Amii Stewart

Disco singer Amii Stewart scored a Number 1 hit with her debut single, "Knock On Wood," which topped the American charts, climbed to Number 6 in the UK, and peaked at Number 2 in Australia. Born January 29, 1956, in Washington, DC, she kickstarted her entertainment career as a dancer, performing with the Tony-nominated musical revue Bubbling Brown Sugar during the mid-1970s before shifting directions and releasing her debut album, Knock on Wood, in 1979. The album's title track, a disco cover of Eddie Floyd's original, reached Number 1 that April and earned a Grammy nomination. Stewart released her second album, Paradise Bird, later that same year, with the singles "Paradise" and "The Letter/Paradise Bird" becoming Top 40 hits across Europe. She then relocated to Italy, where she teamed up with Gianni Morandi for a hit version of Bob Seger's "Grazie Perché (We've Got Tonight)" in 1983 and topped the charts with "Friends" in 1984. A remixed version of "Knock On Wood" became a Top 10 hit in the UK one year later. While continuing to release albums during the following decades, Stewart remained in Italy, where she teamed up with legendary film composer Ennio Morricone for the 2006 charity single "Love Song" and co-wrote a musical, Lady Day, based on jazz singer Billie Holiday.