Stephanie Mills first came to fame as "the little girl with the big voice" as the star of the hit Broadway play, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book, The Wizard Of Oz. She had many R&B hits such as "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me," "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)" and "Home" along with one certified million selling single, "Never Knew Love Like This Before." In addition, she also had five gold albums: Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', Sweet Sensation, Stephanie, If I Were Your Woman and Home.
Mills honed her rich vocals singing gospel music at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church as a small child. At age 9, she began appearing in the Broadway play Maggie Flynn. She was presented with first prize after winning "The Amateur Hour" talent contest six weeks straight at New York's famed Apollo Theater when she was nine. That success led to her being chosen as the opening act for The Isley Brothers, eventually becoming good friends with lead singer Ronald Isley. Many years later, Isley would manage and later marry singer/songwriter Angela Winbush, who co-wrote one of her number one R&B hits. Mills' début album, Movin' In The Right Direction was recorded for ABC Records in 1974. A year later, she won the role of Dorothy in The Wiz. Her rendition of the beautiful ballad "Home" was a showstopper, mesmerizing audiences nightly for a number of years. The original cast recording of The Wiz was produced by Jerry Wexler and issued by Atlantic Records in spring 1975. Curiously, when The Wiz was made into a full length feature film by Motown Records' film division and Universal Pictures, Diana Ross played the role of Dorothy instead of Mills. The film ended up being a major flop.
Singer Jermaine Jackson referred Mills to Motown head Berry Gordy, who signed her to the label. Her Motown debut was For the First Time, written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, being issued in October 1976. For the First Time is a sweet affair with Mills convincingly covering Bacharach/David standards, most of which were originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. In 1978, she signed to 20th Century Records and was teamed with the hit production duo of James Mtume — later leader of Mtume, who had a gold single with "Juicy Fruit" — and Reggie Lucas. Her first LP for the label, Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin', went gold, going to number 12 R&B and number 22 pop on Billboard's charts in summer 1979 and spawned the singles, "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and "You Can Get Over." Her next LP, Sweet Sensation (#3 R&B, #16 Pop, spring 1980) yielded "Sweet Sensation," "Never Knew Love Like This Before," and the radio-aired LP track, "Try My Love." Around this time, she briefly married former Soul Train dancer Jeffrey Daniels of the group Shalamar. Next came the LP titled Stephanie in spring 1981, which also was a huge hit, peaking at #3 R&B and #30 Pop. The album included notable songs such as "Two Hearts" — a midtempo duet with Teddy Pendergrass — "Night Games" and the radio-aired LP cut, "Don't Stop Doin' What Cha Do."
In 1981, Mills switched to Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Her LPs for the label included Tantalizingly Hot, Merciless and I've Got The Cure. During 1983, she had her own NBC-TV daytime talk show and reprised on role in a Broadway revival of The Wiz. She also signed with MCA Records, where she released her Stephanie Mills album.
The first single from the Stephanie Mills album was "Stand Back," in late 1985, which also included the passionate ballad "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love" was initially written by Rene Moore and Angela Winbush — best known as the hit singing duo Rene & Angela — as a gospel song and originally was recorded by Alton McClain and Destiny on their self-titled 1978 Polydor LP. The original version is available on Polygram's Power of Love: Best of Soul Essentials Ballads. Because of its massive radio play as an album track, Mills' version of "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love, — produced by Philly Soul keyboardist Ron Kersey — was reissued as an A side holding the #1 R&B spot for two weeks in spring 1986. Its follow-up, "Rising Desire" reached #11 R&B in summer 1986.
Her next LP's title cut was the Clay McMurray/Gloria Jones/Pam Sawyer song, "If I Were Your Woman," originally a 1971 #1 R&B, #9 Pop smash for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Philly-based producer Nick Martinelli gave Mills her second #1 R&B hit with "I Feel Good All Over," written by husband and wife songwriting duo, Gabriel Hardeman and Annette Hardeman. The song held the #1 R&B spot for three weeks in spring 1987. Originally submitted to Mills' fellow MCA labelmate Patti Labelle by the Hardemans, the track was included on Mills' LP If I Were Your Woman, issued June 1987 and peaked at #30 Pop in summer 1987. Paul Laurence produced and co-wrote with Timmy Allen the chugging '"(You're Putting) a Rush On Me" giving the singer her third #1 R&B hit in fall 1987. The single made it to #85 Pop and was followed by "Secret Lady," which landed at #7 R&B in late 1987. Her covers of "If I Were Your Woman" and "Where Is The Love" followed. All were included on her If I Were Your Woman album, which peaked at #1 R&B, #30 Pop in summer 1987. Following these hits, Mills contacted Ronald Isley about working with singer/songwriter/producer Angela Winbush who had hits as half of Rene and Angela and was forging a hit-filled career as a recording artist and producer for the group Body among others. The collaboration between Mills and Winbush resulted in another #1 R&B single, "Something In The Way You Make Me Feel," in summer 1989.
Having starred for five years in the smash Broadway show The Wiz and recorded the song "Home for the play's 1975 original cast soundtrack album, she wanted to record the song again as a posthumous tribute to the play's producer, Ken Harper, and the song's composer, Charlie Smalls. On her new version of "Home," Take 6 sung the background vocals. The song went to #1 R&B in late 1989 and was followed by "Comfort Of A Man" and "Real Love." The Home LP ended up peaking at #5 R&B, #82 Pop in summer 1989. She then recorded a charting single with J.T. Taylor titled "Heart To Heart" in late 1991. Her final MCA album, Something Real included the hit "All Day All Night" and "Never Do Wrong." Following this album, she recorded a gospel album, Personal Inspirations, for Interscope Records and recorded several tracks at Philadelphia International Records with Bunny Sigler among others in the late '90s.
After a hiatus from recording Mills returned with sixteenth album, "Born For This" in 2004. It includes the singles "Can't Let Him Go" and "Healing Time." Mills is currently working on her seventeenth album titled "Breathless." The lead single chosen is a song called, "Yesterday."
Free
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
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All stressed out boy, ooh (you gotta go)
It's not healthy for me (and that′s for sure)
I can do better, yeah (all on my own)
I'll always miss our company
But you pushed me to the limit
You're lonely
I gotta get away
From you
You′re out of my life, it′s for the better
Still thinking that we belong together
Still feel like you own me
Just let me be
I wanna be free
I wanna be free from your love
I've been chained in prison
You know I′m not happy
Just let me be
I wanna be free
I'm doing fine boy (without you)
It feels so good to know
That we are through
It feels so good to know
I have a life
I can now walk with my head held up high
Bye bye bye
I′ll always miss our company
But you pushed me to the limit
You're lonely
I gotta stay away
I gotta get away
From you
You′re out of my life, it's for the better
Still thinking that we belong together
Still feel like you own me
Just let me be
I wanna be free
I wanna be free from your love
I've been chained in prison
You know I′m not happy
Just let me be
I wanna be free
Let me be free (free, free)
I wanna be free (free, free)
Just let me be free, free, free
The lyrics of Stephanie Mills's song "Free" are about a woman who has had enough of a toxic relationship and has decided to move on. She expresses that the relationship was not healthy for her and she can do better on her own. She acknowledges that she will miss the company of her former partner but realizes that their disagreements and the way he treated her have led to her decision to leave. She sings that he still thinks they belong together but that she wants to be free from his love, which she feels has chained her like a prisoner. Finally, she proclaims that she is doing fine without him and wants to be left alone.
The song's message is a powerful one, as it encourages listeners who may be in similar situations to break free of negative relationships and embrace their independence. Stephanie Mills's powerful voice and delivery give the song a sense of strength and determination that is inspiring.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm out of here, mhm (I had enough)
I have had enough of this situation and I am leaving.
All stressed out boy, ooh (you gotta go)
You cause me stress and anxiety, so you need to leave.
It's not healthy for me (and that's for sure)
Being with you is not good for my mental or emotional health.
I can do better, yeah (all on my own)
I am capable of being happy and fulfilled without you.
You're out of my life, it's for the better
You are no longer a part of my life, and it's a good thing because you were not good for me.
Still thinking that we belong together
You are still holding onto the false belief that we should be together.
Still feel like you own me
You act possessive and controlling over me, even though we are not together.
Just let me be
I need you to give me space and let me live my life without you.
I wanna be free
I want to live my life on my own terms and be free from the limitations of our relationship.
I've been chained in prison
Our relationship has felt like a prison, and I have been trapped in it.
You know I'm not happy
You are aware that I was not happy in our relationship.
Let me be free (free, free)
I am requesting that you let me live my life freely and without interference from you.
I wanna be free (free, free)
I am expressing my desire to be free from the constraints of our past relationship.
Just let me be free, free, free
I need you to respect my wishes and give me the freedom to live my life without your influence.
Writer(s): Ferrell Edward O, Lighty Darren F, Mills Stephanie, Drakeford Fredrick
Contributed by Xavier R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.