Billy Newton-Davis (born April 26, 1951, in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, United States) is an

American-Canadian American Canadians are Canadians of American descent. The term is most often used to refer to Canadians who migrated from or have ancestry from the United States. Demography According to the 2016 Census, 29,590 Canadians reported American as ...

R&B,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer and songwriter.

Biography

Newton-Davis grew up in

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...

, a suburb of Cleveland. He was one of two lead singers in a local soul band called The Illusions. After working as a singer and dancer on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, he moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario in 1980. His debut album, ''Love Is a Contact Sport'', won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for best R&B/soul recording in 1986 and included the hits "Deeper", "Right Beside You" and "Find My Way Back". His 1989 follow up, ''Spellbound'', included his biggest Canadian chart hit, "I Can't Take It", as well as the

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

duet "

Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You "Can't Live with You, Can't Live Without You" is a duet between Billy Newton-Davis and Celine Dion, released as a Single (music), single in July 1989 in Canada. The song was featured on Newton-Davis' album ''Spellbound''. "Can't Live with You, Can ...

" and again won the Juno for best R&B/soul recording. Newton-Davis subsequently joined

The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...

in 1991. Since leaving the Nylons, he has primarily concentrated on songwriting and live jazz and gospel performances. He also performed vocals on a number of

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...

tracks, including "All U Ever Want", and "R My Dreams" from '' At Play Vol. 2''."All you'd ever want"
. ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', September 6, 2012. In 2008, Newton-Davis won the

for ''All You Ever Want'' as Best Dance Album. Openly gay, his ''On A Boy's Life'' (2008) is a "celebration of all the naughty things men can get up to when left to their own devices."Serafin LaRiviere (November 6 2008), "A lascivious turn for singer Newton-Davis"
, Xtra! Diagnosed

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

in 1986 at the height of his career, he first went public with his status in a documentary by

Sylvia Sweeney Sylvia Sweeney, C.M., (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian executive television producer and Olympian. In 2017, Sweeney was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada "for her long-standing commitment to and creative leadership at the nexus of a ...

that aired on

Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

in 2000.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Love Is a Contact Sport'' (1986) * ''Spellbound'' (1989)

Singles

As lead artist

* "Romance" (1981) * "Right Beside You" (1986) * "Find My Way Back" (1986) * "Deeper" (1986) * "Spellbound" (1989) * "

Can't Live with You, Can't Live Without You "Can't Live with You, Can't Live Without You" is a duet between Billy Newton-Davis and Celine Dion, released as a Single (music), single in July 1989 in Canada. The song was featured on Newton-Davis' album ''Spellbound''. "Can't Live with You, Can ...

" (1989) (with

) * "I Can't Take it" (1989)

As featured artist

The Boomtang Boys The Boomtang Boys are Canadian dance-remix musicians and music producers. They are known for both their remix work and pop-dance music, in particular their singles " Squeeze Toy" and "Movin' On", which both topped the Canadian Singles Chart. ...

– "The Promised Land" (1995) *

– "Outta My Life" (2007) * Nino Anthony – "Everything I Wanna Do" (2008) * deadmau5 – "I Like Your Music" (2008) * Nino Anthony – "Our House World" (2009) * deadmau5 – "All You Ever Want" (2009) * Spekrfreks vs

Melleefresh Melleny Melody (born Melleny Brown; 12 May 1969), also known as Melleefresh, is a Canadian actress and singer. Biography Melleny Brown was born in Toronto, Ontario. Originally known for her vocal work in cartoons, she played Cheer Bear and Baby ...

– "Candy" (2010)

References

External links

Billy Newton-Davis
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton-Davis, Billy American expatriate musicians in Canada American emigrants to Canada 20th-century Black Canadian male singers Canadian gospel singers Canadian jazz singers 21st-century Black Canadian male singers Canadian contemporary R&B singers Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Canadian LGBT singers LGBT songwriters LGBT people from Ohio Musicians from Cleveland 1951 births Living people Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio Canadian gay musicians People with HIV/AIDS Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year winners The Nylons members Canadian male jazz musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Canadian male singer-songwriters