March 17, 1997 – Jermaine Stewart was born on September 7, 1957 in Columbus, Ohio. In 1972 he and his family moved from Ohio to Chicago, where he started in show business by joining a local dance group.
From there he went on the road with the ‘Chi-lites’ and the ‘Staple Singers,’ then to the television shows “American Bandstand” and “Soul Train.” In the early 1980s he joined the group ‘Shalamar’ as a backup singer and dancer, from which he launched his own solo career.
First singing backup for the group ‘The Temptations’ and on ‘Culture Club’s’ hit “Miss Me Blind,” with the help of Mickey Craig from Culture Club he got his first record deal with Clive Davis Arista records. His first single, “The Word Is Out,” was released in 1984, followed by “I like It” and “Get Over It” (a single was only released in Europe). e had a string of hits including “The Word Is Out”, “Frantic Romantic”, and “Versatile”. Also his singles “Get Lucky”, “Don’t Talk Dirty to Me” and “Is It Really Love” found European success, especially in Germany.
In 1991 he released “We Don’t have To Take Our Clothes Off,” a song that reached Number 5 on the Top 50 Pop Charts. In the 1990s Jermaine Stewart battled the disease AIDs. He was working on a new album when he passed away in March 1997.
Stewart died of AIDS-related liver cancer on March 17, 1997 at age 39 in the Chicago suburb of Homewood, Illinois
