R&B chart and was Bryson's first Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number 10 during the summer of 1984. It also spent four weeks at number 1 on the adult contemporary chart.

<i>Love Forever Shines</i> 2008 studio album by Regina Belle

Love Forever Shines is the eighth studio album by American singer Regina Belle. It was released by Pendulum Records on May 13, 2008 in the United States. The album became Belle's highest-charting album since Reachin' Back (1995), peaking at number three on the US Top Gospel Albums and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album's first single "God Is Good" peaked at number 34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

<i>Reaching for the Sky</i> 1978 studio album by Peabo Bryson

Reaching for the Sky is the second album by soul vocalist Peabo Bryson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caught Up in the Rapture</span> 1986 single by Anita Baker

"Caught Up in the Rapture" is a 1986 ballad song by American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. It was released as the follow-up single after "Sweet Love" from her album Rapture.

"Without You" is a romantic song written by the American songwriter and music producer Lamont Dozier, and recorded in 1987 as a duet by the R&B singers Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. The song was the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6, released the same year, and was also recorded for the Peabo Bryson album Positive, released in 1988, the only album that contains the original version of "Without You". The single was released in November 1987, and peaked at #8 on the Adult Contemporary Tracks, #14 on the R&B chart, #85 on the UK Singles, and #89 on the Billboard Hot 100, between 1987/1988.

<i>All My Love</i> (Peabo Bryson album) 1989 studio album by Peabo Bryson

All My Love is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Peabo Bryson. It was released by Capitol Records in May 1989 in the United States. The album marked Bryson's first release with the label after four years with Elektra Records.

<i>Positive</i> (Peabo Bryson album) 1988 studio album by Peabo Bryson

Positive is a studio album by the American singer Peabo Bryson, released in 1988 by Elektra Records. The album peaked at number 157 on the US Billboard 200 and number 42 on the Billboard R&B albums chart. It was the last album Bryson recorded for Elektra before he briefly returned to Capitol Records. Positive was supported by the single "Without You", which was also the theme song to Leonard Part 6.

<i>Can You Stop the Rain</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Peabo Bryson

Can You Stop the Rain is the fifteenth studio album by American singer Peabo Bryson. It was released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1991 in the United States. Following the release of All My Love (1989), his sole return release with his longtime label, Capitol Records, the singer signed with label Columbia to complete work on his next project along with Walter Afanasieff, Peter Bunetta, Rick Chudacoff, and Barry Mann. Bryson himself became instrumental in composing and producing several songs on his own for the album along with Sir Gant and Dwight W. Watkins.

References

  1. Smith, Jessie Carney (1996). Notable Black American women. VNR AG. pp. 19–. ISBN   978-0-8103-9177-2 . Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 45cat. "Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle – "Without You" (Love Theme From "Leonard Part 6") (1987)" . Retrieved February 19, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Discogs. "Peabo Bryson – Positive (1988)". Discogs . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Cineplex. "Leonard Part 6 - (December 18, 1987)" . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  5. Billboard. "Peabo Bryson - Adult Contemporary Chart". Billboard . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  6. Billboard. "Peabo Bryson - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  7. The Official UK Charts. "Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle - UK Charts". Official Charts . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  8. Billboard. "Peabo Bryson - The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard . Retrieved February 19, 2018.