Judy Cheeks

Judy Cheeks (born 1954) is an American singer and actress, who has worked with other musical artists as well having her own solo career in the 1970s and 1980s as a soul and R&B singer, before returning in the 1990s, when she released more dance-orientated music.

Judy Cheeks
Born	1954 (age 65–66) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Soul, R&B, disco, dance, electronic
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, actress, author
Associated acts	Ike & Tina Turner The Ikettes Udo Jürgens
Website	judycheeksmusic.com

Life and career

Early life

Born in Miami, Florida, United States, Cheeks is the daughter of gospel singer Rev. Julius Cheeks.[1][2]

Music career

Her first recording was a blues album entitled Judy Cheeks, produced by Ike Turner and recorded at his Bolic Sound studio in 1973.[1] A tour with Ike & Tina Turner followed, she also performed as an Ikette. Cheeks moved to Germany in 1977 and recorded a duet with Austrian singer Udo Jürgens. Their performance on The Rudi Carrell Show made Cheeks an overnight success in Europe. In 1978 she recorded "Mellow Lovin'" which became an international hit and reached No. 10 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.[1] Her 1978 album Mellow Lovin' was produced by Anthony Monn (best known for his work with gay icon Amanda Lear) in Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich.

Cheeks appears as a backing vocalist for Stevie Wonder's The Woman In Red 1984 soundtrack album, Donna Summer's Once upon a Time and Rumor Has It albums, Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler's Just Thelma & Jerry 1977 album, on Amanda Lear's 1979 album Never Trust a Pretty Face and on Boney M.'s Ten Thousand Lightyears.[1] In 1986, Cheeks worked as a studio musician (providing backing vocals) on Alphaville's album Afternoons in Utopia.

Cheeks wrote for Jobette Music - Motown. The Jackson 5 recorded one of her songs on their last Motown LP. She did a lot of session work for several major artist while sharpening her song writing skills.

She co-wrote and produced her solo album No Outsiders, released by Polydor in 1987.[1] In the same year, Cheeks appeared with Austrian band, Opus, on their self-titled album being co-vocalist on the song, "Givin' a Gift."

Cheeks had a career resurgence in the 1990s, when she re-emerged with a string of dance chart hits, including two No. 1s, "Respect" and "As Long As You're Good to Me", released on EMI's imprint Brilliant! in 1995.[3] Her single "Reach" appeared on the Summer Hitmix 94 CD released by ZYX Records in Germany. A solo album, also titled Respect, was released in 1996.[1]

In 2013, Cheeks wrote and co produced her own solo album, True Love is Free.[2]

In 2018, she released her single and remixes of "Crying In The Rain"; a song she had written and first recorded by Randy Crawford as "When The Evening Comes". This was followed by the album, Danger Zone. In February 2019, Cheeks released a further album of original material, A Deeper Love. At the beginning of 2020 Cheeks released a new album of original material "Love Dancin'" the title track was co-written with Stevie Wonder the album also includes a composition by Cheeks longtime friend Betty Wright "Safe In Your Arms".

Other work

Cheeks acted in various movies and TV shows: She starred in her first movie Caribbean Rhapsody (Caribia, 1978) with Rossano Brazzi, filmed in Haiti. 1980 La playa del amor, 1984 SOKO 5113 (TV series, episode: Tapetenwechsel), and starred in one episode of the TV series Salzburger Nockerln in 1992.

Cheeks is the author of Love and Honor about her late father Reverend Julius Cheeks.[4] She is the founder of School of Miracles (SOM).

Discography

Albums

• 1973: Judy Cheeks (United Artists)
• 1978: Please Give Me This Night (Ariola)
• 1978: Mellow Lovin' (Ariola, Salsoul)
• 1979: Disco Cheeks (Koala)
• 1983: Hard on the Heels of Love (Durium)
• 1988: No Outsiders (Polydor)
• 1996: Respect (EMI, Positiva) – #99 on the UK albums chart[5]
• 2013: True Love is Free (Mozan Music)[6]
• 2018: Danger Zone (Mozan Music)
• 2019: A Deeper Love (Mozan Music)
• 2020: Love Dancin' (Mozan Music)

Singles

Year	Single	Label	US Hot 100 [7]	US R&B [7]	US Dance [8]	UK [5][9]	BEL [10]	NL [10]	Album
1973	"Crazy 'Bout You Baby"	United Artists							Judy Cheeks
1974	"Endlessly"	United Artists
1978 (US)	"Mellow Lovin'"	Salsoul	65	53	10		28		Mellow Lovin'
1978	"The Little Girl In Me"	Ariola
1979	"Don't Wanna Love You Again"	Ariola
1980	"Mercy"	Ariola
1983	"Fascination"	Dureco							Hard On The Heels of Love
1987	"You'll Never Be Alone"	Polydor
1988	"I Still Love You"	Polydor				98			No Outsiders
1993	"So In Love (The Real Deal)"	Positiva			25	27
1994	"Reach"	Positiva			24	17			Respect
1995	"This Time"	Positiva				23
1995	"Respect"	Brilliant!			1
1995	"You're The Story Of My Life"/"As Long As You're Good To Me"	Positiva				30
1995	"As Long As You're Good To Me"	Brilliant!			1
1996	"Reach" (Remix)	Positiva				22
2013	"Happy"	Mozan Music							True Love Is Free
2013	"I Love Prasing You"	Mozan Music
2013	"Without Love We're Lost" Remixes	Mozan Music
2018	"Crying In The Rain"	Mozan Music

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 85. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-12-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. Flick, Larry (February 18, 1995). "Judy Cheeks To Debut EMI's New Brilliant! Label". Billboard: 26.
4. Judy Cheeks. Love and Honor. Nook. ISBN 9781483510088.
5. "Judy Cheeks Official Chart History". Official Charts.
6. "Judy Cheeks | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
7. "Judy Cheeks Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF, US & UK hits charts. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
8. "Judy Cheeks Chart History - Dance Club Songs".
9. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 102. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
10. "Judy Cheeks - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch.

External links

• Judy Cheeks discography at Discogs