Lenny Williams
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
Lenny Williams
|
|
Although Lenny Williams has had a long solo career, he is still best-known for his three years as the lead singer of Tower of Power, one of the top funk/soul bands of the '70s. But Williams was pursuing a solo career before joining Tower of Power, and he resumed his solo career after leaving that famous Oakland outfit in 1975. Born in Little Rock, AR, on February 6, 1945, Williams was only a child when he started singing in church (the place where so many great R & B singers got their start). Williams, who moved to Oakland, CA, when he was 14, planned to become a Christian minister but ended up changing his mind and decided to pursue a career as a secular R & B singer. In 1969, Williams signed with Fantasy and recorded his first single, "Lisa's Gone," a soul ballad that was far from a big hit, but did receive some airplay in the Bay Area. After providing a second single for Fantasy, Williams was signed to Atlantic by Jerry Wexler and recorded a version of the Thom Bell/Linda Creed gem "People Make the World Go Round." Williams' version might have been a hit -- had it not been for the Stylistics, that is. Unfortunately for Williams, the Stylistics' famous version of "People Make the World Go Round" came out as a single and soared to the top of the charts before Atlantic had a chance to release Williams' version. (Michael Jackson also recorded the tune in the early '70s, although not with the same set of lyrics that the Stylistics embraced). But that setback was hardly the end of Williams' career; in 1972, he was hired as the new lead singer of Tower of Power. Because the band's previous lead singer, Rick Stevens (best-known for his soaring performance on the hit ballad "You're Still a Young Man") had recently been convicted of murder, a replacement was needed, and Williams was definitely the man for the job.
Williams' three years with Tower of Power established him as a big name in soul and funk and he became famous for his lead vocals on major hits like "What Is Hip?," "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)," "This Time It's Real," and the ballad "So Very Hard to Go." But while Tower of Power was a big break for Williams, he only stuck around for three years; in 1975, the Bay Area resident left the band and became a full-time solo artist. His first few solo albums (recorded for Motown) didn't do much, but his solo career took off in a big way when he recorded Choosing You for ABC. That 1977 release (which contains the major hit "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!") almost went gold in the U.S. (meaning that it sold close to 500,000 units). Williams next solo effort, Spark of Love (also on ABC), became his first gold solo album and boasted the hit ballad "Cause I Love You." After providing a few albums for MCA, Williams recorded for the independent Rocshire label in 1983 and 1984; when that company folded, he was deprived of a 50,000 dollar advance he said he was owed. Disgusted with music industry, Williams considered giving up singing and devoted a lot of his time to real estate investments. But in 1986, Williams ended up signing with Knobhill, a short-lived indie that was distributed by Fantasy. Williams' 1986 LP, New Episode, wasn't a blockbuster, although the single "Ten Ways of Loving You" became a minor hit and reached number 67 on Billboard's R & B singles chart. But while Williams wasn't as big in the '80s and '90s as he was in the '70s, he still had a loyal following. In 1994, he recorded Chill for Bellmark; Williams' next album, Love Therapy, came out on Volt/Fantasy in 2000.
-- by Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
|
|
|
01. Compared To What 02. Open Book 03. Sometimes Love 04. There's Always Mystery 05. We're Gonna See It Through |
06. River 07. Problem Solver 08. All That's Love 09. Money 10. Keep On Keeping On |
|
01. Since I Met You 02. I'm A Pioneer 03. Cause I Love You 04. To Be A Star 05. Shame |
06. Loving Station 07. Motion 08. Sons Of Thieves, Slaves And Braves 09. Rise Sleeping Beauty |
|
01. Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh! 02. Look Up With Your Mind 03. Choosing You 04. Riding The High Wire |
05. Please Don't Tempt Me 06. I've Been Away From Love Too Long 07. Trust In Me 08. Problem, Solver |
|
01. Cause I Love You 02. Changes 03. Half Past Love 04. I Still Reach Out 05. Love Came And Rescued Me |
06. Midnight Girl 07. Think What We Have 08. You Got Me Running 09. Freefall Into Love 10. Shoo Do Fu Fu Ooh! |
|
01. It's Time 02. Gotta Lotto Luv 03. Here's A Ticket 04. Get Loose |
05. You Won My Heart 06. Who Do You Want 07. She's The One 08. Givin' Up On Love |
|
01. Ooh Child 02. Look Up With Your Mind 03. Messing With My Mind 04. Problem Solver 05. Love Hurt Me, Love Healed Me |
06. Doing The Loop De Loop 07. Freefall Into Love 08. Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh! 09. Choosing You 10. Trust In Me |
|
01. Chill 02. Baby, You Caught My Eye 03. Sara Smile 04. Driftin' 05. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now 06. It Could Have Been You |
07. Has Anybody Seen My Heart 08. Baby, Take It Off 09. No One's Ever Loved Me More 10. Sentimental 11. I Do 12. There's No Hiding Place |
|
01. Suspicions 02. Looks Like You Made It 03. Play With Me, Stay With Me 04. If You Don't Want My Love 05. Let's Do It Today |
06. Don't Stop Me Now 07. Here's To The Lady 08. Love Hurt Me, Love Healed Me 09. Sweet Ecstasy 10. Let's Talk It Over |
|
01. Your Sister 02. Love Therapy 03. Oh, Oh, Oh 04. next Door Neighbor 05. Once A Player (always a player) 06. Starlight |
07. Jody 08. Anytime 09. The Truth Hurts, Doesn't It? 10. I Was Made To Love Her 11. Cause I Still Love You |
|
01. Ten Ways Of Loving You 02. When I Needed You 03. Love Will Come In Its Own Sweet Time 04. No More Lonely Nights 05. Episode |
06. Waiting For Your Love 07. Woman 08. Our Love 09. I Will Follow You 10. Wait For Me |
|
01. Can't Nobody Do Me Like You 02. Love Land 03. Torn Between Two Lovers 04. My Way 05. So Very Hard To Go |
06. I Can't Say I Love (without you) 07. I Don't Want To Lose My Sweet Thing 08. Ride The Rhythm 09. One Word 10. Players Cry |
|
01. Changing 02. Pressure 03. Always 04. Said You Wouldn't Leave Again |
05. You Know What I Like 06. Where Do We Go From Here 07. Love Soldier 08. Problem Solver |
|
01. Tuesday 02. It Must Be Love 03. I Be Missing You 04. Somebody Else 05. I Will Never Leave You 06. Amen |
07. Can't Nobody Do Me Like You Do 08. Torn Between Two Lovers 09. Love Land 10. I Can't Say I Love (without you) 11. You're My Everything 12. I'm In Love Again |
|
01. Compared To What 02. Open Book 03. Sometimes Love 04. There's Always Mystery 05. We're Gonna See It Through |
06. River 07. Problem Solver 08. All That's Love 09. Money 10. Keep On Keeping On |
|
01. Interlude 02. Sunday Afternoon 03. Amnesia 04. Six In The Morning 05. Sorry I Didn't Know It Was Yo Momma 06. I Love It |
07. That's The Way It Is 08. I Can't Stop Loving You 09. Tonight 10. Somebody 11. Cheatin' On The Cheatin' 12. Cause I Love You |
|
1. Still 2. This Is For The One That Got Away 3. Where Did Our Love Go 4. Happy Man 5. Stepping And Dancing 6. Sunshine |
7. In My Mind 8. Grown Man 9. On This Day 10. Make Love 11. Good Girl 12. I'm Sorry I Didn't Know It Was Yo Momma |
