Birth Name: John Stephens
Birth Date: December 28 1978
Birth Place: Springfield, Ohio
Height: 5’9½”
Romantic Link: None
John met Kanye West through his college roommate, who happened to be Kanye’s cousin.
John’s first major record appearance was on Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything" single (from her Grammy award-winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill).
John Stephens was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio into a blue-collar family. At the age of only 4, John began playing gospel and classical piano, thanks in part to his grandmother. And by age 6, John was already singing with the church choir.
When he was 11 years old, John’s parents divorced, leaving John to be raised by his father.
Having been home schooled by his parents for the first four years of what would’ve typically been grammar school, John excelled in education and managed to graduate high school by age 16, at which point he headed to the University Of Pennsylvania, where he majored in English Literature and minored in African-American History. He graduated by age 20.
John Stephens Legend meets Kanye West
It was thanks to his U of P networking that John would become a legend. In 2001, John discovered that his college roommate, Devo Harris, a.k.a. Devo Springstein, was Kanye West’s cousin.
When Kanye learned that John was choir director and head of the music department at Bethel AME Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Kanye gave John free reign to make changes with his album, The College Dropout. After seeing what he could do, Kanye helped John make connections and work with other well-known artists in the industry.
John lent his vocal, keyboard and production talents to tracks by Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, and even sang backup on the single “Everything is Everything” on Lauryn Hill's 1998 debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
John Legend releases Get Lifted
Although John had shopped his album, Get Lifted, around to record labels beforehand, it wasn’t until he had all these credits in his portfolio that labels began to give him some play.
Columbia Records signed John “Legend” (a name given to him by J. Ivy) and released Get Lifted in October 2004. The album made it onto the Billboard Top 5 in three weeks and went gold in just over 4 weeks.
John Legend in Loverboy
In 2006, at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, John was nominated for eight awards, including Best R&B Album and Best New Artist, and took home three Grammys.
Currently, John released his latest album, Once Again, in October 2006, and his first single “Save Room” has a vintage, sexy feel to it. And if you want to see more of John, he can also be seen in the 2005 movies Loverboy and Be Cool. And don't think you've heard the last of Legend just yet; he's already working on a new album, set for release sometimes in 2008.
Looking for love but currently single, there’s no doubt that a beautiful woman will inevitably capture this legend’s heart.
Resource:
IMDb.com - John Legend
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