Deniece Williams Love, Niecy Style

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present a deluxe box set of the 11 Columbia and ARC albums by award-winning icon Deniece Williams released between 1976-1988. A constant presence on the contemporary music scene as a soul, pop and gospel best-selling artist and distinguished songwriter, ‘Niecy’ (as she’s been known since her early ‘70s tenure with Stevie Wonder’s female background vocalists Wonderlove) has racked up over 25 charted hits, all of which can be found on the eight discs that comprise this first-of-its-kind full showcase of Deniece’s distinctive and influential music.

"Song Bird" is a 1977 album by American singer Deniece Williams released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1977. The album went to #23 and #66 on the Black and Pop album Charts respectively. The single "Baby, Baby My Love's All For You" reached #13 and #32 on the Black and UK singles.

One of the most distinctive vocalists who arrived during the soul era, Deniece Williams is known for soaring, four-octave soprano voice, late-'70s and early-'80s R&B classics such as "Free" and "Silly," and the 1984 number one pop hit "Let's Hear It for the Boy." Born June Deniece Chandler in Gary, Indiana, she grew up singing in a Pentecostal church, which forbid the congregation to listen to anything but gospel music. Outside of wanting a 1959 Thunderbird, she had no serious ambitions but was deeply interested in music. Her favorite singers were Carmen McRae (for her diction) and Nancy Wilson, who, for Williams, exemplified class and elegance. However, her she also looked up to her parents, both of whom sang. From 1968 through 1970, Williams recorded a handful of singles for the Chicago-based Lock and Toddlin' Town labels as Deniece (or Denise) Chandler. None of them charted, but "I'm Walking Away" and "Mama, I Wish I Stayed Home" became Northern soul cult classics.

"This Is Niecy" is the debut album of American R&B singer Deniece Williams released on August 13, 1976 by Columbia Records. The album got to #3 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and #33 on the Billboard 200. As well "This Is Niecy" has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA and Silver in the UK by the BPI. Off the album came the single "Free" which got to #1 on the UK Pop Singles chart, #2 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and #25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Deniece Williams spent the first half of the '70s establishing herself as a background vocalist for an impressive line of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Minnie Riperton, Roberta Flack, and Esther Phillips. Though she'd continue to do session work throughout her career, she also became accomplished as a solo artist. Unfortunately, a lot of people think she came out of nowhere for 1984's "Let's Hear It for the Boy," a number one pop hit, but she was making excellent albums as early as 1976. The songs that would eventually make up her debut, This Is Niecy, were sent to Earth, Wind & Fire. Williams didn't intend to make her own album and thought these songs would be a good fit for Philip Bailey.

Until 2016, Gonna Take a Miracle: The Best of Deniece Williams was the only decent Deniece Williams anthology. Issued in 1996, it left out a few of the singer's Top Ten R&B hits an example of how the capacity of a single compact disc can shortchange an artist's legacy. The U.K.'s BBR label has solved this problem with the two-disc Black Butterfly: The Essential Niecy. BBR previously expanded and reissued Williams' first seven solo albums, and they lengthen their reach here by choosing highlights from her duet work with Johnny Mathis and her latter '80s releases. Although it begins with "Free," Williams' stunning solo breakout from 1976, the sequencing emphasizes flow rather than chronology, and presents a narrative that is nonlinear yet easy to follow.