1. Amy Paulette "Amii" Stewart was born on January 29,1956 and is an American disco and soul singer who found prominence with her 1979 US Billboard number 1 hit cover of Eddie Floyd's song "Knock on Wood", often considered a classic of the disco genre.
Amii Stewart is the stepsister of actress-singer Miquel Brown and aunt to Brown's daughter, singer Sinitta.
An Amy Stewart was already registered with the Actors' Equity Association, so she changed the spelling of her first name to Amii.
Amii Stewart briefly enrolled in the Howard University in Washington but soon left for the Classical Repertory Dance Ensemble to study ballet and modern dance.
In 1975, before signing a contract at Ariola Records, Amii Stewart worked at the touring company for the stage production of the musical revue Bubbling Brown Sugar, relocating to places of production, such as Miami, then New York city's Broadway and eventually London's West End, where she met Barry Leng, songwriter and record producer for Hansa Records.
Amii Stewart told her production team and record label to be "changing styles slowly, so as not get caught in the shuffle".
In 2000, Amii Stewart toured Italy, playing the part of Mary Magdalene, in a revival of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.
In 2004, Amii Stewart published the studio album Lady Day, containing sixteen cast recordings of the 2003 musical Lady Day, based on the life of American jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday and produced and co-written by Amii Stewart and theater director Massimo Romeo Piparo.
Since 2001, Amii Stewart has been working as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef Italia and has been involved in numerous projects such as "Uniti per i bambini, Uniti contro l'AIDS".
In May 2007, Amii Stewart again participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, performing the duet "Schiavo D'Amore" with Piero Mazzocchetti.
Amii Stewart has been greatly affected by Italy, and living in Rome since the mid-1980s, has become fluent in Italian.
UNICEF Italia introduces her in a mutually cordial tone, pointing out: "The one between Amii Stewart and Italy is a beautiful love story" and that she "has been 'adopted' by our country and has certainly returned the affection received".