Michael Stokes (born September 26, 1955, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

) is an American record producer, former

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

executive and songwriter, who is best known for producing Enchantment, working with Janet Jackson and

Creative Source Creative Source was an American R&B group from Los Angeles, who had several funk and disco hits during the 1970s. History Creative Source was formed in 1972 by several veterans of the West Coast recording studios. They were managed by Ron Tow ...

Biography

Stokes first rose to prominence in the early 1970s working with

Clarence Avant Clarence Alexander Avant (born February 25, 1931) is an American music executive, entrepreneur, and film producer, who also went by the name of "The Black Godfather". Avant's 75th birthday was celebrated by ''Billboard'' in its February 2006 i ...

on his

Sussex Records Sussex Records, Inc. was a Los Angeles-based record label, founded by music executive and businessman Clarence Avant, that existed from 1969 through 1975. History Sussex Records was launched in December 1969 by Avant, who had previously set up a ...

label, when writing for and producing acts such as

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

, The Soul Searchers, Faith, Hope & Charity, and

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the ...

. When Sussex folded in June 1975, Stokes moved over to Roadshow Records. More success came writing and producing Enchantment's first three

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s, along with writing songs for

Brass Construction Brass Construction was an American funk group formed in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in 1968. They were originally known as Dynamic Soul, and went on to record a string of hit singles and albums through to 1985. Career Signed in 1975 by S ...

BT Express B.T. Express (originally named Brooklyn Transit Express) was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s. Background According to a ''Record World'' article in March, 1975, the King Davis House Rockers b ...

, Shirley Caesar (1978), and then Nature's Divine on Infinity Records (1979). In the early 1980s, Stokes took over as A&R at

where he signed Janet Jackson. Stokes has continued to songwrite and produce, working with L.T.D "Kickin' Back"(1981), Active Force (1983), Enchantment (1983), Magic Lady (1988), Sherrick (1987), Patti LaBelle (1991),

Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...

(1992), Smokey Robinson,

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

, and

Jesse Powell Jesse Powell (September 12, 1971 – September 13, 2022) was an American R&B and soul singer. Discovered by Louil Silas Jr., Powell was best known for his hit " You", which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

. The journalist Paul Grein, who writes for '' Billboard'', also for ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', Yahoo, Stereogum, The Grammy Awards, Hits, and ''

The Tolucan Times ''The Tolucan Times'' is a community weekly newspaper based in the Toluca Lake area of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1937, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the San Fernando Valley. It covers politics and local news, as well as books, ...

'' quoted Michael Stokes working alongside

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, as he said in his own words the "millifluous" 1981 album ''Magic Man''. This quotation is in the inlay details of ''A&M Classics Volume 20'' CD by Herb Alpert (1987), that celebrated the A&M label's 25th anniversary.

References

External links

Michael Stokes at Soulwalking.co.uk

Michael Stokes at Discogs

Discogs
1955 births Living people Businesspeople from Detroit Songwriters from Michigan Record producers from Michigan African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-record-producer-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links