| just flow out of the television and fill everyone in my family with Christmas cheer. While the Steeles won't have that living room set to work with and have a little more R&B in their repertoire, they will still offer their audience some of that old time Christmas cheer. "We're going to do some classic Christmas songs as well as some contemporary new arrangements that my brothers J.D and Fred and I have worked on," Steele said during a telephone interview with The Capital City Hues. "We're doing some original music and some traditional songs and we're trying to bring everyone into our 'home' and how we do Christmas. The whole thing about Christmas is the feel; it's about bringing your family to our family for Christmas. We show you how we like to do it. There will be a moment during the concert when we just sing around the piano and sing a cappella and do what we do normally. Even now, we sing at Christmastime. We all get together with all of our children and go over some scriptures. We do gifts and all that. But we always sing a few songs." While Steele admitted that his siblings have gone through that sibling rivalry like any family goes through, but it is their faith and their love for one another as family that sees them through. The foundation of the Steele family, as well as their singing prowess is in the church. "My dad, who died in 1973, was a Sunday School superintendent at the church we went to, St. Home Church of God in Christ, in Gary, Indiana, Steele said. "We were at church every Sunday and even during the week doing youth programs. We had mid-week service and Bible Study. We always went to church and we started singing in church. My dad took my two oldest brothers and two oldest sisters everywhere to sing. They went all over Chicago. They performed with Mahalia Jackson and all kind of people when they were young children." One by one as they became adults, the Steele family migrated to Minneapolis where they became fixtures on the Minneapolis music scene. They have performed with Prince and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to name a few. While each has pursue their own performing career, they still come together as family to perform as The Steeles. Steele has traveled all over the world performing with big names like Luther Vandross and with Grammy winners Sounds of Blackness. "I also worked with Gary Hines, the director of Sounds of Blackness on a project for Disney called An American Legend: The John Henry Story with James Earl Jones as the commentator," Steele said. "That was extraordinary." But as much as he has achieved -- including becoming an ordained minister -- Steele would rather talk about his sibling's achievements. "This is an award winning group," Steele emphasized. "My sister Jevetta was nominated for an Oscar for the song 'Calling You' from the movie 'Baghdad Cafe';. She is the woman who sings 'Over the Rainbow' in the movie 'Corrina, Corrina.' She has sung the opera 'African Portraits.' She wrote the play 'Two Queens, One Castle.' She has received so many accolades; it's hard to list them all. My brother J.D. has been going to Kenya, Africa working with 265 orphan children. He's been going back and forth. They just did a tour recently in the U.S. Everyone has been really busy. Jerome has a radio show here in Minneapolis. Jearlyn was featured in the movie 'Prairie Home Companion.' I toured Japan with Sounds of Blackness. We're all doing things and winning awards. So we do know what we are doing." Steele promises people that they will have a memorable evening. "I think people can expect, first of all, to have a blast and a good time,"Steele emphasized. "You will probably laugh and cry and sing along. You'll have a good time. And the musicians are extraordinary. This particular concert will be an acoustic concert that uses an upright bass, acoustic guitar, the grand piano, a lot of percussion instruments and drums. I think people will enjoy it and will be able to relax. It will be funky. Come ready to have a blast. The audience will sing along. Trust me. My brothers and sisters will not go without talking to the audience. There will be some classic songs in there. To hear my family sing a song like 'O Holy Night' or 'Silent Night' around the piano a cappella is beautiful." Steele performed at Mt. Zion Baptist Church last summer at a gospel music workshop. His performance was riveting, intense and sincere. If that performance was any indication of what his siblings can do, The Steeles will sing their way into the heart of Madisonians and give them a lot of Christmas warmth and cheer when they perform at the Overture Center. The Steeles will perform in Overture Hall on Friday, December 21, 8 p.m. Tickets range from $10-$29. For ticket information, call 258-4141 or visit www.overturecenter.com. |
| The Steeles at Overture Center for the Arts A family Christmas tradition By Jonathan Gramling |
 |
| Listening to Billy Steele talk about his family's singing group, The Steeles, and their upcoming performance at the Overture Center on December 21, made me think back to my own childhood when the family would huddle around the television and watch Christmas specials featuring the likes of Nat King Cole and Andy Williams and their families. As they hung around the living room set, they would sing Christmas carols and the warmth would seem to |