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."
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoo
Mmm
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I keep your picture beside my bed
And I still remember the things you said, oh, yeah
I always thought our love so right, I guess I was wrong, ooh
What I wanna know, baby
What we had was good
How come you don't call me anymore, ooh?
(How come you don't call me anymore?)
Still light the fire on a rainy night, ooh
Still like it better when you're holdin' me tight
Everybody said, everybody said that we should never part, oh, no
But tell me, babe, why'd you wanna go and break my heart? Yeah
What I wanna know, baby
What we had was good
How come you don't call me anymore? Call me, ooh, hoo
(How come you don't call me anymore?)
Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna die
And you don't come by my door
Boy, you've got to try
I'm down on my knees beggin' you please
Hee, hee, hee, hoo ooh
Baby
Ooh, hoo, ooh, ooh, yeah
All I wanna know, baby
What we had was good
How come you don't call me anymore?
Won't you call me, baby?
Why can't you call me sometime, baby?
(How come you don't call me anymore?)
Oh, it's just one lousy dime, yeah
Ooh, ooh, call me, call me sometime
(How come you don't call me anymore?)
Pass up the dime one more time
(How come you don't call me anymore?)
Call me, call me
The song "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" by Stephanie Mills is a soulful ballad about a woman who is still deeply in love with her former partner and is bewildered as to why he has stopped calling her. The lyrics depict a sense of longing and desperation, as the woman recalls the memories of the past, the love they had shared, and questions why things had to end. She keeps a picture of him by her bed and wishes he would come back. The song relays the pain and heartbreak the woman is feeling without the comfort of her lover by her side.
The lines "Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna die, and you don't come by my door. Boy, you've got to try" express the woman's emotional state, suggesting that she is at her wits' end and pleading with her partner to come back to her. The use of repetition in the refrain "How come you don't call me anymore?" is a reflection of the woman's obsession, unable to accept that her lover has moved on. The song's soulful melody is supported by the use of keyboard and drums, which develops the emotion and the sense of yearning. This creates a sense of sadness and nostalgia in the listener that echoes the main character's feeling of longing and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, ho
Expressing a feeling of surprise, shock or disagreement.
Hoo
Expressing excitement, anticipation or impatience.
Mmm
Expressing satisfaction, pleasure or agreement.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Expressing excitement, passion or sadness.
I keep your picture beside my bed
I still cherish and think about our past relationship.
And I still remember the things you said, oh, yeah
I still have fond memories of our conversations and promises.
I always thought our love so right, I guess I was wrong, ooh
I believed that our love was perfect, but now I realize it wasn't.
I always thought you'd be by my side, baby, now you're gone
I expected you to stand by me, but you left me alone.
What I wanna know, baby
I'm seeking an explanation or justification for your behavior.
What we had was good
Our relationship was valuable, meaningful and worth preserving.
How come you don't call me anymore, ooh?
Why are you ignoring me or avoiding communication?
Still light the fire on a rainy night, ooh
I continue to crave your presence, affection and passion.
Still like it better when you're holdin' me tight
I still feel happiest when we embrace and show physical intimacy.
Everybody said, everybody said that we should never part, oh, no
Many people advised us to stay together and warned us against breaking up.
But tell me, babe, why'd you wanna go and break my heart? Yeah
However, you chose to hurt me by ending our relationship without a clear reason or warning.
Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna die
I experience a lot of emotional pain, sadness and fear of losing you forever.
And you don't come by my door
You don't visit me or check on me, despite knowing how much I miss you.
Boy, you've got to try
I'm pleading with you to make an effort to mend our relationship.
I'm down on my knees beggin' you please
I'm humbling myself and asking you to show me mercy or forgiveness.
Hee, hee, hee, hoo ooh
Expressing pain, sorrow or desperation.
Baby
An affectionate term for a loved one or partner.
All I wanna know, baby
Reiterating my desire for clarity, truth and reconciliation.
Won't you call me, baby?
Asking you to initiate contact and show me that you still care.
Why can't you call me sometime, baby?
Expressing frustration and disappointment at your lack of effort or attention.
Oh, it's just one lousy dime, yeah
Sarcastically minimizing the importance or cost of calling me.
Pass up the dime one more time
Challenging you to take responsibility and take action to save our relationship.
Call me, call me
Urging you to contact me and demonstrate your love and commitment.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PRINCE ROGERS NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind