John Legend Parents: Meet Phyllis Elaine And Ronald Lamar
John Legend parents-American singer, John Legend was born on December 28th, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio in the United States of America.
Legend’s mother taught him at home. At age 4, he started piano lessons. He performed with his church choir at the age of 7. He skipped two grades as a result of his academic prowess.
Legend started attending North High School in Springfield, Ohio when he was 12 years old. Four years later, he graduated as salutatorian of his class.
According to an appearance on the Carlos Watson Show, Legend, then 15, won a Black History Month essay contest sponsored by McDonald’s by responding to the subject, “How do you aim to make Black history?” with an essay about how he intended to be a successful musician.
Legend turned down admission to Harvard University as well as scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College in favor of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Legend presided over and oversaw the jazz and pop a cappella group the Counterparts while he was a student. His lead vocals on the group’s rendition of “One of Us,” a song by Joan Osborne that was penned by fellow Penn alumnus Eric Bazilian of the Hooters, won praise from critics and was included on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD.
Legend belonged to both the Onyx Senior Honor Society and the Sphinx Senior Society. Legend first heard Lauryn Hill when he was a college student thanks to a friend. On the song “Everything Is Everything” from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Hill hired him to play the piano.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a focus on African-American literature and graduated with honors.
John Legend career
Working behind the scenes, he contributed piano to Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything” and made uncredited cameo appearances on Jay-“Encore” Z’s and Alicia Keys’s “You Don’t Know My Name” to start his musical career.
His debut album, Get Lifted (2004), entered the top ten on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He then signed to Kanye West’s GOOD Music.
At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, Legend had nine nominations, including those for the singles “So High” with Lauryn Hill and “Ordinary People,” the latter of which won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. He also won prizes for Best New Artist and Best R&B Record for the album.
Once Again (2006), his second studio album, produced the single “Save Room,” and it entered his second top 10 albums list on the Billboard 200 chart. His third album Evolver (2008)’s lead single, “Green Light,” with André 3000, peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was given a platinum certification by the RIAA.
He issued the live CD John Legend: Live from Philadelphia in June 2008.
Later, Legend and The Roots would work together on the album Wake Up! (2010). The single “All of Me” from his fourth studio album, Love in the Future (2013), was released.
The song achieved Diamond status after being certified 14 platinum by the RIAA and reached at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
He contributed to Meghan Trainor’s 2015 single “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” which peaked at number ten in the U.S. The albums Darkness & Light (2016) and A Legendary Christmas have since been published by Legend (2018).
Bigger Love, his seventh studio album from Legend, was released in 2020; it earned the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Legend’s double album, Legend, was released in 2022.
Legend was presented with the Hal David Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. The song “Glory” from the movie Selma, which Legend co-wrote, received the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Twelve Grammy Awards in total have been given to him. Legend received a Tony Award in 2017 for his work on the Broadway theatrical production of Jitney. In NBC’s 2018 rendition of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Legend played Jesus Christ.
He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his acting work and went on to win the award for his work as the show’s producer, making him the first black man and second-youngest recipient of all four major American entertainment honors (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) (EGOT).
The NAACP President’s Award was also given to Legend. Legend served as a coach on The Voice from 2019 through 2022.
Who are John Legend’s parents?
Legend was born to Phyllis Elaine and Ronald Lamar Stephens. He happens to be the eldest of four children who were also born to the same parents.
His mother, Phyllis worked as a seamstress and his father, Ronald also worked as a factory worker at International Harvester which has a factory in Springfield, Ohio and is now Navistar. His father was also a drummer, while his mother sang and directed the church choir, and his grandmother was the church organist.
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