Van Wesley Stephenson was an American singer-songwriter.
10 Facts About Van Stephenson
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Van Stephenson 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 in the 1990s.
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Van Stephenson was born in Hamilton, Ohio, but moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when he was ten years old, and he played in garage bands as a teenager.
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Van Stephenson graduated from seminary school and wrote songs on the side in the 1970s; his first chart hit as a songwriter was for Crystal Gayle, who cracked the US country Top Ten with his "Your Kisses Will" in 1979.
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Van Stephenson went on to write hits for Kenny Rogers, Dan Seals, Janie Fricke, and John Anderson.
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Van Stephenson landed a recording contract of his own with Handshake Records, through which he released his first solo album, China Girl, in 1981.
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Van Stephenson later signed with MCA, and his second album, Righteous Anger, was released in 1984.
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Van Stephenson returned to songwriting duties until the early 1990s, when he became one-third of BlackHawk, a successful country group, through the end of the decade.
9.
In February 1999, Van Stephenson was diagnosed with melanoma and underwent surgery.
10.
Van Stephenson 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.