Deniece Williams

"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.

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.

"Let's Hear It for the Boy" is an album by American recording artist Deniece Williams released in 1984 on Columbia Records. The album reached #10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and #26 on the Billboard 200 chart. Deniece Williams produced six of the album's tracks while George Duke produced the remaining four. The album's title track reached #1 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Singles, and Dance Club Play charts. On the UK Pop Singles chart, it peaked at #2. The song was written for the 1984 feature film "Footloose" and appears on its soundtrack. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Other tracks from the album released as singles include, "Next Love", which reached #17 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and "Black Butterfly", which reached #22 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.

"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.

"My Melody" is the 5th studio album by American singer Deniece Williams, released in March 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached #13 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. "My Melody" has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

"When Love Comes Calling" is an album by American singer Deniece Williams issued in June 1979 on ARC/Columbia. The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. "When Love Comes Calling" was produced by Ray Parker Jr. and David Foster. Artists such as Maurice White, Bill Champlin of Chicago and Toto's Steve Lukather guested on the album. The single, "I've Got the Next Dance", reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart.

"That's What Friends Are For" is an album by American singers Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams that was released in 1978 by Columbia Records. The project was a continuation of the pairing of the artists that began on his previous LP, "You Light Up My Life", which included "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", the duet that was on its way to #1 on three different charts in Billboard magazine as the recording sessions for this album got underway. On July 20 1978, "That's What Friends Are For" received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States, and it debuted on Billboard's list of America's Top LP's & Tapes shortly thereafter, in the issue dated July 29, for the start of a 16-week chart run that took the album to #19. That same issue also marked its debut on the magazine's Black Albums chart, where it remained for 11 weeks and peaked at #14.

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.

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.