Amii Stewart is an American singer and dancer who took her first steps in her artistic career through the D.C. Repertory Dance Company, a dance body that enabled her to learn ballet as well as Modern Dance.
It was in 1975 that she met producer Barry Leng, then working for Hansa Records. Producer which allows her to release her first Single "You really touched my heart" in 1977. Single which will know only a very relative success. The album that comes out in the process does not do much better.
Things really picked up speed two years later in 1979 when she released a cover of an Eddie Floyd song from 1966, a title called…"Knock on wood." Title that will be a real hit on a planetary level and literally ignite all Dancefloors. It will sell over 6 million copies worldwide and Eddie Floyd will say he made more money with this cover than with his own version ! The singer's notoriety literally explodes.
She did it again in the same year with a new cover, this time of The Doors, with the title "Light my fire". A title that is certainly less successful but still large.
Also in the same year, a third Single was released called "Jealousy". Excellent title which will be a real hit on the Old Continent but much less in the USA, as paradoxical as it may seem.
The bellows will unfortunately fall as quickly as it is mounted. And the transition to the 80s will prove to be complicated for the singer. Apart from a few sporadic hits with titles like "The letter" and "My guy" in 1980, "Friends" in 1984 and "You really touch my heart" in 1985, for the rest, most of the songs will go somewhat unnoticed. And this despite a fairly abundant discography.
Be that as it may, the adventure will continue thereafter and she will release an impressive number of albums thereafter. Albums with success unfortunately all in all limited.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
You really touched my heart 1978
Knock on wood 1979
Light my fire 1979
Jealousy 1979
80s Decade :
The letter 1980
Paradise bird 1980
My guy 1980
Rocky woman 1981
I’m gonna get your love 1981
Lay back in the groove 1982
Digital love 1982
Working late tonight 1983
Grazie perchè (We've got tonight) 1983
Friends 1984
Try love 1984
I gotta have you back 1984
That loving feeling 1985
Fever line 1985
Together 1985
You really touch my heart 1985
Love ain’t no toy 1986
Time is tight 1986
Break these chains 1986
Sahara dreams 1987
It’s fantasy 1988
I still believe 1988
90s Decade :
My heart and I 1990
So shy 1992
I can't give up 1992
Like a stone 1992
Why 1994
The way we were 1994
The long and winding road 1995
Me and Mrs. Jones 1995
How could I know 1996
Plant a new rose in your heart 1996
Goodnight tonight 1996
Unstoppable 1999
2000s Decade :
The man I love 2004
Night and day 2004
Precious moments 2009
2010s Decade :
Tu ca nun chiagne 2010
Vasamè 2010
Con te 2010
Walking Africa 2011
Adelaide 2012
Apologise 2012
Sunrise 2012
Sunshine girl 2013
2020s Decade :
Perfectly beautiful 2022
Tracks :
1978 ... a first title which immediately sets the trend. This singer is made for Dance. And the rest will prove it in a brilliant way !
1979 ... then comes THIS title. A mind-blowing track which makes her fit One Shot into the musical legend of the end of the 20th century. Here she is quite simply signing one of the biggest dance hits of all time. All on a luxury cover of Eddie Floyd's title from 1966. A-MA-ZING !
1979 ... this time, it's Doors that she covers. And not just any Doors track but the most famous one, a title dating from 1967. In Disco version, you had to try this one !
1979 ... an exceptional year with no less than 3 mega hits in a row. And this time, point of recovery, it's brand new. A sumptuous piece that will surely remain among his most emblematic !
1980 ... the transition to the 80s will prove to be much more complicated than expected. While one would have thought that she was gone for years of incredible success, just the opposite will happen. Especially since she continues inexorably in the luxury cover. This time on a Box Tops title dating from 1967. Well, for now, it holds, but for how long ...
1980 ... which does not prevent her from delivering here an absolutely sumptuous Intimist title, a field that she had very little explored until then. It was high time, especially when you see the result !
1980 ... a nice duo which allows her to stay afloat. Again and again on a cover of Mary Wells' track from 1964
1981 ... and yet it's not for lack of trying. As soon as she returns to pure creation, the inspiration of the pieces becomes very random. This title is not without interest but it lacks the stroke of genius that can make the difference with the competition ...
1981 ... a year 1981 provided in titles but none will be classified ! After a sensational debut, the singer does not manage to capitalize on the colossal success generated at the end of the 1970s. Too bad ...
1982 ... will 1982 be a better year than the previous one ? Unfortunately no. And yet, she is largely in the average quality necessary to produce hits, even small ones. But for now, nothing to do, success inexorably eludes her ...
1982 ... when it doesn't want, it doesn't. The years 1981 and 1982 did not allow her to catch up with the leading pack and yet, it was not for lack of hanging on !
1983 ... come on, we believe it, there is a moment when luck will turn for the singer. Unfortunately not that year either ...
1983 ... it takes this duo to finally see her return to success. And again, the success will be limited to Italy. But that's it already !
1984 ... ah, finally, a title to match ! The Belle finally returns to the front of the stage with this magnificent title. Phew !
1984 ... exceptionally, here she is in full Intimist incursion and my faith, it all works particularly well. A niche that she should have much more exploited ...
1984 ... the beginning of 1984 was of a very high level, the end a little less. And yet, once again, this title is not without interest ...
1985 ... back to the Intimist. A futrtive passage in soft mode which allows her to hang a 'small' hit. It's always better than nothing ...
1985 ... yet another title of obvious quality and which would have deserved much greater recognition than it was. But the competition is fierce in the mid-1980s ...
1985 ... we start again in duo mode and once again, it works...but only in Italy. Better that than nothing at all ...
1985 ... in the end, a great 1985 which saw her come back to the race somewhat. From time to time, she manages to get her head out of the water to temporarily find her way back to the Charts. The proof with this song ...
1986 ... new little 'hit'. Well, we are in the depths of the ranking but the singer resists, year after year, without being discouraged in the least ...
1986 ... the number of singles she produced is still particularly impressive. A career of unusual longevity for a singer whose repertoire is essentially Dance ...
1986 ... another title of certain quality and which nevertheless will have gone almost unnoticed. It is clear that the singer will not have been rewarded for her enthusiasm and perseverance ...
1987 ... a sumptuous title offered on a plate by the Master...Ennio Morricone. Completely outside the singer's usual register. Anyway, the result is ... MA-GIC !
1988 ... 10 years after her debut, she is still there and resists, resists, resists. We find her again in the Intimist and it is really an area in the end that is particularly successful for her
1988 ... here she is again in the luxury cover, something she had not done for a long time. On the mega-hit Brenda K. Starr released the same year. Certainly, the version of Ami will not have the same level of success at all, but the copy is almost worth the original ...
1990 ... new partnership with Ennio Morricone. Who says Morricone, necessarily says extraordinary inspiration. The proof by this title ...
1992 ... she will have gone through the 1970s, the 1980s and here she is now in the 1990s. And in EuroDance mode. Yes Yes, it's possible ! But this time, it's well and truly the end !
1992... the end of success in the Singles Charts but surely not the end of the adventure, far from it. Because she still has things to offer and especially to sing...
1992...especially since it would be a real shame to stop there when you see what she is still capable of producing to this day. We definitely want more...
1994...new opus in this year 1994 essentially of covers of titles of other singers to whom she wants to pay homage. Starting with Annie Lennox and her title dating from 1992...
1994... covering one of Barbra Streisand's flagship titles dating from 1974 is a particularly daring bet. And my faith, on this one, she is far from undeserving, that's for sure...
1995...now it's the men she wants to pay homage to. Starting with this Beatles title from 1970...
1995 ... then she decides to cover the cult title of Billy Paul dating from 1972. She gives a female version which allows to give another face to the title ...
1996...it's a completely different Amii that we find with this new opus. No more tributes and return to a much more contemporary mode...
1996... which is frankly a pity is that she continues to produce quality titles but which will go unnoticed to say the least. Hard law of the trade...
1996...it is clear that this 90s decade is particularly ruthless for all the artists from the 60s and 70s. The competition is such that it is almost impossible for them to exist in broad daylight...
1999... the last title of a decade which was not the most favorable for the singer. Which does not discourage her at first sight...
2004...here she is in musical comedy mode to start this new 2000 decade. All about the life of Billie Holiday, a musical bet that was extremely offbeat for the time...
2004...it comes from a good feeling to want to give another facet of her talent but it is clear that this musical episode will only interest fans of musicals...
2009...we will lose sight of her for almost 5 years and here she is again at the very end of the decade again in a musical mode that in no way corresponds to the latest trends of the moment...
2010...she has decided to have fun for a few years by exploring musical paths that are surprising to say the least. Now it's the turn of the Italian musical repertoire to have its favors...
2010...it's really hard to imagine that it's the same one who sang 'Knock on wood' in 1979 and set fire to all the Dancefloors of the planet at the same time...
2010...it is obvious that these daring choices have certain repercussions on a lack of success in the Charts. There is definitely a price to pay...
2011...back on a musical path already a little more adapted to its time. She delivers here a beautiful tribute to the African continent with certain efficiency...
2012...finished the musical explorations, she decides to return to the norm. Unfortunately, she has isolated herself so much with her previous productions that it will be impossible for her to come back to the surface...
2012... now remains to be seen if she will still have the courage to continue like this for a long time. The future will tell us...
2012...we find the Amii of its beginnings in a Dance mode which has been particularly successful in the past. Like what when she wants...
2013...now remains to be seen if this title will be the last. But we know, with her, everything is always possible so we might find her later...
2022...and here is the proof ! She will come back again and again as long as she can. Here she begins her 6th decade of career, who would have thought it possible, not many people, that's for sure...
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