Van Wesley Stephenson (November 4, 1953 – April 8, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter. He scored three US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits in the 1980s as a solo artist, and later became tenor vocalist in the country music band

BlackHawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urubitinga'' * Mangrove black hawk, ''Buteogallus (anthracinus) s ...

in the 1990s. In addition, Van co-wrote several singles for other artists, such as

Restless Heart Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart (singer), Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dav ...

. Stephenson died of

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

in 2001.

Biography

Stephenson was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

, but moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, when he was ten years old, and he played in

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

s as a teenager. He graduated from

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

school and wrote songs on the side in the 1970s; his first chart hit as a songwriter was for

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

, who cracked the US country Top Ten with his "Your Kisses Will" in 1979. Stephenson went on to write hits for

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Dan Seals Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009), also known as England Dan, was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & ...

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the US ''Billboa ...

, and

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * John Anderson (jazz trumpeter) (1921–1974), American musician * Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson, born 1944), lead singer of the British band Yes * John Anderson (producer) (1948–2024 ...

. Partnering with Dave Robbins, Stephenson wrote a string of hits for

and would continue to work with Robbins later in his career. Stephenson landed a recording contract of his own with Handshake Records, through which he released his first solo album, ''China Girl'', in 1981. He later signed with MCA, and his second album, ''Righteous Anger'', was released in 1984. He scored big on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

charts with "Modern Day Delilah" peaking at No. 22, and a second hit, "What the Big Girls Do", peaked at No. 45. ''Righteous Anger'' charted at No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but his follow-up 1986 disc, ''Suspicious Heart'', did not chart, nor did its lead single, "We're Doing Alright." It also included two songs featured on movie soundtracks: "Make It Glamorous" from the 1984 film '' The Wild Life'' and "No Secrets" from the 1985 film ''

Secret Admirer A secret admirer is an individual who feels adoration, fondness or love for another person without disclosing their identity to that person, and who might send gifts or love letters to their Puppy love, crush. Grade school The goal of a secret a ...

''. Stephenson returned to songwriting duties until the early 1990s, when he became one-third of

, a successful country group, through the end of the decade. In February 1999, Stephenson was diagnosed with

and underwent surgery. He left the group in February 2000 to continue battling the cancer, but he died on the morning of April 8, 2001, as a result of the disease.

Discography

Studio albums

with BlackHawk

*''

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urubitinga'' * Mangrove black hawk, ''Buteogallus (anthracinus) s ...

'' (1994) *'' Strong Enough'' (1995) *''

Love & Gravity ''Love & Gravity'' is the third studio album released by American country music group Blackhawk (band), Blackhawk. It features the singles "Hole in My Heart" and "Postmarked Birmingham", which peaked at #31 and #37, respectively, on the ''Billboar ...

'' (1997) *'' The Sky's the Limit'' (1998)

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

* "Make It Glamorous" (from '' The Wild Life'') (1984) * "All American Boy" (from ''

The Slugger's Wife ''The Slugger's Wife'' is a 1985 romantic comedy film about a baseball star who falls for a singer. Written by Neil Simon, directed by Hal Ashby and produced by Ray Stark, the film stars Michael O'Keefe, Rebecca De Mornay and Randy Quaid. It w ...

'') (1985) * "No Secrets", "You've Been Lied to Before" (from ''

'') (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Van 1953 births 2001 deaths American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio People from Hamilton, Ohio Blackhawk (band) members Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Deaths from melanoma in the United States 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Ohio