Amii Stewart
Amii Stewart
Amii Stewart (born Amy Paulette Stewart) was a dancer who dropped out of college to perform with the DC Repertory Dance Company. While starring in the musical Bubbling Brown Sugar in London, she recorded songs with disco producer Barry Leng at his request.
Her first single, a cover of the 1966 Eddie Floyd hit “Knock on Wood” became an international smash in 1979. It topped the US Pop Chart, was certified Platinum in less than a year and earned her a Grammy nomination.
Its success sent Stewart’s debut album of the same name into the top 20 in the US and she instantly became famous for her outrageous costumes that were made by a female German designer. Three months later, her ‘disco-thump’ reinterpretation of The Doors' “Light My Fire” became a top 40 hit in six countries overseas including a #5 peak in the UK, her highest to date there (it was a minor hit in the US).