Roberta Sparrow

Jamaican Monty Alexander is a man with two musical faces: many know him best as a piano virtuoso and heir to Oscar Peterson’s thrown.

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.