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 for the Best Musical Theater Album of the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple. Bray owns and operates Saturn Sound recording studios and the Soultone Records label.
Stephen Bray
Birth name
Stephen Pate Bray
Born
(1956-12-23) December 23, 1956 (age 66) Detroit, Michigan, U.S
Bray dated Madonna before her fame when she was attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for dance in 1976.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[4] Barbone knew they had been romantically involved and didn't want love affairs among band members.[4] The music she was producing with them was more rock oriented but Madonna had her eyes set on dance music.[5] She and Stephen Bray continued working on a parallel project, more club oriented.
After being signed to Sire Records 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 Clubedit
Following Madonna's rise to stardom, Bray rejoined Breakfast Club, and the quartet signed first with ZE Records and later with MCA.[2] The band's eponymous first album was released in early 1987, preceded by the Top 10 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 Purpleedit
Bray made his Broadway debut in 2005 as composer and lyricist for the Broadway version of Alice Walker's book The Color Purple.[6] He was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on the show.[6][7]
stephen, bray, this, article, about, musician, gaelic, football, player, footballer, brexit, activist, stop, brexit, steve, bray, activist, stephen, pate, bray, born, december, 1956, american, songwriter, drummer, record, producer, best, known, collaborations,. This article is about the musician For the Gaelic football player see Stephen Bray footballer For the Brexit activist Mr Stop Brexit see Steve Bray activist 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 for the Best Musical Theater Album of the Tony Award winning revival of The Color Purple Bray owns and operates Saturn Sound recording studios and the Soultone Records label Stephen BrayBirth nameStephen Pate BrayBorn 1956 12 23 December 23 1956 age 66 Detroit Michigan U SGenresPopdanceR amp BrockOccupation s Songwritermusic producermusiciancomposerInstrument s DrumskeyboardsvocalsYears active1979 presentLabelsZE MCASaturn Sounds StudiosSoultone Records Contents 1 Career 1 1 Collaborations with Madonna 1 2 The Breakfast Club 1 3 The Color Purple 2 Personal life 3 Discography 3 1 Singles 3 2 Unreleased songs 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCareer editBray began studying music through private instruction in Detroit attended Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor He continued his education at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1978 1 Collaborations with Madonna edit Bray dated Madonna before her fame when she was attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for dance in 1976 2 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 3 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 4 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 4 Barbone knew they had been romantically involved and didn t want love affairs among band members 4 The music she was producing with them was more rock oriented but Madonna had her eyes set on dance music 5 She and Stephen Bray continued working on a parallel project more club oriented After being signed to Sire Records 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 edit Following Madonna s rise to stardom Bray rejoined Breakfast Club and the quartet signed first with ZE Records and later with MCA 2 The band s eponymous first album was released in early 1987 preceded by the Top 10 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 edit Bray made his Broadway debut in 2005 as composer and lyricist for the Broadway version of Alice Walker s book The Color Purple 6 He was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on the show 6 7 Personal life editBray lives in Studio City California with his wife movie producer Stephanie Allain who produced Hustle amp Flow and Black Snake Moan 1 Discography editSingles edit Song Artist Ain t No Big Deal Barracuda original demo by Madonna Angel Madonna Stay Pretender Over and Over Into the Groove Say It Say It E G Daily Baby Love Regina True Blue Madonna Jimmy Jimmy Where s the Party Spotlight Cross My Broken Heart The Jets Sendin All My Love Each Time You Break My Heart Nick Kamen feat Madonna Right on Track Breakfast Club Causing a Commotion Madonna Can t Stop Express Yourself Keep It Together Baby Going Shake Royalty Get Over Nick Scotti original demo by Madonna Count the Days Kylie Minogue Rhythm of Love Little Black Book Gina G That s Why The Party Needin Someone Change on Me Unreleased songs edit Song Artist One More Chance Madonna Warning Signs Desperately Seeking Susan Working My Fingers to the Bone Pipeline Love Attack First Is a Kiss See also editCategory Songs written by Stephen BrayReferences edit a b Pennington Juliet November 16 2017 In the VIP Lounge with songwriter Stephen Bray Boston Globe a b Graff Gary August 25 1987 Bray s Loyalty to Madonna Pays Off Chicago Tribune Cross Mary 2007 Madonna A Biography Greenwood Publishing Group p 21 ISBN 978 0 313 33811 3 a b c Christopher Anderson October 14 1991 Madonna Rising New York Magazine 45 Anderson Christopher November 4 1991 The Faces Of Madonna The Seattle Times Retrieved April 28 2021 a b Azizian Carol May 17 2008 Broadway musical The Color Purple heading to Fox Theatre in Detroit Flint Journal Retrieved October 19 2013 Complete list of nominees for Tony Awards USA Today May 17 2006 Retrieved October 19 2013 External links editStephen Bray at IMDb Pop Music and the New Musical Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing org September 2005 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stephen Bray amp oldid 1177429278, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
