Lenny Williams
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Leonard Charles Williams (born February 16, 1945)"Biography by Alex Henderson"
AllMusic. is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the soul/funk group
Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted ...
in the early 1970s. As a solo artist, Williams made several hit
recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
, including 1978's "Cause I Love You" and 1977's "Choosing You".


Early life and career

Williams was born in
Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
, and moved to
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, California, at an early age. Learning to play the trumpet in elementary school fueled his interest in music; his skills as a vocalist were first nurtured by singing in gospel choirs and groups around the
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
. He worked with several notable artists, such as
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...
,
Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music profess ...
,
Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...
and members of the Hawkins family,
Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...
,
Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
and Tramaine.


Professional recordings

After winning several local
talent contest A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are per ...
s, Williams signed his first
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
with
Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...
. He cut two
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
for the label, including "Lisa's Gone" and "Feelin Blue", written by
John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...
of
Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...
. In 1972, Williams joined the emerging
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
band Tower of Power. A string of hits followed, including "
So Very Hard to Go "So Very Hard to Go" is a torch song performed by American rhythm and blues band Tower of Power, issued as the second single from their eponymous third album. It was produced by the band and written by band members Emilio Castillo and Stephen K ...
", "What Is Hip", "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle of the Stream)" and "Willing To Learn". During his two years with the group, Williams participated in three albums: ''Back To Oakland'', ''Urban Renewal'' and the
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
LP ''Tower of Power''. Williams and Tower of Power toured throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.


Solo works

While still with Tower of Power, he recorded his first solo album ''Pray for the Lion'' for
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
in 1974. At the end of 1975, Williams left the band and returned to his solo projects. Initially signing with
Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
in 1975, he later moved to
ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...
in 1977 (which was then purchased by
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
in 1979). With producer Frank Wilson at the helm and songwriters such as Judy Wieder, Clay Drayton, Terry McFadden, and John Footman, over the next four years, he scored ten
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
hits, including "Shoo Doo FuFu Ooh", "Choosing You", "You Got Me Running", "Love Hurt Me Love Healed Me", "Here's to the Lady," and "Midnight Girl". Williams recorded four more albums from 1977 to 1980: ''Choosing You'', his first gold LP; ''Spark of Love'' (contains the hits "You Got Me Running", and "Cause I Love You" as well as "Midnight Girl"); ''Love Current''; "Taking Chances" and ''Let's Do It Today''. After leaving MCA, Williams recorded for the
independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
s, Rockshire and Knobhill. In 1986, he was invited to sing vocals on " Don't Make Me Wait For Love", a track from ''
Duotones ''Duotones'' is the fourth studio album by American saxophonist Kenny G, released on September 29, 1986 by Arista Records. It features one of Kenny G's best-known songs, "Songbird", which reached number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...
'', a multi-platinum recording by
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
. The song became a
Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B hit the following year. His 1978 hit song "Cause I Love You" was
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
by Havoc of
Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...
for the track "Nothing Like Home", and by
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
for the songs "
Overnight Celebrity "Overnight Celebrity" is the second single from Twista's 2004 album ''Kamikaze''. The song was produced and features uncredited vocals by Kanye West and violin by Miri Ben-Ari. It contains a sample of the 1978 song "Cause I Love You" By Lenny Wi ...
" by
Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (also known as Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest ...
and " I Got A Love" by Jin. The track was sampled a fourth time in 2007 by Scarface for his single "Girl You Know" featuring
Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...
&
Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
"Let's Talk It Over" for his single "I Do" featuring
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
and Andre 3000. His song "Half Past Love" was also sampled by
The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned politica ...
for their 2006 single "My Favorite Mutiny" featuring
Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...
of
The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
and
Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...
of
Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief *Black dwarf ...
. Since that time, Williams has continued his solo career, touring the US, Europe and South Africa, and has also expanded his career to include acting, starring in several stage plays, including ''Love on Lay Away'' starring
Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...
,
Mel Jackson Mel Jackson (born October 13, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in ''Living Single'' (1997–98), ''Soul Food'' (1997), ''The Temptations'' (1998), ''Deliver Us from Eva'' (2003), and ''Abduction of Jesse Bookman'' (2008). C ...
and
Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the The Weather Girls, Two Tons O' Fun, along with Izora Armstead, as they sang b ...
; ''What Men Don't Tell'' starring
Kenny Lattimore Kenny Lattimore (born April 10, 1970) is an American R&B singer known for his smooth, soulful voice and romantic ballads. He rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with the release of his self-titled album, '' Kenny Lattimore.'' Early life and ...
, Chante Moore, and Dottie Peoples; and ''When A Woman's Fed Up''. He is also one of the featured artists on Urbanland Music's DVD ''The Big Show'', recorded at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 29, 2002.


Personal life

Lenny Williams is married to Debbie Williams.


Discography


With

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted ...

*1973: ''
Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted ...
'' (Warner Bros. Records) *1974: '' Back to Oakland'' (Warner Bros. Records) *1975: ''
Urban Renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
'' (Warner Bros. Records)


Studio albums

*1974: ''Pray for the Lion'' (Warner Bros. Records) *1975: ''Rise Sleeping Beauty'' (Motown Records) *1977: ''Choosing You'' (ABC Records) *1978: ''Spark of Love'' (ABC Records) *1979: ''Love Current'' (MCA Records) *1980: ''Let's Do It Today'' (MCA Records) *1981: ''Taking Chances'' (MCA Records) *1984: ''Changing'' (Rocshire Records) *1986: ''New Episode'' (Knobhill Records) *1989: ''Layin' In Wait'' (K-Tel Records) *1994: ''Chill'' (Marathon Records & Bellmark Records, 2020 Reissue by SoulMusic Records) *1996: ''Here's to the Lady'' (Universal Special Products) *2000: ''Love Therapy'' (Volt Records) *2004: ''My Way'' (Thump Records) *2007: ''It Must Be Love'' (LenTom Records) *2009: ''Unfinished Business'' (Lentom Records) *2012: ''Still in the Game'' (Music Access Inc) *2020: ''Fine'' (Bridle Ridge Records)


Compilation albums

*1993: ''Ooh Child'' (MCA Special Products) *2001: ''Ultimate Collection'' (Universal) *2002: ''Ten Ways of Lovin' You'' (Volt Records) *2008: ''You Won My Heart'' (Crush Records)


References


External links


Official site
*
Lenny Williams 2012 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.comLenny Williams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lenny 1945 births Living people Musicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Musicians from Oakland, California 20th-century African-American male singers American soul singers Tower of Power members Singers from Arkansas 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers