"Free" is a song by American singer

Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...

that was included on her album '' This Is Niecy''. The song was written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and

Susaye Greene Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1950) 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 year of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a suc ...

and produced by

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. ...

and

Charles Stepney Charles Stepney (March 26, 1931May 17, 1976) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. Stepney is noted for his work with artists such as The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Earth, Wind & Fire. Career He sta ...

. "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 advertis ...

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 po ...

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

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

. The single reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1977.

Covers

* Tammy Payne covered the song in her release on Warner Records in 1990 in the UK. * In 1998, M-Doc's version of the song for his album '' Young, Black, Rich and Famous'' and released as the lead single charted at number 61 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles. *

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), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

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

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is a British 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 a ...

provided lead vocals.

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