"Free" is a song by American singer Deniece Williams that was included on her album ''

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 ...

''. The song was written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and

Susaye Greene Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a su ...

and produced 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. "Free" was Williams' breakthrough single reaching 2 on the US ''

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 Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart and No. 25 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The single also rose to No. 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for two weeks in May 1977.

Covers and samples

* Williams's own niece Shatasha Williams (vocalist on Bone Thugs N Harmony's "

Thuggish Ruggish Bone "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" is the debut single by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, from their debut EP '' Creepin on ah Come Up''. It features local Cleveland singer Shatasha Williams. The song reached #20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

") covered the song. * Zhané performed the song as guest stars on the ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'' episode "Mama Said Knock You Out". * Polish jazz musician Michał Urbaniak covered the song in ''Ecstasy'' (1978). *

Billy MacKenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...

covered the song in 1991, on B.E.F.'s ''Music of Quality and Distinction Volume Two''. * Chanté Moore recorded "Free" for her 1994 album ''

A Love Supreme ''A Love Supreme'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy ...

'', with a sampling of " Sail On" from the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

. * Mic Geronimo sampled "Free" for his song " Shit's Real" in 1994. * Debelah Morgan recorded an upbeat version of this song for her debut album '' Debelah'' in 1994. * Twinz sampled the song in 1996, for their song Eastside LB * In 1998, M-Doc's version of the song recorded for his album '' Young, Black, Rich and Famous'' and released as the lead single charted at number sixty-one on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles. * Towa Tei produced a track called "Free" heavily based on the song in 2002. * Juanita Dailey covered the song from her first and only album of the same title, released in 1998. * In 2002,

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

performed the song on their concert DVD, ''Live in the USA''. *

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 ...

sampled "Free" on '' Fly Like A Bird'', from her 2005 album, '' The Emancipation Of Mimi''. *

Bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

recorded "Free" for his 2007 album of the same name.

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

provided lead vocals. *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

recorded this song for his 2008 album ''

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 ...

''. *

Bebi Dol Dragana Todorović ( , / ; born 2 October 1962), better known under the stage name Bebi Dol (), is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Born in Belgrade, she made her debut in 1981 with the single "Mustafa". Bebi Dol rose to further prominence by ...

recorded this song for her

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

''Čovek rado izvan sebe živi''. * DJ Nate used loops from the song for his Juke-track "Free" on the 2010 album ''Da Trak Genious''. * Will Downing covered "Free" on his self-titled debut album in 1988. * In 2012,

Skye Townsend Skylar Christan "Skye" Townsend (born September 1, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She has released two EPs, ''Vomit'' (2012) and ''Rocking Chairs'' (2015). Townsend joined the main cast of ''A Black Lady Sketch Show'' in 2021. Music car ...

, an independent R&B-soul and Pop artist covered and performed the song as a spoken-word poemfeaturing Wyann Vaughn. The song was featured on her debut EP album, ''Vomit''. * UK singer Max Marshall covered the song in 2014, titled "Be Free". *

The Pale Fountains The Pale Fountains were an English band formed in Liverpool in 1980, and composed of Mick Head (vocalist/guitarist), Chris McCaffery (bassist), Thomas Whelan (drummer), trumpet player Andy Diagram ( horns) and Ken Moss (Guitar/Bass). Diagram w ...

covered the song in 1983 and it appears on their album "Longshot For Your Love" * English Soul-tronica band Queen's Troubadour did a remake of Williams' song titled "Free '14" *

Walter Beasley Walter Beasley is an American saxophonist, a professor of music at the Berklee College of Music, and founder of Affable Publishing and Affable Records. Biography Beasley grew up in El Centro, California. By the age of 13 he was singing in Spani ...

covered the song on his 2007 album "Ready for Love". * Akiko Matsuda from Japanese band

Ramjet Pulley Ramjet Pulley (Japanese language, Japanese: ラムジェットプーリー) was a Japanese J-pop band active from 2000 to 2003 under the Giza Studio label. Personnel *Akiko Matsuda (松田明子) - vocalist *Satomi Makoshi (麻越さとみ) - ba ...

covered the song on cover album "Giza studio R&B Respect Vol.1: Six sisters selection". * Gospel entertainer

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...

used a sample of "Free" in his song "Why?" featuring

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 ...

from his album ''Hero''. * Althea Rene covered the song for her 2013 album ''In the Flow''. * Rapsody sampled this song on "Afeni" for her album ''Eve'' in 2019. * Nakatomi (group), a happy hardcore dance act, covered the song in 1995 which peaked at number 17 in the Dutch charts of that same year.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1976 singles 1976 songs Chanté Moore songs Columbia Records singles Deniece Williams songs Song recordings produced by Maurice White Songs written by Deniece Williams Songs written by Nathan Watts Songs written by Susaye Greene UK Singles Chart number-one singles