Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. In 1986, he released his debut solo album '' I Commit to Love''. Hewett and his group Shalamar contributed material to the ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr., and starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop ...

'' soundtrack. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1986.

Biography

Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles in 1976, where he first met

Jeffrey Daniel Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955 ) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, most notable for being a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a former ''Idol'' series judge ...

and

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

at a club in the LA

Crenshaw Crenshaw may refer to: Places in the United States *Crenshaw, Los Angeles **Crenshaw High School *Crenshaw County, Alabama *Crenshaw, Mississippi *Crenshaw, Pennsylvania Transportation *Crenshaw Boulevard *Crenshaw station (C Line, Los Angeles Met ...

district. Hewett formed a show group called "Beverly Hills" and toured throughout Europe, the UK, Scandinavia and Asia for all of 1977 till the middle of 1978. After returning from overseas, Hewett started recording for

Jeffrey Bowen Jeffrey Bowen is an American songwriter and record producer, notable for his work at both Motown Records and Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus and Hot Wax labels. He is best known for his work with the Detroit male vocal groups Chairmen of the ...

. In 1978, he got a call from Jeffrey Daniel who was in need of a lead singer and Hewett accepted the offer. Within three days Hewett flew to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, where he met up with Watley and Daniel and started recording the '' Big Fun'' LP with their producer, Leon Sylvers. The trio went on to record songs such as " Second Time Around", " Make That Move", " A Night to Remember", "Dancing in the Sheets" and the ballad "

This Is for the Lover in You "This Is for the Lover in You" is a song written by Howard Hewett, member of the trio Shalamar, and songwriter Dana Meyers. The track was originally recorded by Shalamar and appeared on their 1980 Platinum album, '' Three for Love''. The song wa ...

". Hewett was the group's lead singer from 1979 until 1985. When Shalamar broke up in the mid-1980s, Hewett went on to a successful solo career. However, in 1985 before signing his solo deal with Elektra Records, he was arrested and indicted in Miami with his fiancée Mori Molina for possession with an intent to distribute cocaine. Molina, who was indicted in Tampa as well as Miami, was convicted and served prison time; but after a four-day trial, in which Molina testified that Hewett had nothing to do with the crime, Hewett was acquitted of all charges. In spite of his legal battles, Hewett signed his solo deal with

and in 1986, before the Miami trial, released his first solo album '' I Commit to Love'' (R&B number 12), a solid urban album that yielded two top 10 R&B hits, "I’m for Real" (R&B number 2) and "Stay" (R&B number 8). In 1988, he released his second album '' Forever and Ever'', which featured the hits "Strange Relationship" (R&B number 9, and "Once, Twice, Three Times" (R&B number 15). In 1990, Hewett released his self-titled album, which included the hit "Show Me" (R&B number 2), and "If I Could Only Have That Day Back" (R&B number 14). 1992 saw the release of his 4th album ''Allegiance'', which was not received as well as his previous albums. He contributed to the second season

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

of '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', which was a remake of

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The ...

's R&B Top 10 hit " Soul Man". This recording was produced by singer Steve Tyrell. In 1994, Howard Hewett recorded "Christmas Will Return" with

Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses R&B, pop, soul, dance, and jazz. She has received five Grammy nominations. Li ...

for the Disney holiday film

The Santa Clause ''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, and directed by John Pasquin. The first installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordi ...

. After 1995's ''It's Time'' (released by Caliber Records in the US and Expansion Records in the UK), Hewett spent much of his time providing guest vocals on albums by

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 ...

artists such as

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

Brian Culbertson Brian Culbertson (born January 12, 1973) is an American smooth jazz/ R&B/ funk musician and producer. His instruments include the synthesizer, piano and trombone. Early life and career Culbertson was born in Decatur, Illinois. As a child, he ...

, and

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

, among others. In 2000,

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

featured Hewett on "I Found Heaven" on their '' Life in the Tropics'' album. In 2001, Hewett recorded his first full gospel album, ''The Journey'', followed a year later by ''The Journey Live: From the Heart''. In October 2006, Hewett released a new single, "Enough" (with jazz musician

), which received substantial play on

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

and R&B radio stations. Hewett is signed to The Groove Records, an independent label based in Los Angeles. In October 2008, Hewett released his Christmas CD, ''Howard Hewett Christmas''.

Personal life

Howard Hewett has been married four times. He and his first wife, Rainey Riley-Cunningham, had two daughters, LaKiva Siani and Rainey Daze; the two divorced in 1983. Hewett and Mari Molina married in 1986; the year of their divorce is unknown. Hewett and actress/singer

Nia Peeples Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series '' Fame''; Pam Fields on the drama ''Pretty Little Liars''; Karen Taylor Win ...

married in 1989 and had a son, Christopher Eugene Howard Hewett in June that same year; Peeples appeared in the music video for his song "Show Me." After their divorce in 1993, Hewett married Angela Bloom-Hewett and had one daughter, Anissa; they divorced in 2012. Howard also has three grandchildren. His son welcomed a boy, Robert Eugene (Bobby Gene) Callans on February 7, 2022. Hewett lives in Los Angeles, California and he is biracial. According to a DNA analysis, Hewett is descended mainly from the people of

Guinea Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

and of the Limba of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Discography

;Studio albums * '' I Commit to Love'' (1986) * '' Forever and Ever'' (1988) * ''Howard Hewett'' (1990) * ''Allegiance'' (1992) * ''It's Time'' (1994) * ''The Journey'' (2001) * ''If Only'' (2007)

Filmography

*''

B*A*P*S ''B.A.P.S'' (an acronym for '' Black American Princesses'') is a 1997 American female buddy comedy film directed by Robert Townsend and starring Halle Berry, Natalie Desselle, and Martin Landau. The film was written by Troy Byer and was her fir ...

'' (1997) – Himself *''

Dolemite ''Dolemite'' is a 1975 American blaxploitation crime comedy film and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack. Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedian in t ...

'' (1975) – Singer

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, Howard 1955 births American people of Sierra Leonean descent American people of Bissau-Guinean descent 20th-century African-American male singers African-American male singer-songwriters Living people American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul musicians Musicians from Akron, Ohio Grammy Award winners Shalamar members Singer-songwriters from Ohio Elektra Records artists