Michael Sterling (born October 26, 1960) is an American singer and composer from Miami, Florida. His 1990 single 'Lovers and Friends' was a quiet storm classic, having notably been sampled in

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

and

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

and the East Side Boyz '

Lovers and Friends ''Lovers and Friends'' is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from January 3 to May 6, 1977. When the show didn't catch on immediately, NBC put the show on hiatus for seven months, and then brought it back on December 6, 1977 as a retooled sh ...

'. Sterling also worked with Miami artists having produced for

MC Shy D Peter Jones, professionally known by his stage name MC Shy D, is an American rapper and producer originally from the Bronx, New York, but was based in Atlanta, Georgia and thus became known as one of the first rappers to come from there. He was s ...

, engineered for

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...

and

Poison Clan Poison Clan was a Southern hip-hop group signed to Luke Records from 1990 to 1995, the group had various line-ups and members were JT Money, Debonaire, Drugz, Uzi, Madball and Big Ram. Discography Albums Studio albums Compilations Singles

, and was briefly a member of the Reggae group Inner Circle.

History

His musical career started in his teens when he played bass guitar for popular Latino recording artist Ray Fernandez. Soon afterwards, Sterling and two childhood friends formed the group ''Silver Platinum'', who quickly scored a hit on the R&B charts with their single ''Dance''. He then went on to play lead guitar and sing as a member of the Grammy award winning reggae band Inner Circle, well known for their hit ''Bad Boys''. After touring with Inner Circle, Sterling returned to Miami and began his career as a solo artist. During this time, he started his own record label TSOM Records, where he engineered and produced for local artists 2 Live Crew, MC Shy D, Anquette, Poison Clan and others. He also served as musical director for BMG recording artist

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, " Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

. His first album, The Artist, didn't generate much attention. He first struck big time stardom with his second album, No Such Animal, in 1987 produced the songs, 'One More Chance', 'Is It Still Good To Ya' and the timely socially conscious theme song, 'Holiday'. The song, Cheating While She's Wearing My Ring, received a lot of airplay on the video channels (It is not on the album though). His voice is known for its trademark slight sweet and soft falsetto sound.

Later years

During the 1990s and 2000s, Sterling maintained a low profile, while still releasing albums and producing. He still garners rave reviews and fans worldwide. In 2005,

and

and the East Side Boyz covered his song,

from his 1990 album, ''

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

''. The song was released on the quadruple platinum album

Crunk Juice ''Crunk Juice'' is the fifth and final studio album by American hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who ...

and was the winner of two BMI Billboard awards including ‘Hip Hop Song of the Year'. In 2006, his song

Bedroom Boom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib for ...

was covered by

The Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo/D'Angelo Holmes on February 13, 1979). They are not twin brothers. They did the windows to the walls song. The ...

feat.

Avant AVANT, also known as AVANT street art guerrilla collective, was the artist group active in New York City from 1980 to 1984. By 1984 AVANT had produced thousands of acrylic on paper paintings and plastered them on walls, doors, bus-stops and gallerie ...

on the platinum Ying Yang CD ''U.S.A''. On November 17, 2009, volume 1 of his new two volume album, ''Eyes Around My Heart'' was released online.

Personal life

Sterling has received the key to Metropolitan Miami Dade County. Sterling is married to Irene Rena Sterling.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles

Discography with Inner Circle

Billboard (Writer/Composer)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Michael Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers 1960 births Musicians from Miami American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American male musicians