# Michael Sterling (musician)

Michael Sterling (born October 26, 1960) is an American singer and composer from Miami, Florida. His 1990 single 'Lovers and Friends' was a quiet storm classic, having notably been sampled in Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz 'Lovers and Friends'. Sterling also worked with Miami artists having produced for MC Shy D, engineered for 2 Live Crew and Poison Clan, and was briefly a member of the Reggae group Inner Circle.

## History

His musical career started in his teens when he played bass guitar for popular Latino recording artist Ray Fernandez. Soon afterwards, Sterling and two childhood friends formed the group Silver Platinum, who quickly scored a hit on the R&B charts with their single Dance. He then went on to play lead guitar and sing as a member of the Grammy award winning reggae band Inner Circle, well known for their hit Bad Boys.
After touring with Inner Circle, Sterling returned to Miami and began his career as a solo artist. During this time, he started his own record label TSOM Records, where he engineered and produced for local artists 2 Live Crew, MC Shy D, Anquette, Poison Clan and others. He also served as musical director for BMG recording artist Blu Cantrell.
His first album, The Artist, didn't generate much attention. He first struck big time stardom with his second album, No Such Animal, in 1987 produced the songs, 'One More Chance', 'Is It Still Good To Ya' and the timely socially conscious theme song, 'Holiday'. The song, Cheating While She's Wearing My Ring, received a lot of airplay on the video channels (It is not on the album though). His voice is known for its trademark slight sweet and soft falsetto sound.

### Later years

During the 1990s and 2000s, Sterling maintained a low profile, while still releasing albums and producing. He still garners rave reviews and fans worldwide.
In 2005, Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz covered his song, Lovers and Friends from his 1990 album, Trouble. The song was released on the quadruple platinum album Crunk Juice and was the winner of two BMI Billboard awards including ‘Hip Hop Song of the Year'. In 2006, his song Bedroom Boom was covered by The Ying Yang Twins feat. Avant on the platinum Ying Yang CD U.S.A.
On November 17, 2009, volume 1 of his new two volume album, Eyes Around My Heart was released online.

## Personal life

Sterling has received the key to Metropolitan Miami Dade County.
Sterling is married to Irene Rena Sterling.

## Discography
### Albums

| Album | Year | Label |
| The Artist | 1986 | New/TSOM |
| No Such Animal | 1987 | Magnum/New |
| Trouble | 1990 | New/TSOM |
| Love for Your Heart | 1991 | New/TSOM |
| Trust | 1994 | New/TSOM |
| Right Now | 2002 | BMG |
| Eyes Around My Heart | 2009 | MSMG |
| Black Songs | 2011 | MSMG |
| Love Has No Disguise | 2015 | MSMG |
| Beast Mode | 2017 | MSMG |
| Made in Miami | 2019 | MSMG |

### Compilations

| Album | Year | Label |
| Special Limited Edition | 1991 | New/TSOM |
| The Songwriter | 1996 | Darkside |
| All Night and Always | 2018 | MSMG |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Album |
| 1983 | "Desperate" | The Artist |
| 1984 | "Oral" | The Artist |
| 1985 | "Nite Club 69" | The Artist |
| 1985 | "Anette Please" | The Artist |
| 1986 | "You" | The Artist |
| 1987 | "Cheating While She's Wearing My Ring" | Non-album single |
| 1987 | "No Such Animal" | No Such Animal |
| 1988 | "Holiday" | No Such Animal |
| 1988 | "Is It Still Good to Ya" | No Such Animal |
| 1990 | "One More Chance" | Trouble |
| 1990 | "What Do You Do?" | Trouble |
| 1991 | "All Night and Always" | Trouble |
| 1991 | "Lovers & Friends" | Trouble |
| 1991 | "Love for Your Heart" | Love for Your Heart |
| 1992 | "If You Still Love Me" | Love for Your Heart |
| 1992 | "Beautiful Smile" | Love for Your Heart |
| 1994 | "Trust" | Trust |
| 1994 | "Falling for You" | Trust |
| 1994 | "Back to Blue" | Trust |
| 2007 | "Ghost" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2007 | "Baby, Where's Your Heart" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2007 | "Girl It's on You" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2008 | "Holiday" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2008 | "Falling for You" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2009 | "I'm Taking You Back" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2009 | "Begging" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2010 | "A little Sugar" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2010 | "Perfect" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2010 | "Complicated" | Eyes Around My Heart |
| 2011 | "Love Theory" | Black Songs |
| 2011 | "Show You Love" | Black Songs |
| 2011 | "One More Chance 2011" (featuring PM) | Black Songs |
| 2012 | "Love Theory" | Black Songs |

## Discography with Inner Circle

| One Way Album | Year1987 |
| Something So Good | 1982 |

## Billboard (Writer/Composer)

| Artist | Year/Album | Song | Position |
| Anquette | 1988/Respect | I Will Always Be There For You | Peak #76 |
| Usher/Lil Jon/Ludacris | 2004/Crunk Juice | Lovers and Friends | Peak #3 |