Viola Wills

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Viola Wills (actually Viola Mae Wilkerson ; born December 30, 1939 in Los Angeles , California ; † May 6, 2009 ) was an American singer , pianist and songwriter .

biography

Wills developed her love for music as a child and was a member of a choir . She later studied piano at a conservatory and became the mother of six children. Only then did her music career begin.

Barry White , for whom she worked as a background and session singer , discovered Wills and made contact with Bob Keane's label Bronco / Mustang, with whom she signed her first recording contract in 1965 . Keane produced some soul singles with Wills in the episode , including Lost Without the Love of My Guy (1966) and Together Forever (1967), which could not achieve chart success. The label changes in 1967 to President Records ( single You're Out of My Mind ) and 1969 to Supreme (single I've Got News for You ) did not bring the hoped-for success.

1974 Wills replaced the background singer Claudia Linnear on Joe Cocker's Europe - tour . In the meantime, she switched to the Goodear label and in the same year released the debut album Soft Centers , from which the track Run to the Nearest Exit was decoupled. The single Let's Love Now was released in 1977 on Arista Records .

The second album Without You was released in 1979. In that year, Wills was able to record its first major success when the single Gonna Get Along Without You Now , a cover version of the 1956 hit by Patience & Prudence in the up-tempo - Dance style, appeared and brought her a chart position. The song rose to the top 10 in the UK in October of that year , peaking at number 8, and earning silver . A few months later, in 1980, the title was also placed among the American dance music / club play singles (52nd place). If You Could Read My Mind , written by Gordon Lightfoot , even climbed to second place on the US dance charts a short time later.

Various singles were released by 1985, of which only Stormy Weather could build on previous successes. The song rose to number 4 on Billboard Dance Music / Club Play Singles in 1982. The next big hit was released in late 1985. Both sides of the singles Both Sides Now / Dare to Dream were popular, which brought the record into the UK charts in the spring of 1986.

Viola Wills didn't have a chart hit until her death, but released a number of other singles by the end of the 1990s. She died on the morning of May 6, 2009 of complications from blood cancer .

Discography

Albums

  • 1974: Soft Centers
  • 1979: Without You
  • 1980: If You Could Read My Mind
  • 1983: Space
  • 1986: Dare to Dream
  • 1994: Gonna Get Along Without You
  • 2007: Enjoy Yourself
  • 2013: Stormy Weather (13 Files)

Compilations

  • 1981: Three of a Kind (with Amii Stewart and Precious Wilson )
  • 1993: A Portrait: Greatest Hits
  • 1995: The Best of Viola Wills
  • 2006: The Essential Viola Wills
  • 2008: The Very Best Of

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks [↑]: treated together with the previous entry;
[←]: placed in both charts
UK UK Dance Dance
1979 Gonna Get Along Without You Now
If You Could Read My Mind 		UK8th
silver
silver

(12 weeks)UK 		Dance52 (10 weeks)
Dance
First published: August 24, 1979
Author: Milton Kellem
Original: Patience & Prudence , 1956
1980 If You Could Read My Mind
If You Could Read My Mind 		- Dance2 (33 weeks)
Dance
First published: March 28th
Author and original: Gordon Lightfoot , 1970
1982 Stormy Weather
 - Dance4 (18 weeks)
Dance
First published: April 1982
Authors: Harold Arlen , Ted Koehler
Original: Ethel Waters with Duke Ellingtons Orchestra, 1933
1986 Both Sides Now
Dare to Dream 		UK35 (6 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: March 3, 1986
Author: Joni Mitchell
Original: Judy Collins , 1967
1970 Dare to Dream
Dare to Dream[UK: ↑] 		-
B-Side of Both Sides Now
Author: Viola Wills

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

  • 1966: Lost Without the Love of My Guy / I Got Love (released October)
  • 1967: Together Forever (released August 25)
  • 1967: I've Got to Have All of You (release: November 3rd)
  • 1968: You're Out of My Mind (released January 26th)
  • 1969: I've Got News for You
  • 1974: Run to the Nearest Exit (release: June 14th)
  • 1975: Day on the Life of a Woman (release: June 27th)
  • 1975: I Believe in Miracles
  • 1977: Let's Love Now (release: November 18th)
  • 1980: Love Letters (release: March)
  • 1980: Up on the Roof (release: July 25th)
  • 1981: There's Always Something There to Remind Me
  • 1981: I Can't Stay Away from You
  • 1982: Secret Love
  • 1982: The More I See You
  • 1983: Space
  • 1984: If These Walls Could Speak
  • 1985: Tune In for Lovin '
  • 1986: You Are the Reason Why
  • 1986: Somebody's Eyes (release: September)
  • 1986: Take One Step Forward (with Noel McCalla)
  • 1987: Reggae High
  • 1987: These Things Happen
  • 1987: Over the Rainbow
  • 1989: Love Pains (covered by Yvonne Elliman )
  • 1989: Gonna Get Along Without You Now (Garage Mix)
  • 1989: Don't Stop the Train (with Phyllis Nelson )
  • 1990: I Think I'm Falling in Love
  • 1992: It's My Pleasure (My Friend Sam feat.Viola Wills)
  • 1993: I Can See Clearly Now
  • 1994: A House Is Not a Home
  • 1994: No News Is News
  • 1997: Get Along Without You Now (Handbaggers Remix)
  • 1997: Happiness
  • 2006: It's My Pleasure 2006 Remixes (My Friend Sam feat.Viola Wills)
  • 2006: What Now My Love?
  • 2012: Chemical Attraction

swell

  1. ↑ Chart data: Patience & Prudence - Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now
  2. ↑ a b UK gold / platinum database
  3. ↑ Chart sources: UK Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974–2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Wills, Viola
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mae Wilkerson, Viola (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer, pianist and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California , United States
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 2009