Stephen Pate Bray (born December 23, 1956) is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Madonna, being a member of the band Breakfast Club, and for winning the 2017

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for the Best Musical Theater Album of the Tony Award-winning revival of ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

''. Bray owns and operates Saturn Sound recording studios and the Soultone Records label.

Career

Bray began studying music through private instruction in Detroit, attended

Washtenaw Community College Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. He continued his education at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston in 1978.

Collaborations with Madonna

Bray dated Madonna before her fame when she was attending the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

for dance in 1976. He moved to New York after receiving a call from Madonna in November 1980; at that time she was a member of the band Breakfast Club in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. Madonna wanted to form a new band and invited Bray to play the drums. They formed the band Emmy and the Emmys. They also rekindled their romance and together they moved into The Music Building in Manhattan for a while. Madonna obtained a recording contract with Gotham Management, managed by Camille Barbone in 1981. Barbone put together a new band with session musicians although Madonna wanted Bray as her drummer. Barbone knew they had been romantically involved and didn't want love affairs among band members. The music she was producing with them was more rock oriented but Madonna had her eyes set on dance music. She and Stephen Bray continued working on a parallel project, more club oriented. After being signed to

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehr ...

in 1982, Madonna opted not to work with Bray for her debut album, but they continued collaborating with her second album '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). Together, they wrote and produced some of the biggest hit songs of the 1980s, including several of Madonna's biggest hits. The songs Bray and Madonna composed often followed a distinctive structure, many of which repeat the song's second verse and bridge before fading out with the chorus. Their partnership concluded with their work on Madonna's album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989).

The Breakfast Club

Following Madonna's rise to stardom, Bray rejoined Breakfast Club, and the quartet signed first with

ZE Records ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the ...

and later with

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

. The band's eponymous first album was released in early 1987, preceded by the

Top 10 A top ten list is a list of the ten highest-ranking items of a given category. Top Ten or Top 10 may also refer to: Media *Top 10, a common record chart for the ten most popular songs of the week in the musical chart of a country *''America's Top ...

hit "Right on Track". Bray co-wrote most of the albums' songs with bandmate Dan Gilroy, and Bray produced several songs. The band's second album was not released, and Breakfast Club broke up shortly afterward.

The Color Purple

Bray made his Broadway debut in 2005 as composer and lyricist for the Broadway version of

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

's book ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

''. He was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for his work on the show.

Personal life

Bray lives in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927 ...

with his wife, movie producer

Stephanie Allain Stephanie Allain (born October 30, 1959) is an American producer of independent movies in Hollywood, California. Early life Stephanie Allain was born in New Orleans to an African-American father Dr. Charles Allain, a biochemist, and a white m ...

, who produced ''

Hustle & Flow ''Hustle & Flow'' is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Allain. It stars Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper. It als ...

'' and '' Black Snake Moan''.

Discography

Singles

Unreleased songs

References

External links

*
Pop Music and the New Musical
– ''Working in the Theatre Seminar'' video at American Theatre Wing.org, September 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Stephen Living people 1956 births Musicians from Detroit Berklee College of Music alumni Record producers from Michigan Grammy Award winners Songwriters from Michigan People from Studio City, Los Angeles African-American drummers African-American record producers African-American songwriters