Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. One of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the 20th century, he is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most nominations for female artist in one night. During the ceremony, Hill became the first woman to receive 5 Grammy Awards in a single night, and the first woman rapper to take home Best New Artist. Her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first hip hop album to win the award for Album of the Year. Hill's Grammys sweep is widely considered as one of the biggest moments in hip hop history.
"If I Ruled the World" is a popular song, composed by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel, which was originally from the 1963 West End musical Pickwick.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label. The lyrics were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history on the UK Singles Chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released, entering at No. 79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.
These Are Special Times is the seventeenth studio album and sixth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and also her first English-language Christmas album. It was first released in Europe on 30 October 1998, by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 3 November 1998 through Epic Records. The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs and original material, including "I'm Your Angel" and "The Prayer". Dion worked with David Foster and Ric Wake, who produced most of the album. These Are Special Times was released after two of Dion's most successful third and fourth English albums, Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997).
VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert in 1998. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts were a follow-up to the channel's annual VH1 Honors benefit concert that ran from 1994 to 1997, airing annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five-year hiatus, the series returned in 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. In 2010 the concert saluted the troops and in 2011 it celebrated soul music, doubling the previous year's ratings. After a dance music-focused 2012 edition aired live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 16, 2012, the show took another hiatus before being revived on December 5, 2016, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with a holiday theme and achieved its highest ratings in over a decade.
Ronald Norman Miller was an American popular songwriter and record producer who wrote for Motown artists in the 1960s and 1970s and attained many Top 10 hits. Some of his songs, such as "For Once in My Life", have become pop standards.
"The Prayer" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. It was song written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Tony Renis and Alberto Testa.
"I Believe in You (Je crois en toi)" is a duet by Celine Dion and Il Divo, released as the third and last single from Dion's On ne change pas album (2005), and first and only from Il Divo's Ancora (2005). At first, on 23 January 2006 "I Believe in You" was released as a radio single in the United States. The commercial single was issued 1 May 2006 in France and Switzerland. It was also released as a radio single in Canada, in May 2006.
"Tout près du bonheur" is a duet between Marc Dupré and Celine Dion, released as a music download on 11 April 2006 in Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth single from Dupré's debut album Refaire le monde, released on 18 October 2005.
"L'amour existe encore" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her tenth studio album, Dion chante Plamondon (1991). It was written by Luc Plamondon and Riccardo Cocciante, and produced by Jannick Top and Serge Perathoner. "L'amour existe encore" was released as a promotional single in Quebec in November 1991. Commercially, it was issued in France on 24 January 1994. The song reached number 16 on the airplay chart in Quebec and number 31 in France.
"Un garçon pas comme les autres" is a song written and produced by Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon for the 1978 musical, Starmania. It was originally performed by Fabienne Thibeault and released on the Starmania album in 1978. The English-language version of the song with lyrics by Tim Rice, titled "Ziggy", was recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion and released on the Tycoon album in 1992. Dion also recorded earlier a French-language version of the song for her tenth studio album, Dion chante Plamondon (1991). She released both versions on a two-track single in France in 1993, reaching number two on the chart.
"Foolish Lullaby" is a song by Laura Branigan from her fourth studio album, Hold Me (1985). It was written by Jack White and Mark Spiro, and produced by White. It was later covered by Paul Anka and titled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye".
Lynn Davis is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. She rose to prominence after joining The George Duke Band in 1977. During her time with the band, she sang lead vocals on some of their biggest hits: "I Want You for Myself", "Party Down", and "Thief in the Night". Under the guidance of Epic Records musician and mentor George Duke, Davis continued booking success by contributing background vocals and writing songs for many singers including Tracie Spencer, La Toya Jackson, Patrice Rushen, Anita Baker, and many other singers.
"As" is a song written and performed by American singer and musician Stevie Wonder from his eighteenth album, Songs in the Key of Life (1976). The song was released in October 1977 by Tamla and reached number 36 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart. It gets its name from the first word of its lyrics.
Loved Me Back to Life is the twenty-fifth studio album and eleventh English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, "Loved Me Back to Life", which was released on 3 September 2013. Loved Me Back to Life is Dion's first English-language studio album since Taking Chances (2007). It was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou, Babyface, Tricky Stewart, Aaron Pearce, Kuk Harrell, Eg White, Play Production, Ne-Yo and Walter Afanasieff among others. The album includes two duets: "Incredible" with Ne-Yo and "Overjoyed" with Stevie Wonder. Loved Me Back to Life garnered positive reviews from music critics and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
"Higher Ground" is a song by American singer Jennifer Rush from her 1989 album, Wings of Desire. It was written by Ken Cummings and Mark Blatt and produced by Phil Ramone. "Higher Ground" was released as the first single from Wings of Desire in December 1989. Later, the song was recorded in French by Mario Pelchat and Celine Dion for Pelchat's 1993 album. This version was released as a promotional single in Quebec.
"Knocks Me Off My Feet" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. It was not released as a single, though it was released as a B-side to "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" four years later, in 1980. The song has also been covered by numerous artists, including R&B singer Donell Jones, who released his version as a single in 1996. Other notable recordings include those by Tevin Campbell and Luther Vandross, both also released in 1996.
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
