Leon Haywood, a seasoned figure in soul and funk, made periodic inroads on the charts during the 1970s by crafting tracks that absorbed the prevailing rhythms and melodic hooks of the era. Skilled as both a songwriter and arranger, he made no pretense of originality, instead delivering upbeat reworkings of midtempo funk and romantic ballads that typically featured polished string arrangements. His strongest work echoed the Motown sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s, while his vocals on slower numbers particularly suggested those of Marvin Gaye.
His career began well before that decade. In the early 1960s he toured and recorded with R&B saxophonist Big Jay McNeely’s band, the same unit that accompanied Sam Cooke on the road. The mid-1960s brought his first chart appearance with “She’s with Her Other Love” on Imperial. By 1967 he secured a substantial R&B hit and modest pop entry with “It’s Got to Be Mellow,” a commercially oriented soul number that openly reflected his Motown leanings.
Only in the mid-1970s did Haywood achieve real success as a solo artist, landing major R&B hits with “Strokin’,” “Come and Get Yourself Some,” and “Keep It in the Family.” His biggest single, “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You,” reached the pop Top 20 and included unmistakable female gasps and moans that left little doubt about the meaning of “freaky.” The disco-tinged “Don’t Push It Don’t Force It” became his highest-charting release, peaking at number two on the R&B list in 1980. After the mid-1980s he withdrew from recording to focus on business interests, later producing blues albums by Jimmy McCracklin and others for his own EveJim label in the 1990s.
