Charles Stepney

Charles Stepney
Birth name	Charles Stepney
Born	26 March 1931 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	May 17, 1976(1976-05-17) (aged 45) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B
Occupations	Record producer, arranger, Conductor
Instruments	Vibraphone , piano, keyboards
Years active	1957–1976
Labels	Chess, Coulmbia
Associated acts	Ramsey Lewis, The Dells Minnie Riperton, Earth, Wind & Fire

Charles Stepney (26 March 1931^[1][2][3]–17 May 1976^[2][4]) was a producer, arranger, songwriter and musician famous for his Orchestral Psychedelic soul sound with Chicago's Cadet/Chess records in the 1960s/1970s and afterwards with Earth, Wind & Fire.

Production history

Charles and Marshall Chess (son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess) in the mid ’60’s created the band Rotary Connection for the new experimental Cadet Concept label and between 1967 and 1971 produced six innovative studio albums for Rotary Connection (receiving a Grammy nomination in 1968^[5]):

• Rotary Connection (album) (1967)

• Aladdin (1968)

• Peace (1968)

• Songs (1969)

• Dinner Music (1970)

• Hey Love (1971) (as the New Rotary Connection)

Between the creation of the Rotary Connection albums, Charles also produced, arranged & co-wrote with Rotary Connection singer Minnie Riperton’s 1970 debut album Come to My Garden.

Commenting on Minnie at the time he said that she"has a soprano range of about four octaves, a whole lot of soul, she's good-looking and she's got the experience of Rotary behind her."^[6]

During this time Charles wrote, produced and conducted a Classical Jazz Symphony in 5 parts entitled Cohesion. Cohesion was performed in Minneapolis, MN by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Ramsey Lewis Trio and Minnie Riperton. It was his first opportunity to Conduct live before an audience.^[5]

Stepney is also credited as a musician/producer on the following albums:^[7]

• The Soulful Strings - Paint It, Black (1966) & Groovin' with the Soulful Strings (1967)

• Muddy Waters - Electric Mud (1968) & After the Rain (1969)

• Howlin' Wolf - The Howlin' Wolf Album (1969)

• Marlena Shaw - The Spice of Life (1969)

• Terry Callier - Occasional Rain (1972), What Color Is Love (1973) & I Just Can't Help Myself (1974)

• Ramsey Lewis - Maiden Voyage 1968, Mother Nature's Son (1968), The Piano Player (1969), Sun Goddess (album) (1974), Don't It Feel Good (1975) & Salongo (1976)

• Phil Upchurch - Upchurch (album) (1968)

• The Dells - There Is (album) (1968), Love is Blue (1969) Like It Is, Like It Was (1971), & Freedom Means (1971)

• The Emotions - Flowers(1976)

• Deniece Williams - This Is Niecy (1976)

In the mid 1970s Charles teamed up again with Maurice White and produced a number of Ramsey Lewis Trio albums in which Maurice drummed.

Before he died he co-produced with Maurice the platinum selling Earth, Wind & Fire albums Open Our Eyes (1974), That's the Way of the World, Gratitude both released in 1975 and Spirit released in 1976.

His favorite book was The Schillinger System of Musical Composition by Joseph Schillinger.^[8]

Death

The song Spirit was intended to uplift Stepney's spirit, and to show all the gratitude that Earth, Wind & Fire had towards him. Sadly, Stepney never got to hear the song. Maurice White spoke to Stepney on the afternoon of May 17, 1976, but later that day, Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist Larry Dunn received a phone call informing him that Charles Stepney had died of a heart attack. The song Spirit then became a tribute to Stepney's life. Although Stepney never got the credit he deserved, his spirit remained a staple in Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary sound.

Influence

Artists such as Ramsey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, 4hero, Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick, Zero 7, Elton John, Gilles Peterson & Terry Callier have been influenced by Stepney.^[5][9]

Legacy

Stepney is survived by his wife Rubie and his three daughters Eibur, Charlene and Chante.

References

1. ^ "Cook County (IL) Birth Index [database on-line"]. Chicago, Illinois: Cook County Clerk's Office. http://www.cookcountygenealogy.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Social Security Death Index [database on-line"]. United States: The Generations Network. 2009. http://www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
3. ^ "Charles Stepney Chicago's Most Prolific Man of Music". schillingersociety.com. http://www.schillingersociety.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62%3Acharles-stepney&Itemid=29. 
4. ^ "Charles Stepney". discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Charles+Stepney?noanv=1. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.charlesstepney.org/the_man.html
6. ^ "For The Record: Charles Stepney". Downbeat Magazine. November 26, 1970. Archived from the original on 25 February 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050225133009/http://www.kirkdegiorgio.com/stepneyarticle.htm. Retrieved May 8, 209. 
7. ^ "Charles Stepney legendary composer/arranger/producer who was behind some of the most spiritual albums to come out of the chicago/cadet school...". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2005-03-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20050324203002/http://www.kirkdegiorgio.com/stepney.htm. 
8. ^ http://www.schillingersociety.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62%3Acharles-stepney&Itemid=27
9. ^ "Charles Stepney - Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p128469. Retrieved May 8, 2009. 

External links

• A Biography of Charles Stepney
• Charles Stepney at Allmusic
• The Charles Stepney Foundation

Persondata
Name	Stepney, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 March 1931
Place of birth
Date of death	1976-05-17
Place of death