Lenny Welch

Singer Lenny Welch entered the world as Leon Welch on May 15, 1938, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. As a child he formed vocal groups and entered talent contests. While still in his late teens he brought his ensemble to Decca Records in New York for an audition. Label executives preferred the name Lenny over Leon because it sounded smoother, so they signed him as a solo act. A pair of promising 45s followed, yet neither sold well. Two years elapsed before another opportunity arose. Prize fighter Coley Wallace arranged an introduction to Archie Bleyer, founder of Cadence Records. Their partnership produced the first Cadence single, “You Don’t Know Me,” which gained modest attention. The follow-up, “Since I Fell for You,” reached number five on the pop chart in 1963, delivering widespread sales and praise. “Ebb Tide” also succeeded, positioning Welch to rival Johnny Mathis until two major setbacks struck.

Without explanation, Bleyer shuttered Cadence in September 1964, the company he had launched in December 1952. Among the artists whose careers Cadence had advanced were Andy Williams, the Everly Brothers, and Johnny Tillotson. Williams acquired the masters and reissued them on his Barnaby label while moving his new recordings to Columbia; Bleyer retired to Wisconsin. Welch’s final Cadence outing, “If You See My Love,” appeared in 1964 and peaked at number 92. He also supplied vocals for Eddie Harris’s 1964 album Cool Sax, Warm Heart. After those hits and the 1963 LP Since I Fell for You, he sought a fresh contract.

Military service created the second obstacle. Welch remained active during his enlistment, performing at record hops and weekend engagements to promote his Kapp Records releases, yet no major success arrived until his discharge. He joined Kapp soon after Cadence closed and placed several singles on the charts: “Darling Take Me Back,” “Two Different Worlds” (1965), “Please Help Me, I’m Falling” (1966), and “The Right to Cry” (1967).

Another period of withdrawal followed as Welch sought mental clarity, honed his technique, and refined his public image. Although often likened to Johnny Mathis and other ballad vocalists, he never secured the lucrative engagements in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe that Mathis enjoyed, nor did his albums match the sales of Mathis or Andy Williams. The extended break proved costly. Upon returning he performed in prominent clubs, but sustained success never materialized. Later attempts at a comeback in the 1970s likewise faltered, among them the Cur label single “To Be Loved/Glory of Love” b/w “My Heart Won’t Let Me.” Diminished attention eventually turned the handsome, velvet-voiced performer with an engaging personality into a “whatever happened to . . .” figure. His recordings remain available on the Taragon anthology covering 1958–1966 and the Collectables reissue of Since I Fell for You. Three albums appeared on Kapp: Two Different Worlds (1965), Rags to Riches (1966), and Lenny (1967).