Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "

It's Gonna Take a Miracle "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Lou Stallman. It was first an R&B hit in 1965 for The Royalettes, which reached the Top 30 on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' H ...

" and two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 No.1 singles "

Let's Hear It for the Boy "Let's Hear It for the Boy" is a song by Deniece Williams that appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film '' Footloose''. The song was released as a single from both the soundtrack and her album of the song's same name on February 14, 1984 ...

" and " Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (with

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

). Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether.

Early life

June Deniece Chandler was born and raised in Gary,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, United States. She attended

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, in the hopes of becoming a registered nurse and an anesthetist, but she dropped out after a year and a half. She recalled, "You have to be a good student to be in college, and I wasn't."

Career

Early years (late 1960s-1980)

Williams started performing while a college student, "a part-time job singing at a club, Casino Royal, and I liked it. It was a lot of fun." During those years, she also worked at a telephone company and as a ward clerk at the Chicago Mercy Hospital. She recorded for The Toddlin' Town group of labels as Deniece Chandler. One of those early records, "I'm Walking Away", was released on Toddlin's subsidiary Lock Records in the late 1960s, is a favorite on England's Northern Soul scene. A brief spell in 1969 with Patti Hamilton's

the Lovelites The Lovelites were an American vocal group, based in Chicago, originally composed of the sisters Patti Hamilton and Rozena Petty plus their friend, Barbara Peterman. In 1967, the trio recorded for the local Chicago record label, Bandera Record ...

resulted in her lead on "I'm Not Like the Others", a track that was eventually released in 1999. She became a

backup vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

for

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

as part of "Wonderlove", lending her vocals on his albums '' Talking Book'', ''

Fulfillingness' First Finale ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's " ...

'', and '' Songs in the Key of Life''. Williams also appeared on Syreeta Wright's 1974 album '' Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta'', Minnie Riperton's 1974 album '' Perfect Angel'' and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

's 1975 album '' Feel Like Makin' Love''. She left Wonder in 1975 to sign a deal with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

and Kalimba Productions. Kalimba was a production company started by

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

and Charles Stepney. Williams went on to work on her first studio album with both White and Stepney as its producers. Released in 1976 ''

This Is Niecy ''This Is Niecy'' is the debut album of American R&B singer Deniece Williams released on August 13, 1976 by Columbia Records. The album reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album ha ...

'' rose to Nos. 3 and 33 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

and ''Billboard'' 200 charts. ''This Is Niecy'' has also been certified Gold in the United States by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

and silver in the UK by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

. An album cut, " Free", got to nos. 1, 2 & 25 on the UK Singles, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' Hot R&B Songs and Hot 100charts respectively. Another single being "That's What Friends Are For" rose to No. 8 on the UK Singles chart. A few months before the release of ''This Is Niecy'', Charles Stepney died. White went on to solely produce Williams' second album, ''

Song Bird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

'', released in 1977. The album rose to No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart. '' The Daily Express'' noted that Songbird is "filled with gorgeous songs that showcase her four-octave range to full effect". John Rockwell of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' also called the album "most appealing" and "refreshingly varied". A song from the album called " Baby, Baby My Love's All for You", reached No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Songs chart and No. 32 UK Singles chart. Williams guested on Roberta Flack's 1977 album, '' Blue Lights in the Basement'', and sang along with Maurice White on

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocalis ...

's 1978 album, '' Mr. Gone''. Williams went on to issue a duet album with

dubbed

That's What Friends Are For "That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by Dionn ...

in 1978 on Columbia for Kalimba Productions. The LP rose to No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart and No. 19 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. That album has also been certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the US by the

. A song from the album called " Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Hot Soul Songs and

Adult Contemporary Songs The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

charts. William's fourth studio recording, '' When Love Comes Calling'' was issued in 1979 by ARC Records (ARC), Maurice White's vanity label on Columbia. The album rose to No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart. A single from the album, " I've Got the Next Dance", rose to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Dance/Club Play chart. Williams issued her follow-up album, '' My Melody'', in 1981 on Columbia/ARC. The album rose to No. 13 on the ''

'' Top Soul Albums chart. My Melody has been certified

in the US by the

. The single, " Silly", reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Songs chart. Williams issued her follow-up album, '' Niecy'', in 1982 on Columbia/ARC. ''Niecy'' rose to No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums charts. ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' described the album as "upbeat, soulful and polished". Its Gonna Take a Miracle by Deniece Williams US vinyl

A cover of the Royalettes' "

" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Songs chart and No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Williams and Mathis collaborated once again to record "Without Us" the theme song of the sitcom ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'' which debuted in September 1982. In the Netherlands the album track "It's Your Conscience" had been released as a single. It climbed to No. 15 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veroni ...

charts. During 1983 she released her seventh studio album, '' I'm So Proud'', which got to No. 10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. I'm So Proud was also nominated for a Grammy in the

Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

category. During 1984 Williams released her follow up album ''

''. The title track reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was featured on the soundtrack to '' Footloose''. She later guested on

' 1984 album

A Special Part of Me ''A Special Part of Me'' is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on January 22, 1984, by Columbia Records and reunited him with his "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" partner Deniece Williams on one of the LP's two duet ...

, Stevie Wonder's 1985 LP, ''

In Square Circle ''In Square Circle'' is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in 1985. The album features the hit singles "Part-Time Lover" (No. 1), " Go Home" (No. 10), " Overjoyed" (No. 24), and "Land of La La" (No. 8 ...

'' and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

's 1985 album ''

That's Why I'm Here ''That's Why I'm Here'' is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor released in 1985, four years after his previous effort, ''Dad Loves His Work''. The album contains a version of Buddy Holly's "Everyday", as well as the parti ...

''.

Gospel period (1980-1987)

Although Williams had recorded one inspirational song on almost each of her mainstream albums, it was in 1980 that her musical career path began to change favoring Gospel music. Williams joined with friends

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...

of Earth, Wind & Fire fame, Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo to present a gospel show at The Roxy, a popular Los Angeles club: "Jesus at the Roxy". Williams later reported that "God did something miraculous. Over three hundred people were saved." In 1985, at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, Williams sang an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of her 1977 composition "God Is Amazing", a Gospel song, rather than her No. 1 song "Let's Hear It for the Boy", much to her record company's disdain. During 1986, her first gospel studio album, ''

So Glad I Know ''So Glad I Know'' is the first gospel album by American R&B singer Deniece Williams, released in 1986 on Sparrow Records. This is Williams' first full-length gospel album. On Williams' previous albums, she would include a gospel song, such as ...

'', was released on Sparrow Records, and got to No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Top Christian Albums chart and was nominated for Best Gospel Performance, Female Grammy. "They Say", a duet with Sandi Patti, Williams won the

Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ma ...

and for "I Surrender All", she won the Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female.

R&B and Jazz (1987-2000)

During 1987 she released her tenth studio album, ''Water Under the Bridge'', which rose to No. 39 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. "Never Say Never" reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Songs chart and No. 23 on the Billboard

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. A year later she released her follow-up studio album, ''As Good As It Gets'', which rose to No. 48 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. "I Can't Wait" charted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. Another single, "This Is As Good As It Gets", rose to No. 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Songs chart. During 1989, she issued her second Gospel album '' Special Love''. That album reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top Christian Albums chart. Williams went on to appear on Nancy Wilson's 1990 LP A Lady with a Song,

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

's 1992 album Snapshot,

's 1995 LP

Conversation Peace ''Conversation Peace'' is the 22nd album released by American musician Stevie Wonder, on the Motown label in 1995. The album was Wonder's first full-length non-soundtrack studio album since 1987's ''Characters''. This album yielded the hits "For ...

and

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from '' Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstei ...

's 1995 album Love & Other Obsessions. During 1999 she released another Gospel album, '' This Is My Song'', on Harmony Records. The album rose to No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Top Gospel Albums chart. As well This Is My Song won a

Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album was awarded from 1991 to 2011. From 1991 to 1993 it was awarded as Best Pop Gospel Album. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is reserved "For al ...

Recent (2000 - present)

In April 2007 she later released another studio album entitled ''Love, Niecy Style'', produced by Philly Soul veteran

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli is an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and arranger, Eli ...

, on Shanachie Records. Love, Niecy Style rose to No. 41 on the ''Billboard'' R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. On October 13, 2007, Williams performed in her hometown of Gary, Indiana at the re-opening of the historic Glen Theater. Williams was thereafter recognized by Indiana State Representative Vernon G. Smith as an Outstanding Hoosier. In October 2007 Williams went on to issue a single called, "Grateful: The Rededication", with Wanda Vaughn of The Emotions and Sherree Brown. The single got to No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' Adult R&B Songs chart. On April 29, 2008, Williams announced that she was preparing a proposal to establish a program called KOP—Kids of Promise—in her hometown of

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

. Williams said the program would include a center with classes and programs dedicated to education and the performing arts. On June 27, 2010, Williams performed "Silly" with Monica at the BET Awards. As well in June 2011, Williams featured on '' Unsung'', TV One's musical biography show. She later guested on

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...

's 2011 album Soulicious. In the fall of 2020 she released a new single called "When You Love Somebody". This was followed by a new EP titled ''Gemini'', released in the fall of 2021.

Filmography

Williams went on to appear in the 2003 holiday movie ''

Christmas Child ''Christmas Child'' is a 2004 American Christian film directed by William Ewing starring Steven Curtis Chapman. The film is based on " The Christmas Cross", a short story by Max Lucado repackaged in 2003 as ''The Christmas Child: A Story of Com ...

''. During December 2005 she appeared on the reality-dating show '' Elimidate'' as part of their "Celebrity Week".

Vocal profile

Deniece Williams has a four-octave range and distinctive soprano voice. Her vocal range was also pointed out by ''

'', "Miss Williams mounted a spectacular vocal display in which her penetrating, feline

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

soared effortlessly to E flat above high C, and she worked various vowel sounds into prolonged feats of vocal gymnastics." In pointing to Williams's similar vocal ability as her former musical icon and colleague ( Minnie Riperton), Mark Anthony Neal, in referencing Jill Scott's agility in displaying vocal acrobatics, states, "Scott draws on her upper register recalling the artistry of the late Minnie Riperton and "songbird" Deniece Williams." According to Monica Haynes of Post-Gazette.com, Williams "has the kind of range that would make

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

quiver".

Personal life

Williams has been married three times and has four sons. Williams was married to her middle school sweetheart Kendrick Williams from 1971 until 1975, before she relocated to California in the early 1970s. She has since continued to use her first husband's surname professionally.Together they had two sons, Kendrick Jr. (b. 1972) and Kevin (b. 1973). In May 1981, Williams married actor and minister Christipher Joy. Williams and Joy separated in August 1982, divorcing later that year. From 1986 until 1993, Williams was married to Brad Westering, with whom she had two sons: Forrest (b. 1988) and Logan.

Discography

Grammy Awards

The

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Williams has received four awards out of thirteen nominations.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Deniece 1951 births Living people 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American Christians African-American songwriters American dance musicians American disco singers American expatriates in the United Kingdom American gospel singers American rhythm and blues musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American sopranos American women record producers Musicians from Gary, Indiana Writers from Gary, Indiana Record producers from Indiana Singer-songwriters from Indiana Atlantic Records artists Columbia Records artists MCA Records artists Shanachie Records artists Sparrow Records artists Grammy Award winners