Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American R&B, soul, neo soul, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and songwriter. He has released 22 studio albums.

Biography

Early life

Downing was born and raised to a working-class family in Bedford-Stuyvesant,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His father was a skycap at a local airport and his mother was a schoolteacher. As a teenager, Downing was a member of a school choir. At age 16, Downing sang demos for publishing houses for songwriters who couldn't sing well, earning $50 each. Downing attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, graduating in 1981 along with future Motown Records president Kedar Massenburg. Downing then attended college at Virginia Union University in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

for one year but dropped out to pursue a music career. His parents were not happy with his decision to leave school; all of his siblings had professional jobs.

Career

After college, Downing moved back to New York City. In 1983, he was the vocalist for a

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

group. He was then a backing vocalist on albums by Jennifer Holliday, Kool & the Gang, Mariah Carey, Gerald Albright, Billy Ocean, Regina Belle and Mica Paris and later sang with Wally "Jump" Junior. In 1988, Downing signed a recording contract with 4th & B'way Records, and released his first solo album, ''Will Downing''. It included a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the John Coltrane piece, " A Love Supreme", which reached No. 4 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs

record chart 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 ...

. Downing switched to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

for his second release, ''Come Together as One'' (1989). In 1991, he then released “ A Dream Fulfilled “, which was his first commercial success, and included his rendition of Angela Bofils “ I Try “. He switched labels to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

for his fourth outing, '' Love's the Place to Be'' (1993). He remained with Mercury for two more albums, ''Moods'' (1995) and ''Invitation Only'' (1997), both of which sold well. ''All the Man You Need'', released on Motown Records, received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for Best Traditional R&B Album in 2000. The album included "When You Need Me", a duet single with Chante Moore. In 2002, Downing received the International Association of African-American Music Diamond Award. He released '' Love, Lust, & Lies: An Audio Novel'' in 2010. In 2014, he was the opening act for Patti LaBelle.

Artistry

Downing is a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. He has often been compared to

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

Personal life

From 1987 to 1992, Downing was married to Revonda Mills. In 2002, Downing married singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. In December 2006, Downing was diagnosed with polymyositis, a rare disease occurring most often in black males, in which inflammation causes debilitating muscle weakness. He was hospitalized for three months, used a wheelchair, and lost 100 pounds. Downing is a spokesperson for the American Stroke Association. On tour, he conducts the charity bowling event, Strike Against Stroke, to raise funds towards awareness and education in the African American community. The American Heart Association recognized Downing as a celebrity ambassador. Downing is also a keen photographer, and self-published the coffee table book ''Unveiled Series I'' in 2005. Downing is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Downing's daughter, Aron Siobhan Downing, died by suicide on January 11, 2023, at the age of 31. She had suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, had depression and some

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

* 2021: The Song Garden

Compilations

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Will 1963 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers American baritones American contemporary R&B singers American male jazz musicians American neo soul singers American ballad musicians Erasmus Hall High School alumni Island Records artists Living people Mercury Records artists Motown artists Singers from Brooklyn Smooth jazz singers Verve Records artists Virginia Union University alumni