Joseph Stanley Williams (born September 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and

film score composer A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Toto from 1986 to 1988 and again since 2010. Williams is a son of actress

Barbara Ruick Barbara Ruick (December 23, 1932 – March 3, 1974) was an American actress and singer. Early years Ruick was the daughter of actors Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick, and grew up acting out scenes with dolls, employing her mother as an ...

and prolific film composer

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. Outside of Toto, he has worked as a composer and studio vocalist, including providing the singing voice of adult

Simba Simba is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...

in the 1994 animated film ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''.

Career

Toto

Williams was the lead vocalist for Toto during the mid- to late 1980s and was featured on the albums ''

Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a scale of temperature, temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accou ...

'' (1986) and ''

The Seventh One ''The Seventh One'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Toto. It was released on February 8, 1988, and became the best-received Toto album since ''Toto IV''. The title track, "The Seventh One", is featured only on the Japanese ...

'' (1988) before leaving due to personal problems. He can also be heard on the album ''

Toto XX ''Toto XX: 1977–1997'' is a compilation album by Toto to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The album features rare original demos, outtakes, previously unreleased recordings and live tracks from the band's 20-year career. Despite its being lab ...

'' (1998), a compilation of rare and unreleased tracks. He is featured on Toto's 2006 album, '' Falling in Between'', sharing lead vocals with

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

on "

Bottom of Your Soul "Bottom of Your Soul" is a song by the American pop/rock band Toto. There were two pressings of the single: one with two renditions of the title track while the other was a 4-track summer 2006 edition. It failed to make the charts in either th ...

". In addition to his guest spot on ''Falling in Between'', Williams was a guest singer at several Toto concerts. Williams rejoined Toto upon its reformation in 2010 and performed on the band's recent live albums and the 2015 studio album ''

Toto XIV ''Toto XIV'' is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Toto (though the band's fourteenth album overall, when one counts '' Toto XX''). Toto released the album on March 20, 2015. It is the band's first studio album since '' Fallin ...

''. When the group disbanded in 2019 and subsequently reformed in 2020, Williams was the only member from the previous lineup besides Lukather and touring members

Warren Ham Warren Ham (born October 26, 1952) is an American saxophonist, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for playing with Kansas (1982), Toto (1986–1988, and since 2017) and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band (since 2014). Career Duri ...

and Dominique "Xavier" Taplin to return.

Solo work as a singer

Williams released his first, self-titled solo album in 1982. After his initial tenure with Toto, he has released several more. Many of Toto's members have contributed to his solo work over the years. In 2003, he released an album called ''Vertigo'', a project he initiated, but where he was not in full charge of the production, only recording and supplying the vocals. The second Vertigo album, ''Vertigo 2'', was released in 2006. Williams released an album of cover songs from artists such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three consecutive ''Billboard'' Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year from 19 ...

, and

Kevin Cronin Kevin Patrick Cronin Jr. (born October 6, 1951) is an American musician who was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band REO Speedwagon. The band had several hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 throughout the 1970s and 1980s, in ...

in 2006 called ''Two of Us'', featuring piano and voice only. He returned with two more voice and piano albums in 2007, ''Smiles'' and ''Tears'', also consisting of classic hits by popular artists. His latest solo album containing original songs, ''This Fall'', was released in November 2008.

Work as a film composer

Joseph Williams has also been busy as a composer of film and drama scores, most notably for episodes of the science fiction series '' Roswell'', and ''

The Lyon's Den ''The Lyon's Den'' is a 2003 American legal drama television series. Set in Washington, D.C., it stars Rob Lowe as a lawyer named Jack Turner, who has been newly appointed as partner of a long-established law firm that, as the plot revealed, harb ...

'' starring

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...

. He was the writer of the original English lyrics for the songs "

Lapti Nek The Max Rebo Band is a fictional alien pop music band in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'' as a three-piece group performing the song "Lapti Nek" for crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The original lin ...

" and "

Ewok Celebration ''Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' is the film score to the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Most of the score was re ...

" from the original 1983 release of ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

'', which was scored and conducted by his father,

. Both songs were replaced with new compositions in the 1997 Special Edition. He collaborated again with his father on the releases of 1999's

The Phantom Menace ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and the 2002's

Attack of the Clones Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Attack (fencing) * Charge (warfare) * Offensive (military) * Strike (attack) Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic and animation * Attack! Books, a publis ...

. In the former he helped compose Augie's Great Municipal Band which appears during the ending of the film and in the latter 2M4, an untitled composition that appears during the Dex's Diner sequence. In 2003, he was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music" for the TV series ''

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

''. The music to the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Category 7: The End of the World'' and the TV film ''

Momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

'' were composed by him.

Session work

Williams has been in demand as a session vocalist and can be heard on numerous projects by other artists, as well as on

movie soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

s. In 1985 he sang the vocals for the theme song of the animated TV series

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears ''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' is an American animated children's television series created by Jymn Magon and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series, loosely inspired by gummy bear candies, takes place in a fantasy world ...

. He provided backing vocals on

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera Jr. ( ; born September 13, 1944) is a retired American musician best known for being a frontman, vocalist, and bassist for the American rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985. His career as a recording artist ...

's album ''

World Falling Down ''World Falling Down'' is the fourth solo album by American singer-songwriter Peter Cetera, released in July 1992, and his third album since leaving the group Chicago. Background Released four years after his previous album, ''One More Story'', ...

'' and co-wrote the song "Man in Me", lead vocals for three tracks – "Walk the Wire", "History" and "When You Look in My Eyes" – to

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) ...

's ''Airplay for the Planet'' album, subsequently touring with the band and backing vocals on

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

's ''

In the City of Angels ''In the City of Angels'' is the fifth solo album by Yes lead singer Jon Anderson, released in 1988. Unlike most of Anderson's previous solo works, this album contains many additional songwriters. Consequently, it is the most commercial sound ...

'' in 1988, most prominently on the song "Top of the World (The Glass Bead Game)". In

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's animated feature film ''

'', he can be heard as the singing voice of the Adult Simba, singing on the songs "

Hakuna Matata "Hakuna matata" () is a Swahili language phrase. In English, it means "no trouble" or "no worries" and "take it easy" (literally ''hakuna'': "there is no/there are no"; ''matata'': "worries"). The 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios animated film ...

" and "

Can You Feel the Love Tonight "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Released as a single in May 1994, the song was a hit in the UK, peaking at nu ...

". He reprised this singing role in the direct-to-video animated film '' Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse''. In 1997 and 1998 respectively, he shared vocal duties on two albums by the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

covers group The West Coast All Stars, the other vocalists being

Bobby Kimball Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American retired singer best known as longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. He has also performed as a solo artist and session singer. History ...

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago (band), Chicago from 1 ...

and

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, whereas Tommy Funderburk replaced Champlin on the ''Naturally'' album. He sings background vocals on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's "King of Might Have Been" on the 2006 album ''

Chicago XXX ''Chicago XXX'' is the twentieth studio album, and thirtieth album overall, by the American band Chicago, released on March 21, 2006. It was Chicago's first album of entirely new material since 1991's '' Twenty 1''. Background The album wa ...

'' as well as on " Let's Take a Lifetime" on the 1993-recorded/2008-released album '' Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus''. The song "What You're Missing" from the Chicago album ''

Chicago 16 ''Chicago 16'' is the thirteenth studio album, sixteenth overall by the American rock music, rock band Chicago (band), Chicago, released on June 7, 1982. It is considered their "comeback" album because it was their first album to go platinum si ...

'' was co-written by him. He also sings backing vocals on five tracks from Steve Lukather's solo album '' Ever Changing Times'' in addition to lending his vocals to another three of Lukather's solo albums, ''

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate about the date of its composition, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608. ...

'', ''

I Found the Sun Again ''I Found the Sun Again'' is the eighth studio album by Steve Lukather, released by The Players Club (Mascot Label Group). It was released on February 26, 2021, the same day as his bandmate from Toto, Joseph Williams, released his album ''Deniz ...

'' and ''

Bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

''.

Discography

Toto albums

*1986: ''

'' *1988: ''

'' *1998: ''

'' (lead vocals on "Last Night" and “In A Word”) *2006: '' Falling in Between'' (co-lead vocals and background vocals on "Bottom Of Your Soul") *2015: ''

'' *2018: '' Old Is New''

Solo albums

*1982: ''Joseph Williams'' (re-released 2002) *1996: ''I Am Alive'' *1997: ''3'' *1999: ''Early Years'' *2003: ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

'' *2006: ''Two of Us'' *2006: ''Vertigo 2'' *2007: ''Smiles'' *2007: ''Tears'' *2008: ''This Fall'' *2021: ''Denizen Tenant''

with Peter Friestedt

*2011: ''Williams/Friestedt''

with CWF - Bill Champlin / Peter Friestedt / Joseph Williams

*2015: ''CWF'' *2018: ''10 Miles'' *2020: ''CWF 2'' *2023: ''Carrie''

Guest vocals (excerpt)

*1983: ''Lapti Nek'' (Urth) *1984: ''Which One of Us Is Me'' (Jay Gruska) *1985: ''Save the Night'' (

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin (in his film debut), Jeff Cohen ...

soundtrack) *1985: ''Sleepess Nights'' (Alan Gorrie) *1985: ''

'' (Theme Song Vocals) *1988: ''In the City of Angels'' (Jon Anderson) *1989: ''My Heart in Red'' (Ijiima Mari) *1990: ''Tatsuro Songs from L.A.'' (Compilation) *1990: ''Toy Matinee'' (

Toy Matinee Toy Matinee was a short-lived United States, American rock band, which released one eponymous album. Their sound featured an array of influences, including progressive rock, album-oriented rock and Pop music, pop reminiscent of both the Beatles ...

) *1991: ''Tatsuro Songs from L.A. 2'' (Compilation) *1991: ''Fade in Love'' (Compilation) *1992: ''Re-Import'' (Compilation) *1992: ''Goody's'' (Compilation) *1992: ''The Radical Light'' (Vonda Shepard) *1993: ''Airplay for the Planet'' (Jay Graydon) *1993: ''L.A. Cowboys / Endless Summer'' (Compilation) *1994: ''Love Stories 3'' (Compilation) *1994: ''

'' (Original Movie Soundtrack) *1997: ''California Dreamin (West Coast All Stars) *1998: ''Naturally'' (West Coast All Stars) *1999: ''ELT Songs from L.A.'' (Compilation) *1999: ''In a Dream'' (Lionel's Dad) *2001: ''Radioactive'' (Ceremony Of Innocence) *2002: ''LA Project'' (Peter Friestedt) *2006: ''Avalon'' (The Richie Zito Project) *2008: ''LA Project II'' (Peter Friestedt) *2008: '' Holy God'' (Brian Doerksen) *2014: ''My Kind O' Lovin (Intelligent Music Project II) *2015: ''Touching the Divine (Intelligent Music Project III) *2015: CWF (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt) *2018: 10 Miles/CWF (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt) *2020: CWF II (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt) *2023: Carrie (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt)

Source music (excerpt)

*1983: ''

'' (lyrics for "Lapti Nek" and an unused source cue)

References

External links

*
List of songs and scores for film and television written by Joseph Williams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Joseph 1960 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American singers American film score composers American male film score composers American male pop singers American male singers American pop rock singers American rock singers John Williams Musicians from Santa Monica, California Singers from California Toto (band) members