Stephanie Lewis Composer

Stephanie Lewis first arrived in Music City by way of London, England, with a couple of stops in the Houston ballet world and the New York music scene along the way.

Attending a performing arts school as a child growing up in London, Stephanie often wrote poetry as a kid and loved English class – though she would often bypass the assignments given by her English teacher and just write lyrics to instrumental jazz records and hand those in as homework instead.

Upon graduating at 16 she took a position with the Houston Ballet and moved to the States to begin a career as a dancer. “I had done some performances as a child with the Royal Ballet Company,” recalls Stephanie, “and when the Houston Ballet was forming they offered me an apprenticeship, so I took it.”

She danced for several years in Houston before her yearning to write led her to New York. During her time in New York she had some poetry published, while she worked several different day jobs, including coat check girl, bartender and even limousine driver.

A friend encouraged me to take a ten week course of classes at the Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says Stephanie, “and I just fell in love with songwriting and kept taking them. It was my college, in a way.”

Stephanie also began attending showcases around town, and eventually signed her first writing deal with Famous Music. Her first cut, “Shine On,” became a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, and launched a career that would soon include top awards from the Christian industry, and cuts by tons of successful artists including Gladys Knight, Aaron Neville, Vanessa Williams, and others.

Moving to Nashville in 2002 Stephanie quickly made her mark in both the Christian and country music worlds. Her inspirational tunes were snapped up by acts like Plus One, Jump Five, Avalon, Natalie Grant, and Jaci Velasquez, and her song “Adonai” won the coveted Dove Award for Song of The Year. In 2002 she also won ASCAP’s songwriter of the year award.

Country acts Emerson Drive and Blue County have also recorded songs by Stephanie, and her talent has even been recognized by R&B master producer Freddy Jerkins, who recently recorded seven of her tunes for one of his Dark Child Productions projects. She has enjoyed 10 Top 10 hits in various genres since moving to the States in the early 90’s.

Influenced by a variety of artists from Stevie Wonder and Carole King to Shawn Colvin, Stephanie loves all different types of music and thrives on the freshness and excitement of the possibilities of diversity. “Growing up in England we only had two radio stations to listen to and as kid I would hear Dolly Parton, and then Stevie Wonder, and then the Beatles and it was a wonderful mix! I love it all – good music is just good music!”

Copyright © 2006 Aha! Music