Curtis Stigers (born October 18, 1965) is an American jazz singer. He achieved a number of hits in the early 1990s, most notably the international hit " I Wonder Why" (1991), which reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.

Career

Stigers was born in Hollywood, California, but grew up in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. He started his music career as a teenager, playing in rock and blues bands, as well as receiving an education in clarinet and saxophone in high school in Boise. He acquired much of his motivation for pursuing jazz from jam sessions led by Gene Harris at the Idanha Hotel. His song "Swingin' Down at Tenth and Main" is a tribute to those times with Harris. After receiving his diploma, he moved to New York City, intending to become a rock musician. But he spent more time in jazz clubs singing and playing saxophone. Arista released his debut album, which achieved multi-

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sales. His combination of rock and soul was also popular on the soundtrack to the movie ''The Bodyguard'', which contained his version of " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" by Nick Lowe. Concord Jazz released ''Baby Plays Around'', an album that included Chris Minh Doky and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

. He recorded several more jazzy albums for Concord before turning to the country flavor of ''Let's Go Out Tonight'' with

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of songs by Steve Earle, Richard Thompson, and Hayes Carll. He has worked with

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Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, Bonnie Raitt,

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and

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. He sang a duet with Julia Fordham on her re-recording of "Where Does the Time Go?" on the 1998 compilation album '' The Julia Fordham Collection''. His song " I Wonder Why" reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 9 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1991, while " You're All That Matters to Me" reached No. 6 as the follow-up single in the UK. In 2006, Stigers participated in the BBC Television show '' Just the Two of Us'', where he sang with journalist Penny Smith. He was one of the soloists at a concert celebrating the MGM musical during the 2009 Proms season. His song " This Life" was for the American television show '' Sons of Anarchy''. He also sang " John the Revelator" for the season one finale.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

* ''All That Matters – The Best of Curtis Stigers'' (Camden, 2001) * ''The Best of 1991 – 1999'' (

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, 2005) * ''The Collection'' (Concord, 2006) (UK #50)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stigers, Curtis 1965 births Living people American jazz singers Jazz-pop singers Smooth jazz singers Musicians from Boise, Idaho Concord Records artists EmArcy Records artists Arista Records artists Jazz musicians from Idaho American baritones Sons of Anarchy