Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Leonard Charles "Lenny" Williams (born February 16, 1945) is an American singer known for his work in the R&B and soul music genres. During the 1970s, he was the lead vocalist for Tower of Power. As a soloist, he made several hit recordings, including 1977's "Choosing You" and 1978's "Cause I Love You".

Artist Biography by Alex Henderson
Although Lenny Williams has had a long solo career, he is still best-known for his three years as the lead singer of Tower of Power, one of the top funk/soul bands of the '70s. But Williams was pursuing a solo career before joining Tower of Power, and he resumed his solo career after leaving that famous Oakland outfit in 1975. Born in Little Rock, AR, on February 6, 1945, Williams was only a child when he started singing in church (the place where so many great R&B singers got their start). Williams, who moved to Oakland, CA, when he was 14, planned to become a Christian minister but ended up changing his mind and decided to pursue a career as a secular R&B singer. In 1969, Williams signed with Fantasy and recorded his first single, "Lisa's Gone," a soul ballad that was far from a big hit, but did receive some airplay in the Bay Area. After providing a second single for Fantasy, Williams was signed to Atlantic by Jerry Wexler and recorded a version of the Thom Bell/Linda Creed gem "People Make the World Go Round." Williams' version might have been a hit – had it not been for the Stylistics, that is. Unfortunately for Williams, the Stylistics' famous version of "People Make the World Go Round" came out as a single and soared to the top of the charts before Atlantic had a chance to release Williams' version. (Michael Jackson also recorded the tune in the early '70s, although not with the same set of lyrics that the Stylistics embraced). But that setback was hardly the end of Williams' career; in 1972, he was hired as the new lead singer of Tower of Power. Because the band's previous lead singer, Rick Stevens (best-known for his soaring performance on the hit ballad "You're Still a Young Man") had recently been convicted of murder, a replacement was needed, and Williams was definitely the man for the job.

Williams' three years with Tower of Power established him as a big name in soul and funk and he became famous for his lead vocals on major hits like "What Is Hip?," "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)," "This Time It's Real," and the ballad "So Very Hard to Go." But while Tower of Power was a big break for Williams, he only stuck around for three years; in 1975, the Bay Area resident left the band and became a full-time solo artist. His first few solo albums (recorded for Motown) didn't do much, but his solo career took off in a big way when he recorded Choosing You for ABC. That 1977 release (which contains the major hit "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!") almost went gold in the U.S. (meaning that it sold close to 500,000 units). Williams next solo effort, Spark of Love (also on ABC), became his first gold solo album and boasted the hit ballad "Cause I Love You." After providing a few albums for MCA, Williams recorded for the independent Rocshire label in 1983 and 1984; when that company folded, he was deprived of a 50,000 dollar advance he said he was owed. Disgusted with music industry, Williams considered giving up singing and devoted a lot of his time to real estate investments. But in 1986, Williams ended up signing with Knobhill, a short-lived indie that was distributed by Fantasy. Williams' 1986 LP, New Episode, wasn't a blockbuster, although the single "Ten Ways of Loving You" became a minor hit and reached number 67 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. But while Williams wasn't as big in the '80s and '90s as he was in the '70s, he still had a loyal following. In 1994, he recorded Chill for Bellmark; Williams' next album, Love Therapy, came out on Volt/Fantasy in 2000.

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Lenny Williams debut album for Warner Bros. released in 1974, and first solo album since leaving Tower of Power as lead vocalist. This issue remastered for CD by wounded bird in 2008.

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Upon leaving Tower Of Power in 1975 Williams signed a solo deal with Motown Records and cut RISE SLEEPING BEAUTY, his only album for the label, later that same year. Despite his prominence at the time the album did not garner the commercial success hoped for despite more than matching his later albums for ABC and MCA which would bring him greater exposure.
RISE SLEEPING BEAUTY was produced by Williams himself along with arranger Chester Thompson and they deliver an album of broad scope and rich musicality incorporating the traditional themes of love and relationships along with political and social commentary. Williams is in great vocal form throughout tackling tender R&B ballads (‘Loving Station’) through to smooth soul grooves (‘Cause I Love You,’ and ‘Shame’) and rasping funk bombs (‘I'm A Pioneer,’ ‘Run On See What The Ends Gonna Be,’ ‘Son Of Thieves, Slaves And Braves’ and opener ‘Since I Met You’); the later being the album's only single which reached #94 on the R&B singles chart.

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Considered one of the premier black male vocalists of the ‘70s, Arkansas-born, California-raised Lenny Williams first came to the attention of the U.S. record-buying public as the lead singer for funk/soul band Tower Of Power from 1972-1975 on now-classic hits such as ‘What Is Hip?’ and ‘So Very Hard To Go.’
The soulful singer’s early attempts at launching a solo career (first with Fantasy Records, then briefly at Atlantic in 1971) had been challenging; a one-off solo LP with Warner Brothers ("Pray For The Lion”) in 1974 (while still a member of ToP), while critically-acclaimed, didn’t register sales-wise and nor did the 1975 release of the Motown album "Rise Sleeping Beauty.”
Renowned black music executive Otis Smith signed Lenny to ABC Records in 1977, teaming him with former Motown producer Frank Wilson (known for his work with Eddie Kendricks, The Four Tops and others).
Thanks to strong club airplay for the upbeat title track and the single ‘Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!’ (US Top R&B Singles #31), the CHOOSING YOU LP proved to be the turning point in Lenny’s solo career, reaching No. 25 on the US Top R&B Albums chart. Other outstanding cuts included the ballad ‘I’ve Been Away For Too Long,’ the inspirational ‘Problem Solver’ and the dance-flavoured ‘Look Up With Your Mind.’
This 2014 SoulMusic Records reissue includes four bonus tracks and notes by renowned US writer Rashod Ollison with extensive quotes from Lenny.

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Following the success of CHOOSING YOU (reissue on SoulMusic Records in 2014, SMCR-5116), his debut album for ABC Records, Lenny Williams really hit his stride as one of the premier black male vocalists of the ‘70s with the 1978 release of SPARK OF LOVE which became his best-selling and a gold album for the Arkansas-born, California-raised singer/songwriter.
Lenny first came to the attention of the U.S. record-buying public as the lead singer for funk/soul band Tower Of Power from 1972-1975 on now-classic hits such as ‘What Is Hip?’ and ‘So Very Hard To Go.’ Prior to that, he recorded singles for Fantasy Records and Atlantic. Other solo projects included a one-off solo LP with Warner and one album for Motown ("Rise Sleeping Beauty”).
As he recounted in liner notes for this reissue of SPARK OF LOVE (an expanded edition with three single edits) by renowned US writer, Rashod Ollison, one of the songs on the Motown LP was ‘’Cause I Love You’ which Lenny had been performing live to great audience response. When it came to recording his sophomore ABC project, Lenny and producer Frank Wilson (known for his work with Eddie Kendricks, The Four Tops and others) decided to re-record the song as a ballad. Subsequently, the song has become Lenny’s timeless signature tune, featured in numerous soundtracks and sampled by major rap and hip-hop artists, although never issued as a single.
This 2014 SoulMusic Records reissue also includes US R&B hit singles, ‘You Got Me Running’ and ‘Midnight Girl.’

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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Reissue of Lenny's 1989 album Layin' In Wait .

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Lenny Willams - Collection [6 Remastered CDs]

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1993 MCA compilation album featuring Lenny's best selling singles.