Deniece Williams

Deniece Williams stood out among the era's most singular voices thanks to a four-octave soprano that seemed to float effortlessly above the soul landscape. Though her first recordings appeared in 1968, the same year Gary, Indiana's Jackson 5 made their entrance, real recognition arrived only in the following decade. She built her reputation first as a member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove ensemble, then as a writer of songs, and ultimately as a self-sufficient artist capable of producing and arranging while sharing studios with figures such as Maurice White, Ray Parker, Jr., Thom Bell, and George Duke.

Her Columbia debut, This Is Niecy (1976), earned gold status largely because of the number-two Hot Soul Singles single "Free" plus six additional tracks she helped compose. That foundation supported a long-running career marked by the chart-topping pop singles "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (1978) and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (1984), eleven further entries on the album charts, and gospel Grammys for "I Surrender All" and "They Say" (both 1986), followed by wins for "I Believe in You" (1987) and the album This Is My Song (1998). After the last of those victories she released Love, Niecy Style (2007) and scattered singles, among them the independent 2020 track "When You Love Somebody."

June Deniece Chandler was born in Gary, Indiana, where she sang in the local Church of God in Christ congregation. Carmen McRae and Nancy Wilson were early favorites, yet her parents, both singers themselves, supplied the first spark. Between 1968 and 1970 the teenager issued six singles on Toddlin' Town and its Lock subsidiary under the name Deniece or Denise Chandler. None registered on national charts, but "I'm Walking Away" and "Mama, I Wish I Stayed at Home" later became northern-soul favorites in Britain. She stepped away from music to train as a nurse, secure steady work, and raise a family.

A cousin introduced her to Stevie Wonder after a show, leading to an audition and eventual membership in Wonderlove. For three years she contributed to Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life, as well as Wonder-produced dates for Syreeta and Minnie Riperton. Background vocals for Don Everly, Kenny Rankin, Esther Phillips, and Roberta Flack also filled her schedule, while co-writing credits accumulated with the Soul Train Gang on the Wonder-arranged "Baby Open the Door" and with Merry Clayton on "How'd I Know."

Ready for solo work, Williams signed a production agreement with Maurice White and Charles Stepney and entered Columbia's roster alongside Earth, Wind & Fire. The 1976 album This Is Niecy, overseen by Stepney and White, delivered the number-two soul and number-25 pop hit "Free," plus charting cuts "Cause You Love Me Baby" and "That's What Friends Are For." All three singles bore her co-writing credit; the album track "Slip Away" was a reworking of the earlier Clayton song "How'd I Know." After Stepney's sudden death, White guided the 1977 follow-up Song Bird, which yielded the Top 20 soul single "Baby, Baby My Love's All for You." A collaboration with Johnny Mathis then produced the number-one Hot 100, soul, and adult-contemporary smash "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," prompting the duet album That's What Friends Are For. Its title track had first appeared on Williams' debut, while their version of Ashford & Simpson's "You're All I Need to Get By" reached number ten on the soul chart.

The 1979 ARC release When Love Comes Calling paired her separately with David Foster and Ray Parker, Jr. Its disco single "I've Got the Last Dance" topped Billboard's disco survey and hinted at the mainstream sound that would peak five years later. Two further ARC albums followed: My Melody (1981) and Niecy (1982), both crafted with Thom Bell. The former went gold, "What Two Can Do" and "Silly" became Top 20 soul hits, and "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" reached number one on the soul chart, earning a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female. In 1982 she and Mathis reunited for the Family Ties theme "Without Us."

After ARC closed, Williams returned to Columbia and recorded I'm So Proud (1983) and Hot on the Trail with George Duke; both albums peaked at number ten on the Black Albums chart. The former contained the number-nine Black Singles entry "Do What You Feel" and brought a second Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance. Another Mathis duet, a remake of Major Harris's "Love Won't Let Me Wait," also charted. Paramount then commissioned "Let's Hear It for the Boy" for the Footloose soundtrack. Despite Duke's initial reservations, the track topped the Hot 100, Black Singles, and dance charts. Additional singles "Next Love" and "Black Butterfly" appeared on the parent album Let's Hear It for the Boy, which itself earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance, Female; the title song received a pop-performance nomination.

Williams next turned to contemporary gospel with So Glad I Know (1986) on Sparrow. The set performed strongly on gospel and Christian charts and collected three Grammy nominations, two of which she won: Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for "I Surrender All," and Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group for "They Say" with Sandi Patty. Secular releases continued alongside: after Hot on the Trail she closed her Columbia tenure with Water Under the Bridge (1987) and As Good as It Gets (1988). Both blended gospel and R&B, each led by a Top Ten Black Singles hit—"Never Say Never" and "I Can't Wait," respectively—and the former's "I Believe in You" brought another gospel Grammy. Gospel projects on Sparrow resumed with Special Love (1989) and appearances on the West Angeles Church of God in Christ Angelic Choir's Children in Praise.

The 1990s found her contributing to albums by Nancy Wilson, George Duke, and Stevie Wonder while issuing three further gospel sets on different labels: Lullabies to Dreamland (1991), Love Solves It All (1996), and This Is My Song (1998), the last winning the Grammy for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. Nine years later she returned with Love, Niecy Style, a collection of R&B covers from the 1960s through early 1980s produced by Bobby Eli and featuring Duke, Wonder, and Philip Bailey. Since then she has continued performing and acting while releasing occasional singles, including the independent 2020 track "When You Love Somebody."