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."
Never Do You Wrong
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I'm here for you
Deep in my heart I believe
That you would be much better with me, oh
Just give me a chance to show you my love
The way that love should be
There's no turnin' back with me
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Oh, no)
I would never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Never)
I'm just here to show you I just wanna love you
Remember the day, the day that we met
I was crazy for you
And I know that you wanted me
Though you didn't give in easily, no, mmm
And now that I need to know where I stand
Do you want my lovin', baby
Or are you just passing time
While you hold on to love that you know is no good
I would never (I would never) do you wrong (Wrong)
I would never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Never)
I'm just here to show you (Oh) I just wanna love you (Oh)
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Oh, no)
I'll never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Oh, no)
I'm just here to show you (I'm just here to love you) I just wanna love you (Oh, baby, oh)
Oh, no
Do
Oh, ho, hey, oh, ho
Oh, oh, no
Ooh, oh
Never, never, never, never, never, no
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Oh, baby, no)
I would never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Oh, no) do you wrong (Oh, no)
I'm just here to show you (Oh, yeah, ooh, ah, yeah) I just wanna love you
I would never (I wanna please you) do you wrong (Don't wanna tease you)
I'll never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Oh, no) do you wrong (Baby, no)
I'm just here to show you (Oh, yeah, hey) I just wanna love you
I would never (Baby, she can't love you like I do) do you wrong
This love I have for you is true
Forever you, forever me, mmm
Baby, this love I have for you is all
I just wanna be the one
To give you love day and night
I just wanna love you
I would never (Yes, I do, oh, no)
I'll never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Oh, baby, no, oh, no, no, no)
I would never (I will never) do you wrong (Do you wrong)
I would never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (Oh, no) do you wrong (Oh, baby, no)
I'm just here to show you (Yes, I am) I just wanna (Oh) love you (Yeah)
I would never (I'll never) do you wrong (I'll never)
I'll never hurt you the way that she's done
I would never (No, baby, no) do you wrong
The song "Never Do You Wrong" by Stephanie Mills is a heartfelt love ballad focused on a woman's desire to prove to her love interest that she will be a better partner than his previous lover. She is aware that he has been hurt in the past and she is asking him to give her a chance to prove her love. She reassures him that she will never do him wrong and will never hurt him the way he was hurt before. She is just there to show him that she loves him and that he can trust her wholeheartedly with his love.
Throughout the song, the lyrics contain different elements of love and affection such as daydreaming about love, the joy of being with someone, and the passion and desire that comes with falling in love. The song also depicts the importance of giving love a chance despite the fear of getting hurt, but assuring the other person that in this case, they will never break their trust.
In essence, the song is a declaration of love and loyalty that aims to foster an understanding between two people who genuinely care for each other.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on, baby, dry the tears from your eyes
Encouraging partner to step back from past hurt and look forward to future with me.
'Cause I'm here for you
Assurance of my presence and support.
Deep in my heart I believe
My feelings for you are genuine and sincere.
That you would be much better with me, oh
I strongly believe that our relationship would be better than your previous one.
Just give me a chance to show you my love
Asking for an opportunity to express my love and care.
The way that love should be
Promise to love in a healthy way, with mutual respect and trust.
There's no turnin' back with me
Once we're together, I'm fully committed to this relationship.
'Cause I know I'll give love like you have never had before
I'm confident that I will give you a type of love that you have never experienced.
I would never (Never) do you wrong (Oh, no)
I would never intentionally hurt or betray you.
I would never hurt you the way that she's done
I recognize the pain and betrayal you've experienced before, and I promise not to repeat it.
Remember the day, the day that we met
Bringing up the memory of our first encounter.
I was crazy for you
Expressing my strong attraction and interest in you from the beginning.
And I know that you wanted me
Acknowledging your own feelings for me, which I noticed too.
Though you didn't give in easily, no, mmm
Recognizing that you were initially hesitant to start a new relationship.
And now that I need to know where I stand
Asking for clarity on where this relationship is heading.
Do you want my lovin', baby
Asking for reassurance that you want the same things I do in this relationship.
Or are you just passing time
Asking if you're only in this relationship temporarily, without long-term commitment.
While you hold on to love that you know is no good
Pointing out that if you're holding on to a past relationship that was unhealthy, it won't benefit either of us.
This love I have for you is true
Reiterating, once again, the authenticity of my feelings for you.
Forever you, forever me, mmm
Looking towards a long-term, committed relationship.
Baby, this love I have for you is all
My love is all-encompassing and unwavering.
I just wanna be the one
Stating my desire to be your committed partner.
To give you love day and night
Willingness to offer consistent love and support.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VASSAL GRANDINGTON BENFORD, RODNEY LYNN TEMPERTON, CAROL DUBOC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MagnusMG1
Oh Lord! Back in the day! Back in the day!!
One of those songs that fell under the radar. Massive R&B jam with equally massive, soulful vocals. Forget Beyonce and Rhianna. This is the real deal.
theytrebel
There were some right bastard tunes out in '92. Don't forget this absolute blinder of a track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ9HG0nGe-g
Chug Rock. Com.
L9l9ll
Quincy Cooper
Agreed,Rhianna and Beyonce wish they can sing like Stephanie Mills. They are out of her league.
Ali Madalane
I haven't heard this tune in like forever. OMG!!! Used to love this song. Just love the way they sampled her "Never knew love like this before" and George Benson's "Give me the night". Beautiful stuff
Spirit Angelfish
Ali Madalane And: Never Knew Love and Give Me The Night were in the top 10 together at the same time! Making the samples extra brilliant!
Mark Fowler
This song should have been a bigger hit!
quietlady44
She's so cute! Love the short hair cut on her. Her voice is so unique. I never say "Who sung that?" when I hear her songs, because when it's a Stephanie Mills song, I already know!
Frank Lofaro Jr.
She is so beautiful and talented, mere words cannot describe it!
myeyesinside out
I still love her, she has a wonderful voice