Van Wesley Stephenson (November 4, 1953 – April 8, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter. He scored three US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits in the 1980s as a solo artist, and later became tenor vocalist in the country music band BlackHawk in the 1990s. In addition, Van co-wrote several singles for other artists, such as Restless Heart. Stephenson died of

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

in 2001.

Biography

Stephenson was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

, but moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when he was ten years old, and he played in garage bands as a teenager. He graduated from seminary school and wrote songs on the side in the 1970s; his first chart hit as a songwriter was for

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

, who cracked the US country Top Ten with his "Your Kisses Will" in 1979. Stephenson went on to write hits for Kenny Rogers, Dan Seals, Janie Fricke, and

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

. Partnering with Dave Robbins, Stephenson wrote a string of hits for Restless Heart and would continue to work with Robbins later in his career. Stephenson landed a recording contract of his own with Handshake Records, through which he released his first solo album, ''China Girl'', in 1981. He later signed with

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

, and his second album, ''Righteous Anger'', was released in 1984. He scored big on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

charts with "Modern Day Delilah" peaking at No. 22, and a second hit, "What the Big Girls Do", peaked at No. 45. ''Righteous Anger'' charted at No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but his follow-up 1986 disc, ''Suspicious Heart'', did not chart, nor did its lead single, "We're Doing Alright." It also included two songs featured on movie soundtracks: "Make It Glamorous" from the 1984 film '' The Wild Life'' and "No Secrets" from the 1985 film '' Secret Admirer''. Stephenson returned to songwriting duties until the early 1990s, when he became one-third of BlackHawk, a successful country group, through the end of the decade. In February 1999, Stephenson was diagnosed with

and underwent surgery. He left the group in February 2000 to continue battling the cancer, but he died on the morning of April 8, 2001, as a result of the disease.

Discography

Studio albums

with BlackHawk

*'' Blackhawk'' (1994) *'' Strong Enough'' (1995) *''

Love & Gravity ''Love & Gravity'' is the third studio album released by American country music group Blackhawk. It features the singles "Hole in My Heart" and "Postmarked Birmingham", which peaked at #31 and #37, respectively, on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Si ...

'' (1997) *'' The Sky's the Limit'' (1998)

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

* "Make It Glamorous" (from '' The Wild Life'') (1984) * "All American Boy" (from '' The Slugger's Wife'') (1985) * "No Secrets", "You've Been Lied to Before" (from '' Secret Admirer'') (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Van 1953 births 2001 deaths American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio People from Hamilton, Ohio Blackhawk (band) members Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Deaths from melanoma 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Ohio