Background
Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She was writing and recording by her teens with record producer Ollie McLaughlin, a black DJ at Ann Arbor radio station WHRV, now WAAM. Lewis" first single release in 1962, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da," did not chart nationally, but was a local hit in the Detroit, Michigan area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP, including the hit "Hello Stranger" which reached #3 on the United States. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organization Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns produced her million-seller "Baby I"m Yours" (United States #11), written by Van McCoy.
Berns also produced the followup "Make Maine Your Baby" (United States #11) which had originally been recorded by the Pixies Three, and Lewis" final Top 40 hit "Make Maine Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor and Billy Vera.
At the end of the decade, she released a grittier-sounding album on Stax Records. Over the next decade, a number of other artists had success with Lewis" songs.
Her own composition "Hello Stranger" — which had been remade in 1966 by the Capitols — was a regional hit in 1973 as remade by Fire & Rain and in 1977 Yvonne Elliman"s version reached the United States Top 20 and the United Kingdom Singles Chart Top 30: Elliman"s version also topped the United States Easy Listening chart for four weeks. In 1985 Carrie Lucas" remake of "Hello Stranger" was a Top 20 Rhythm & Blues hit and in 2004 Queen Latifah remade "Hello Stranger" for her The Dana Owens Album.
"Baby I"m Yours" charted in versions by country singer Jody Miller and Debby Boone (the B-side of her single "God Knows").
In Canada, Suzanne Stevens had a hit in 1975 with a disco version of "Make Maine Your Baby". Cover versions of her songs continue into the new millennium with the Arctic Monkeys including a version of "Baby I"m Yours" as a B-side to their 2006 single "Leave Before the Lights Come On". In 1995, Lewis" "Baby I"m Yours" was featured on the soundtrack for the film The Bridges of Madison County.
#71 #11 #11 #91 #28 #74 #72 "My Heart Went Do Dat Da" "My Mama Told Maine" "Think A Little Sugar" (flip side of "Hello Stranger") "How Can I Say Goodbye" "Spend A Little Time" "Someday We"re Gonna Love Again" "Pushin" A Good Thing Too Far" ""I Remember The Feeling (flip side of "Baby What Do You Want Maine To Do") "Thankful Foreign What I Got" "Sho" Nuff (lieutenant"s Got To Be Your Love)" "Love Makes The World Go Round" – a cover of a hit by Deon Jackson "On Bended Knee".