John Legend Biography
Summary
"John Stephens" (born December 28, 1978), better known by his stage name "John Legend", is an American soul singer, songwriter, and pianist. His debut studio album, the multiplatinum-selling "Get Lifted", was released in late 2004, and features collaborations with rapper and producer Kanye West as well as Snoop Dogg. "Get Lifted" produced two singles: 'Used to Love U' (US top 100, UK top 30) and 'Ordinary People' (US and UK top 30). Legend has won five Grammy Awards. Prior to the release of his debut album, Legend's career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists. Notably, Legend sang the hooks for hits by Slum Village ('Selfish', also featuring Kanye West), Jay-Z ('Encore'), and Dilated Peoples ('This Way', also featuring Kanye West); played piano on Lauryn Hill's 'Everything Is Everything'; and sang background vocals on Alicia Keys' 'You Don't Know My Name' and Fort Minor's 'High Road.'
Early life
Legend was born in Springfield, Ohio, to a seamstress and a factory worker who spent two years in the National Guard. At the age of four, Legend began playing the piano and at the age of seven, he performed with the church choir. When he was ten, his parents divorced, causing his mother to suffer a breakdown. His family stressed the importance of education, so Legend studied in Philadelphia. He then got a job as a management consultant; he worked all week, played gigs in the evenings and at weekends, and directed the church choir on Sundays.
Legend attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African American literature. While at Penn, he helmed Counterparts, a coed jazz and pop a cappella group as President (1997-1998) and Musical Director (1998-1999). Legend's lead vocals on the group's recording of Prince's 'One of Us' propelled the song to critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 "Best of Collegiate a Cappella" compilation CD.
Oddly, his first job after graduating from Penn was not in the music business -- Legend began working for the Boston Consulting Group, first in Boston and then in New York City. Before becoming a mainstream artist, Legend hit the nightclub circuit in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., performing as an independent artist and selling the live LPs "John Stephens" and "Live at SOB's".
Legend's roommate and Penn classmate, Devon Harris, professionally known as Devo Springsteen, introduced Legend to his cousin and then up-and-coming hip hop artist Kanye West. Since that meeting, Legend and West have worked closely, with West signing Legend as the first artist to his new label, GOOD Music. Legend sang many of the melodic hooks on West's demo which would eventually become the Grammy Award winning album "The College Dropout"; in turn, West provided rhythm tracks for Legend's demo, which would evolve into "Get Lifted". Recently, Legend contributed to fellow G.O.O.D artist Common's LP, "Be", and provided vocals for 'High Road' on the album "The Rising Tied" by Fort Minor (Mike Shinoda).
Recent endeavors
Television appearances and commercials
On an episode of "The Colbert Report" which aired March 7, 2008, Legend performed 'The Girl Is Mine' with Stephen Colbert. It was a remake of the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney hit. Legend returned to "The Colbert Report" on April 14, 2008, performing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' with Stephen Colbert, opening the show's week in Philadelphia. He later appeared in Colbert's Christmas special "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All", where he performed an ode to nutmeg.
Legend performed during the pregame show of "Super Bowl XL" in Detroit. He also performed during the halftime show at the "2006 NBA All-Star Game", and he performed 'God Bless America' during the seventh inning stretch at the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA.
He appeared on the season finale of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", singing a cover of You Don't Know Me. He also appeared on an episode of the television series 'Las Vegas' in February 2007 performing his single 'Save Room' solo at the end of the episode.
In 2007, he performed with John Mayer and Corinne Bailey-Rae at the Grammy Awards. He later appeared with Bailey Rae in several live performances.
Legend appears in a recent commercial for a Lexus SUV, in which Legend is shown listening to Nina Simone's 'Backlash Blues' (recorded live in Paris, 1968, on "The Great Show" LP) and describing his experience with the music. He is also notable for performing closing music in many of Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs' keynote presentations.
In January 2008, he sang in a video for Barack Obama produced by Will.I.Am called 'Yes We Can'.
Legend performed 'America The Beautiful' at WrestleMania XXIV on Sunday March 30, 2008 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
In a 2008 Target commercial, Legend performed a piece of his song 'Slow Dance' to pitch his new album 'available exclusively at Target.' The commercial was shown during online streaming episodes of NBC programs.
Legend performed several numbers live in front of hundreds of thousands of fans during the July 4th, 2008 celebration on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
Legend performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver
Legend appeared on "Real Time with Bill Maher" on October 31st, 2008. He was a member of the panel and performed 'If You're Out There' at the end of the show.
Legend appeared on CNN Heroes 2008, which was taped November 22, 2008, and was televised November 27, 2008.
John Legend appeared to perform the song in duet with Colombian rock singer Juanes during the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on November 13, 2008. The version they performed was sang mostly in Spanish by both singers, with only a few lines in English.
On Sunday, January 18, 2009, he performed at the We Are One:The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing James Taylor's 'Shower the People' with James Taylor and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.
Collaborations
He is featured in the Black Eyed Peas song, 'Like That'. The song 'Ordinary People' was originally meant to be for a Black Eyed Peas project, but Legend decided to keep it for himself and recorded the song after he had been signed to Columbia Records.
Legend is also working with Michael Jackson for his next album. In a Dutch (interview) with reporter Tom Theunisz he was asked about this collaboration. John said he has written one song for Jackson's album but is not sure he will use it or not.
Legend also sang 'The Girl is Mine' and the national anthem along with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.
In 2007, John lent his vocals for the Rich Boy track Ghetto Rich
He has also been featured in the Fort Minor song High Road. Also notable is his collaboration with Stacy Ferguson (aka 'Fergie') for her song 'Finally' on the 2006 album 'The Duchess'.
Legend featured André 3000 in the song and video to 'Green Light'.
Legend is featured in T.I.'s song 'Slide Show' off his album Paper Trail.
In 2006, he is also featured in Sérgio Mendes collaboration album, 'Timeless (Sérgio Mendes album)'. Legend sang 'Please Baby Don't'.
Videos and films
Legend has a minor, non-speaking role in the 2008 movie Soul Men where he plays the deceased lead singer of a fictitious soul group that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.
The video for his single, 'P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)', features Alexandre Rodrigues and Melvin Bragg from the critically acclaimed film, "City of God".
Legend's song 'Refuge' appears on the soundtrack to the film "The Second Chance". 'Dare to Dream' is in the movie Pride, and 'Someday' is part of the soundtrack to the film "August Rush".
John Legend's remake of Don't You Worry Bout' a Thing originally performed by Stevie Wonder appeared in Hitch (2005) starring Will Smith. Don't You Worry Bout' a Thing also appears on the movies soundtrack.
"Once Again"
The first single from his second album, "Once Again", was 'Save Room'. The album was released October 24, 2006, and boasts production from Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, and will.i.am.
In an interview with MTV.com, Legend said that this album contained his favorite song that he had written to date, entitled 'Again.' He said he came up with the idea for the song and wrote some of it while sitting on a subway. He stated that the song was also the inspiration for the album's title.
"Evolver"
Legend released his third studio album "Evolver", on October 28, 2008. Rapper Andre 3000 of OutKast is featured on the first single of the album on a song titled 'Green Light'. 'It's going to be a surprise for a lot of John Legend fans, because it is a lot more upbeat than John is - than people think John is,' Andre insisted. 'I was actually happy to hear it. This is a cool John Legend song.'
Charities and endorsements
On 7 July 2007, Legend participated in the Live Earth concert in London, performing 'Ordinary People'. On July 8, 2007, he participated in the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, with India.Arie. On July 11, 2007, he participated in the Jazz Open Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, with Amy Winehouse.
On September 21, 2008, Legend performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK in conjunction with the Peace One Day concert. He sang Green Light, and If You're Out There.
Legend recently launched "The Show Me Campaign", through which his fans are encouraged to donate funds toward improving the living situations and prospects of victims of extreme poverty in Mbola, Tanzania. Legend, in early 2008, began touring with Prof. Jeff Sachs Columbia University's Earth Institute to promote sustainable development as an achievable goal.
Legend returned to his hometown of Springfield, OH on Christmas Eve 2007 for a "Coming Home Christmas Benefit Concert" in the auditorium of North High School. The performance featured several local talent from Springfield, including Legend's younger brother Vaughn Anthony Stephens who helped organize the concert. The performance also featured a tribute to Jason Collier and proceeds went to a scholarship fund set up in his name for local high schoolers.
Legend is currently a spokesperson for Bailey's alcoholic beverage. He also spoke on behalf of The Polka Dotz at Milwaukee's 2008 German Fest.
Legend performed and spoke at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Barack Obama presidential campaign in April 2008. He later performed 'If You're Out There' from the album "Evolver" and a duet of Will.i.am's 'Yes we can' at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Legend performed a half-hour set list in support of Barack Obama in his hometown of Springfield, as well as at The Ohio State University and Wright State University campuses on September 29, 2008.
Philanthropy
After reading Professor Jeffrey Sachs' book, "The End of Poverty", Legend was inspired to visit Ghana to learn more about making life better for the people who live under the poverty line. This is when he started "The Show Me Campaign" in 2007. With this campaign, Legend is calling on his fans to help him in his initiative for those who reside in Bossaso Village and non-profit organizations that the campaign partners with.
In 2007, Legend became the spokesman for GQ Magazine's The Gentlemen's Fund, an initiative to raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice.
In May 2007, Legend partnered with Tide to raise awareness about the need of families in St. Bernard Parish, one of the most devastated areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. He spent a day folding laundry at The Tide Clean Start mobile laundromat and visited homes that Tide is helping to rebuild in that community.
In October 2007, Legend became involved with the Gap's (PROJECT) Red Campaign called (2 WEEKS). Gap's contribution to the Global Fund from the sale of each (2 WEEKS) t-shirt is equivalent to the average cost of 2 weeks of antiretroviral medicine in Africa, which enables people living with HIV to lead healthy, normal lives.
Legend is also the National Spokesperson for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). MLT is a national non-profit that has made ground-breaking progress developing the next generation of African American, Hispanic and Native American leaders in major corporations, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurial ventures.
Fan appreciation
On July 26, 2007, Legend hosted a John Legend Network Members Only Party and Concert called 'The Kings & Queens Bash' at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. There were 500 participants in attendance and he introduced the acts from his new label, Homeschool Records to his John Legend Network fans: Estelle, his brother, Vaughn Anthony Stephens, Lucy Woodward and The James Gang.
On July 25, 2008, at the Highline Ballroom in New York City, John Legend planned another annual private event for his fans that are members of the John Legend Network called 'John Legend Unplugged'. Legend performed a 21-song set list, including a lot of the new songs that will be on his upcoming album, 'Evolver', so John Legend Network members were the first to hear the new songs. After the party, John greeted each individual on their way out and took pictures with fans.
Discography
"Get Lifted" (2004)
"Once Again" (2006)
"Evolver" (2008)
External links
(John Legend) at MySpace
(John Legend) interviews and performances at NPR Music
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about John Legend.
