Trevor Nelson - 03/06/2009

Trevor's Album Of The Week is Stephanie Mills' Sweet Sensation (1980). Stephanie first came to fame as "the little girl with the big voice" as the star of the hit Broadway play, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book, The Wizard Of Oz. Born in 1957 in Brooklyn, NY, Mills honed her rich vocals singing gospel music at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church as a small child. At age 9, she began appearing in the Broadway play Maggie Flynn. That success led to her being chosen as the opening act for The Isley Brothers, eventually becoming good friends with lead singer Ronald Isley. Jermaine Jackson referred Mills to Motown head Berry Gordy, who signed her to the label. Sweet Sensation includes the title track, Never Knew Love Like This Before, and the radio-aired LP track, Try My Love.