Carol Williams, born in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

, is a vocalist and songwriter who achieved success with her disco songs in the 1970s. She was the first female artist signed to the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

label

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases ...

. Carol Williams was once a member of the

post-disco Post-disco is a term and genre to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with the backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Dis ...

garage house Garage house (originally known as "garage"; local terms include "New York house" and New Jersey sound) is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s ...

studio project called

Komiko Komiko was a short-lived electronic music studio group signed to SAM Records, an independent label in New York City. According to Allmusic, Carol Williams was once a member of this group but the vocals are attributed to unnamed female personnel, ...

Career

Williams began her career working with producer Vincent Montana, Jr. and the

Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing Band (music), band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestr ...

. Her most notable recording, "

More More may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka Shade, ...

", was very popular at a time when disco was just breaking into the mainstream. The success of "More" led to the ''Lectric Lady'' album, released on Salsoul Records in 1976 and featured the singles "Come Back" and "Love Is You". The latter song was sampled in 1999 by Italian DJ

Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, I ...

in an instrumental track called " Groove Jet", on the ''Mighty Miami EP'', and in 2000 in the vocal version of the track, called "

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" is a song by the Italian electronic music DJ and record producer Spiller with lead vocals performed by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the Germ ...

" with vocals performed by

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

. The track featuring Ellis-Bextor reached number one in the UK and Australia, and sparked renewed demand for the original. Not long after the release of her album, Williams parted Salsoul Records. In 1978 she signed with Canadian label Roy B.

Quality Records Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

where she recorded a duet with singer producer Tony Valor "Love Has Come My Way". Her second album ''Reflections of Carol Williams'' was issued in 1979 and featured the singles "Tell the World" and "Dance the Night Away".

1980s to present

She turned down

Darryl Payne Darryl Raymond Payne (born in 1960) is an American post-disco record producer and songwriter who worked on club and urban hits of artists like Sharon Redd or Sinnamon. He produced music mostly centered to SAM and Prelude record labels in the 19 ...

's song "Over Like a Fat Rat" and passed it to

Fonda Rae Fonda Rae is an American R&B singer best known for her club hits like "Over Like a Fat Rat" and " Touch Me" (the latter of which was later covered by Cathy Dennis). She has also worked with artists such as Don Armando, Kid Creole and the Coconu ...

because she wasn't fond of the concept of a song that is "about a rat," defending her position, "Anything I am singing has to make sense to me and tell a story." Rae's version which turned into a minor club hit was appraised by Williams, " ndshe did a fantastic job. The way they arranged it—it was amazing." In 1982 she had a R&B hit "Can't Get Away (from Your Love)" on Vanguard label which did well on the ''Billboard'' dance chart peaking at number 38. "You've Reached the Bottom Line" was also a dance chart hit in 1983, and peaked at number 59. Carol Williams is still performing spending up to ten hours a day in her

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, recording studio. She actively does shows on

flashback concerts and travels with her live band. Her songs have appeared on various Salsoul and

Unidisc Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cappel ...

compilations. In 2016 she co-wrote, co-produced and sang "It’s Gonna Be Different" with her musician son De-Verne Williams Jr.

Discography

Albums

* ''Lectric Lady'' (1976,

) * ''Reflections of Carol Williams'' (1979,

)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carol Year of birth missing (living people) American disco musicians American women pop singers American dance musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Musicians from Montclair, New Jersey Salsoul Records artists Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters