Deniece Williams

Deniece Williams (born June 3, 1950 in Gary , Indiana ; real name June Deniece Chandler ) is an American R&B and gospel singer who was number one success in the 1970s and 1980s at the height of her career British and American pop charts. It also made it to the top of various genre charts such as R&B, disco and adult contemporary . Her internationally most successful recordings include Free (1977), Too Much, Too Little, Too Late (1978, with Johnny Mathis) and Let's Hear It for the Boy (1984). Following these hits, she recorded a number of gospel albums for a total of four Grammys.

biography

In her youth, Deniece Williams sang gospel in the church choir. After school she did an internship in the hospital before she recorded various unsuccessful singles for smaller record companies in 1968 and 1969 as Denise Chandler and Deniece Chandler, respectively . Through the relationship of a cousin she was allowed to audition for Stevie Wonder in the early 1970s and was eventually accepted into his background trio Wonderlove. Williams was subsequently heard on the second album Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta (1974) by Wonders former wife Syreeta . She also sang in the background of Minnie Riperton 's second solo album Perfect Angel that same year . Riperton had also previously been a member of Wonderlove. In the following months, Williams was hired as a background singer by artists as diverse as Kenny Rankin , Esther Phillips , Iron Butterfly , Linda Lewis and Roberta Flack . Encouraged by this work, Williams decided to continue her solo career, which had been neglected since the late 1960s.

With the musical and production support of the members of Earth, Wind & Fire , their debut album This Is Niecy (nickname for Deniece) was created on Columbia Records . The first single It's Important to Me was a major hit in 1976 and was successful in US clubs and discos. The breakthrough came with the release of the single Free . The song reached number 2 on the Black Singles chart in the US and was even a number 1 hit on the pop charts in the UK . There was also another release, That's What Friends are for , in the top 10. Despite her success in these secular genres, she also remained loyal to gospel music: Her subsequent albums always contained a religious song.

Although Deniece Williams worked with Riperton for Wonder on his four Grammy-winning album Songs In The Key Of Life , their second album, Song Bird , was released just a year after their solo debut . It was far behind the beginnings of success, but again shortly afterwards a joint album with the successful singer Johnny Mathis was created . The joint work, titled after their hit That's What Friends are for , reached the top 20 in Great Britain and the USA and is one of Williams' most successful works. The duo Too Much, Too Little, Too Late was her first number 1 hit in the US and number 3 in England.

In the following years she was able to hold her own in business. With I've Got the Next Dance , she had a number 1 disco hit in 1979. Then she switched to the newly founded label ARC of her producer Maurice White and was able to establish two more albums. Another highlight was her 1982 album Niecy , with which she made it into the top 20 in the USA for a second time. This is where the top 10 hit It's Gonna Take a Miracle comes from, which is also her second number 1 in the Black / R & B hit list.

This was followed by an excursion to film and television. Again in a duet with Johnny Mathis, she sang the title song Without Us for the successful television series Familienbande . And finally, in 1984, she contributed to the hit film Footloose, the title Let's Hear It for the Boy . After Kenny Loggins 'theme song Footloose , it became the second number 1 from the soundtrack of the dance film and Deniece Williams' most successful single. It hit the charts worldwide and also made it into the top 10 in Germany and the top 20 in Switzerland.

The following years brought a musical reorientation and a return to Williams' roots, the gospel . While they only achieved mediocre placements in the R&B charts with the three albums released by Columbia in the mid-1980s , the album So Glad I Know , released in 1986 by Sparrow Records , marked their breakthrough in the gospel field; it reached the top 10 on the Gospel / Contemporary Christian charts. For the included duet with Sandi Patti They Say and the solo number I Surrender All , she received two Grammy awards the following year . In the following year, the title I Believe In You received the third award of the most important US music award. The album Special Love , released in 1989 , was in 11th place.

In the 90s things got a little quieter for Deniece Williams. Although she was occasionally featured as a guest singer on the albums of other musicians, she did not release an album of her own until Love Solves It All , which was released in 1996 . That year she also started a radio show on gospel music for the British BBC. In 1998 another highlight of her gospel work followed with the album This Is My Song , for which she received her fourth Grammy. It reached number 14 on the gospel charts.

After another lengthy release break, it made a small comeback in 2007 when it returned to the R&B charts after almost 20 years with the CD Love, Niecy Style . It reached number 41. 2011 Williams was the subject of the documentary series Unsung on the Afro-American TV channel TV One. This series is dedicated to R&B stars who received less attention than others. As part of the program, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mathis, Tatyana Ali , Thom Bell and Maurice White had their say.

Private

Deniece Williams was married three times. The marriages with Ken Williams, Christopher Joy and Brad Westering ended in divorce. Williams is the mother of four sons.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	UK	US	R&B
1976	This is niecy	-	UK26th silver (12 weeks)UK	US33 gold (36 weeks)US	R&B3 (33 weeks) R&B
1977	Songbird	-	-	US66 (20 weeks) US	R&B23 (18 weeks) R&B
1978	That's what friends are for	-	UK16 gold (11 weeks)UK	US19th gold (16 weeks)US	R&B14 (11 weeks) R&B	with Johnny Mathis
1979	When Love Comes Calling	-	-	US96 (8 weeks) US	R&B27 (24 weeks) R&B
1981	My Melody	-	-	US74 gold (32 weeks)US	R&B13 (36 weeks) R&B
1982	Niecy	-	-	US20 (22 weeks) US	R&B5 (29 weeks) R&B
1983	I'm so proud	-	-	US54 (19 weeks) US	R&B10 (25 weeks) R&B
1984	Let's Hear It for the Boy	DE59 (3 weeks) DE	-	US26 (19 weeks) US	R&B10 (27 weeks) R&B
1986	Hot on the trail	-	-	-	R&B58 (7 weeks) R&B
1987	Water under the bridge	-	-	-	R&B39 (11 weeks) R&B
1988	As Good as It Gets	-	-	-	R&B48 (18 weeks) R&B
1996	Gonna Take a Miracle (Best Of)	-	-	-	R&B85 (1 week) R&B
2007	Love, niecy style	-	-	-	R&B41 (1 week) R&B

More albums

• 1986: So Glad I Know
• 1989: Special Love
• 1991: Lullabies to Dreamland
• 1996: Love Solves It All
• 1998: This Is My Song

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	CH	UK	US	R&B
1977	Cause You Love Me Baby This Is Niecy	-	-	-	-	R&B74 (3 weeks) R&B
	Free This Is Niecy	-	-	UK1 silver (10 weeks)UK	US25 (20 weeks) US	R&B2 (20 weeks) R&B
	That's What Friends Are For This Is Niecy	-	-	UK8 (11 weeks) UK	-	R&B65 (8 weeks) R&B
1978	Baby, Baby My Love Is All for You Song Bird	-	-	UK32 (5 weeks) UK	-	R&B13 (15 weeks) R&B
	Too Much, Too Little, Too Late	-	-	UK3 silver (14 weeks)UK	US1 gold (18 weeks)US	R&B1 (20 weeks) R&B	with Johnny Mathis
	You're All I Need to Get By That’s What Friends Are For	-	-	UK45 silver (6 weeks)UK	US47 (8 weeks) US	R&B10 (12 weeks) R&B	with Johnny Mathis
1979	I Found Love When Love Comes Calling	-	-	-	-	R&B32 (14 weeks) R&B
	I've Got the Next Dance When Love Comes Calling	-	-	-	US73 (5 weeks) US	R&B26 (15 weeks) R&B
1981	It's Your Conscience My Melody	-	-	-	-	R&B45 (10 weeks) R&B
	Silly My Melody	-	-	-	US53 (10 weeks) US	R&B11 (15 weeks) R&B
	What Two Can Do My Melody	-	-	-	-	R&B17 (14 weeks) R&B
1982	It's gonna take a miracle niecy	-	-	-	US10 (17 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B
	Waiting by the hotline Niecy	-	-	-	-	R&B29 (12 weeks) R&B
1983	Do What You Feel I'm So Proud	-	-	-	-	R&B9 (18 weeks) R&B
	I'm So Proud I'm So Proud	-	-	-	-	R&B28 (12 weeks) R&B
1984	Love Won't Let Me Wait	-	-	-	-	R&B32 (12 weeks) R&B	with Johnny Mathis
	Black Butterfly Let's Hear It For The Boy	-	-	-	-	R&B22 (14 weeks) R&B
	Let's Hear It for the Boy Let's Hear It For The Boy	DE10 (13 weeks) DE	CH19 (8 weeks) CH	UK2 silver (15 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (19 weeks)US	R&B1 (19 weeks) R&B
	Next Love Let's Hear It For The Boy	-	-	-	US81 (4 weeks) US	R&B22 (13 weeks) R&B
1986	Healing Hot On The Trail	-	-	-	-	R&B76 (5 weeks) R&B
	Wiser and Weaker Hot On The Trail	-	-	-	-	R&B60 (10 weeks) R&B
1987	I Confess Water Under The Bridge	-	-	-	-	R&B24 (11 weeks) R&B
	Never Say Never Water Under The Bridge	-	-	-	-	R&B6 (15 weeks) R&B
1988	I Can't Wait As Good As It Gets	-	-	-	US66 (8 weeks) US	R&B8 (13 weeks) R&B
	This Is as Good as It Gets As Good As It Gets	-	-	-	-	R&B29 (12 weeks) R&B
1989	Every Moment Special Love	-	-	-	-	R&B55 (10 weeks) R&B

Awards

• Grammy 1987 for They Say (together with Sandi Patti ) in the category best gospel performance by a duo, a group or a choir
• Grammy 1987 for I Surrender All in the category Best Female Soul Gospel Performance
• 1988 Grammy for I Believe in You for Best Female Gospel Performance
• Grammy 1999 for This Is My Song for Best Contemporary / Pop Gospel Album

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Deniece Williams biography in the Internet Movie Database (English)
2. ↑ Chart positions USA , Allmusic
3. ^ Grammy Awards , Allmusic
4. ^ Discography , Soulful Kinda Music
5. ^ Religion Affects Music of Singer Deniece Williams , Jet Magazine, Dec. 3, 1984, p. 56
6. ↑ Unsung in the Internet Movie Database (English)
7. ↑ ^{a b} chart sources:
   • Deniece Williams in the German charts on OfficialCharts.de
   • Deniece Williams in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
   • Deniece Williams in the Official UK Charts (English)
   • Deniece Williams on the Billboard 200 US album chart
   • Deniece Williams on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart
   • Deniece Williams on the US R&B hip / hop songs charts
   • Deniece Williams in the US top R&B / hip-hop album charts
8. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US UK

Web links

• Deniece Williams at Allmusic (English)
• Deniece Williams at Discogs (English)
• Deniece Williams in the Internet Movie Database (English)