By Rebecca Kasuba, Staff Writer
Each week of Black History Month, we open the 88.9 Vault of Soul with profiles of iconic soul pioneers. In our finale for February 2025, WERS recognizes a stirring artist who made waves from Broadway to the top charts: Stephanie Mills.
Biography
Stephanie Mills was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in the northern section of New York City, within the borough of Brooklyn. This was where she spent her earlier days singing gospel music at Brooklyn’s Cornerstone Baptist Church, preparing her for her outstanding career.
Legend In the Making: Early Career
At the age of nine, Mills began her professional career. Her first performance was in the Broadway musical Maggie Flynn, where she played one of the orphaned children interacting with Maggie Flynn, the main character. She then transitioned into an opening act for the Isley Brothers, after a string of outstanding performances at the Apollo Theater. For six weeks straight Mills won Amateur Night, gaining her the attention she needed to start her career. In 1973, Mills got the opportunity to be signed to Paramount Records by Michael Barbiero. She released her first single ‘I Knew It Was Love.’ Mills signed with Motown after being suggested by Suzanne de Passe. Unfortunately this didn’t lead to much success. Her first two albums failed to produce a hit for her new label, eventually resulting in Mills’ departure in 1979.
Broadway Success
Stephanie Mills’ big break came at age 17 when she portrayed Dorothy in the Broadway musical The Wiz in January of 1975. The Wiz is a seven-time Tony Award winning African-American adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, becoming a vital part of the musical culture. For example, “Home” was first performed by Mills in the stage production, but would be later covered by Diana Ross for the movie adaption, cementing its success. It would be during the build up and planning for the motion picture of The Wiz that Stephanie Mills would meet another young child star, Michael Jackson.
Jackson visited the New York production and a relationship began when Mills was 20 and Jackson 19. Mills then focused her attention on her music career, in 1979, when she signed to the 20th Century Fox Records label. This resulted in her first gold record with her album What Cha’ Gonna Do with My Lovin’, which is mainly disco.
R&B and Pop Sensation: Later Career
Mills’ success continued into the 1980s with releases like Sweet Sensation, which featured hits like “Never Knew Love Like This Before.” Continuing her success, the eponymous Stephanie featured a hit for her and Teddy Pendergrass: “Two Hearts.” Merciless, featured another hit with Mills’ cover of Prince’s “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?,” also producing her first dance hit in the U.S. with “Pilot Error,” which ranked at #3 on the dance charts. She continued ranking up hits; making it into The Billboard Hot 100 and other charts with records like “Bit by Bit (Theme from Fletch).”
In 1986, Stephanie Mills’ success peaked when she released her version of the Angela Winbush-penned “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love.” This record hit #1 on the R&B singles chart, creating momentum for her immense success within the R&B sphere of music. Continuing with her next release, If I Were Your Woman resulted in a three-week #1 R&B hit with songs like “I Feel Good All Over” and “You’re Puttin’ a Rush on Me.” Eventually, the album reached platinum status, marking Mills for her talent and hard work. Another platinum record for Mills came from her 1989 Home album which included “The Comfort of a Man” and “Something in the Way You Make Me Feel.”
After this immense success, Mills’ career began to gradually slow down. Her final albums for MCA Records, were Something Real (1992) and a Christmas album. After being released by MCA, Mills made her way back to the Broadway stage, performing for The Wiz and playing a major role in the production side of Stephen Schwart’s Children of Eden. In 2008, Mills made a comeback by independently releasing her music with singles recorded with BeBe Winans and DMX for the album Born For This. Most recently, in 2024, Mills returned to Broadway after forty years in the musical Hadestown, making her truly remarkable for her commitment as a R&B star and Broadway star!
Who Influenced Stephanie Mills:
- Etta James
- Aretha Franklin
- Gladys Knight
- Marvin Gaye
- Chaka Khan
Who Stephanie Mills Influenced:
- Diana Ross
- Cynthia Erivo
- Whitney Houston
- Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child
- Fantasia Barrino
Awards and Honors:
- Grammy Award: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, “Never Knew Love Like This Before” (1981)
- American Music Award: Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Herself (1982)
Spotlight Tracks
Home (1974)
Ah, yes, a classic ‘I want’ song that’s in every Broadway musical. In The Wiz, ‘Home’ is that classic masterpiece, featuring our wonderful Stephanie Mills. Here, Dorothy expresses and reflects upon her journey through Oz as she wishes to return home, completing her quest. I love how Mills delivers her vocals in such a powerful, superb, classic Broadway way. She makes it sound easy as she hits those high notes, scratching exactly the part of my brain made to listen to Broadway ‘I want songs.’ But there is this sense of soulful energy, as we get those raspy moments as well as the Broadway power. I really enjoy how these two mix seamlessly; all thanks to Stephanie Mills’ incredible musical talent and performance!
What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ (1979)
Mills goes for more of a sensual R&B vibe with this song, as she questions what her partner is going to do with her lovin’. There is an upbeat attitude as the trumpets and back-ground vocalists give their best. The former sounds as jazzy as jazz can be,while the latter feeds this angelic tone that compliments Mills’ powerhouse of a voice. I love the vocal performance here;here is this sense of demand as Mills holds out these long powerful notes, commanding attention and giving me goosebumps. I can see her broadway roots here, but I love the way she transforms it to her liking, adding her mark to R&B.
Never Knew Love Like This Before (1980)
A very soft love song that expresses an emotional upbeat energy, truly transporting the listener on this ‘80s wave of romance. Listening to this song made me feel like I was in a packed, sweaty gym watching couples slow dance during the 1980s, as if I was in the movie Grease or something. Truly, it’s all thanks to Mills’ vocal performance; she captures that soulful richness that is needed in the song. Which carries throughout, as the back-track lets her voice shine, never drawing much attention to the accompaniment. It’s simple, but it really speaks to the soul; the romantic in me is jumping with joy! This pretty much sums up my experience with Stephanie Mills: my music-loving, romantic soul appreciates her immense talent and contributions.
I Feel Good All Over (1987)
An elegant love song that had radio crossover appeal was a No.1 R&B chart-topper in 1987. Mills shares a first person heart-to-heart conversation with her lover about holding onto their relationship, which in her eyes has grown into something real and meaningful. The song showcases a mature tone about love beyond just the surface. More songs of the mid- to late- 1980s would platform soulful songstresses such as Mills, Mikki Howard, Anita Baker and Regina Belle. It is a song full of soulful quiet-storm range, presence, richness, yet with a down-to-earth sensibility.
The bridge of I Feel Good All Over transitions from a soulful musical tone to one of spiritual testimony. The change, almost religious in nature, is a blend few artists can achieve in contemporary R&B. The background singer’s abundant joyful accents peak with an a capella lyric, "Sweet things you say to me," taking the recording to a higher dimension. As the song winds down, the listener receives a graceful and grateful reminder from Mills the person she has found is someone others would be overjoyed to be with. "You and I, we had what others dream about. We finally worked it out." Stephanie is more than thankful she feels love and security within her relationship.
