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."
Still Mine
Stephanie Mills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Holding your hand in mine
Candles and moonlight
Soft music and chilled wine
We've been through so much
Together for all these years
Because of your touch
I just can′t hold back these tears of joy
Soft words of pleasure
Whispering in your ear
There's no way to measure
The treasure you bring
Whenever you are near
My heart skips a beat
So thankful you′re still mine
Forever a romance so deep
So thankful you′re still mine
You're still mine
Together we′ll stay till the end of time
You're still mine
No greater love will I ever find
Still mine
Better than heaven
This beautiful love affair
My life is your life
There′s nothing I wouldn't share
You bring me roses
Whenever you think I′m blue
And when my day closes
You're there by my side
So glad that I've got you stilll mine
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Holding you gently
Remembering how we met
Dancing so slowly
The closer we grow
The stronger our love gets
My heart skips a beat
So thankful
So thankful
So thankful
You′re mine
You′re still mine
Together we'll stay till the end of time
You′re still mine
No greater love will I ever find
Repeat the last verse and fade.
The song "Still Mine" by Stephanie Mills is a beautiful ode to a long-lasting and deep love. The lyrics describe a moment shared by two lovers, surrounded by the perfect setting of candles, moonlight, soft music, and chilled wine. The singer reflects on how much they have been through together, and how they have always managed to hold on to each other throughout the years. The joy and gratitude for their relationship culminate in tears of joy, as the singer realizes that her lover is still hers.
As the song progresses, the lyrics paint a picture of a relationship built on soft words of pleasure, deep commitment, and mutual trust. The singer's heart skips a beat whenever she is near her lover, and she is thankful to have found a love that will last forever. The chorus repeats the sentiment that her lover is still hers, and that they will stay together until the end of time. The final verse reinforces this idea, describing the love affair as better than heaven and stating that the singer's life is shared with her lover.
Overall, "Still Mine" is a beautiful song that celebrates the power of true love. It reminds us that even in the midst of life's challenges and struggles, holding on to the person we love can bring us immense joy and comfort.
Line by Line Meaning
This moment's so right
I feel really good about this moment
Holding your hand in mine
I'm holding your hand and it feels nice
Candles and moonlight
The lighting is nice and romantic
Soft music and chilled wine
The atmosphere is romantic
We've been through so much
We've experienced a lot together
Together for all these years
We've been together for a long time
Because of your touch
Your touch is significant to me
I just can't hold back these tears of joy
I'm so happy I'm crying
Cause you're still mine
You still belong to me
Soft words of pleasure
I'm saying nice things to you
Whispering in your ear
I'm saying things quietly to you
There's no way to measure
I can't really explain
The treasure you bring
The good things you bring to my life
Whenever you are near
When you're close to me
My heart skips a beat
I get excited and nervous
So thankful you're still mine
I'm grateful that we're still together
Forever a romance so deep
Our love is strong and never-ending
You're still mine
You still belong to me
No greater love will I ever find
I won't find a better love than yours
Better than heaven
Our love is amazing
This beautiful love affair
Our love is beautiful
My life is your life
We share our lives
There's nothing I wouldn't share
I'm willing to share anything with you
You bring me roses
You give me flowers
Whenever you think I'm blue
When you think I'm sad
And when my day closes
When the day ends
You're there by my side
You're there for me
So glad that I've got you still mine
I'm happy that we're still together
Holding you gently
I'm holding you softly
Remembering how we met
I'm thinking of how we first met
Dancing so slowly
We're dancing slowly
The closer we grow
As we get closer
The stronger our love gets
Our love grows stronger
You're still mine
You still belong to me
Together we'll stay till the end of time
We'll be together forever
No greater love will I ever find
I won't find a better love than yours
Repeat the last verse and fade.
Repeat the last verse and gradually get softer
Writer(s): James Mtume, Reggie Lucas
Contributed by Brody C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
foxxy reid
been rolling with you stephanie since you hit the charts still rolling with you girl and will continue to roll you are an amazing artist you have kept me going throughout these years thanks girl
Antonio ///
What an absolutely beautiful song by Stephanie.
Shawn Meloy
Beautiful woman, beautiful voice, beautiful song.
Ginger Bread
Yes indeed. Real music. Stephanie at her best.
Demitri Scott
I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW GOOD THIS SONG STILL SOUNDS TO ME SING GIRLLLLLLLL
JAMEZSTAR
Congrads, my wife and I just celebrated our 25th what a blessing. I have always loved this song. I am so glad I found it. It's just beautiful. They don't sing like this today. She sings this song. Stay Blessed.
Anne Hamilton
Always sang like an angel...so amazing, music like this just doesn't exist anymore, what a doggone shame!!!!
Sheila Dixon
I want to take this moment to dedicate this song to my husband.. We will celebrate 28 years of Marriage on January 20, 2013. If it had not been for The Lord on our side... Where would we be! It's been wonderful!
76grandprix
Beautiful song!
Virdinell Henry
My favorite SM ballad! thank u so much 4 posting. so many memories