Song:Knock On Wood
Album:The Best Of & The Rest Of Amii Stewart
Amii Stewart topped the charts with this 1979 disco cover of the Eddie Floyd classic Knock On Wood. She had most of her success on the dance charts and in Europe. She was born Amy Stewart Jan. 29, 1956 in Washington DC. Her father signed her up for singing and dancing lessons when she was four years old. When she registered with Actor's Equity, there was already an Amy Stewart so she changed her name to Amii. She studied at the DC Repertory Dance Company and she was in the touring company of Bubbling Brown Sugar. It was while she was appearing in this show in London that she met producer Barry Leng who at the time was working for the German label Hansa though that label would be taken over by Ariola. Leng wrote and produced Amii's music with film and TV composer Simon May, best known for writing the theme for the popular TV show EastEnders. They produced Amii's 1979 album Knock On Wood. The single did so well in Europe, Atlantic picked it up for US distribution. It topped the charts worldwide. This was her only big hit in the US though some of her other songs did well in Europe. Her 80s albums on RCA were only released in Europe. From what I could tell, Amii has lived in Italy since the 80s. This budget comp appears to be a CD of remixes from the British label Action Replay. Beginning with the TV movie Secrets Of The Sahara, she has worked frequently with legendary film composer Ennio Morricone. Most recently she appeared on the Italian TV dance competition show La Pista. So though she is a one hit wonder here, Amii has had a long career in Italy. Here's the video for Knock On Wood by Amii Stewart.
I remember that song and her outfit on the cover of the record label. She was beautiful and in an outrageous outfit!! I liked the song and found out later about the original singer Eddie Floyd. I do not know a lot about him, I will have look into him. I liked her version, but still had a lot of respect for him and his song.
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