Soul Talkin': Deniece Williams
DENIECE WILLIAMS AND THE MEANING OF LOVE by Christian John Wikane One phone call brought "Love, Niecy Style," Deniece Williams’ debut for Shanachie Records, to life. Possessing a multi-octave voice, four Grammys, and numerous chart-topping hits, Williams hadn’t recorded an album since 1998 ("This Is My Song") and wasn’t really looking for a new solo project. Quite simply, she says, the prospect of recording a new album “popped up and dropped in my lap”. It was Williams’ phone conversation with legendary producer Bobby Eli that vigorously propelled her towards a return to music making. She continues, “Before an hour, we had practically the whole list of what songs we wanted to do. Going in the studio and recording the songs was the icing on the cake. There’s some great music out there so I was thinking, ‘Oh man, I get a chance to do this?’” In a matter of weeks, that phone call gave fans of classic R&B one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2007.
songs that were ripe for a contemporary interpretation. Anyone remotely familiar with Deniece Williams remembers how her mellifluous voice redefined and caressed classics such as “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” (a #1 R&B and Top 10 pop hit in 1982) and “You’re All I Need to Get By” (a 1978 Top 10 R&B duet with Johnny Mathis). What makes the selection on "Love, Niecy Style" so special is that many of the songs Williams chose were penned by her peers and longtime friends. In a sense, these songs chronicle the significant figures in Deniece Williams’ career. Appropriately, the album begins with a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder, the man who hired a 20-something Deniece Williams to join Wonderlove, his group of background vocalists, in the early-1970s. Their personal and professional relationship has endured for more than three decades and Williams was even a surprise guest at the MusiCares concert held in Wonder’s honor. “He was so shocked that I was there because I’m usually at home beatin’ up the kids”, she laughs. “He came onstage and I was singing ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’ and his eyes got so big like, ‘How’d they drag her down here?’” Likewise, Deniece Williams is probably one of the few artists who could summon Wonder to make an impromptu studio appearance. “That’s How Heartaches Are Made”, the opening track popularized by Baby Washington, is a song the former Wonderlove vocalist had been yearning to sing for 40 years. She recalls, “When we went in the studio…suddenly I heard Stevie Wonder playing the harmonica and I thought, ‘Steve has to come in the studio and do this’. I gave him a call and I said, ‘I need your help! I’m recording this song but I hear you playing the harmonica’. He said, ‘Which song is that?’ I said, ‘That’s How Heartaches are Made’ and we both started singing the song. He came into the studio and played for me”. Indeed, Wonder’s singular harmonica style surfaces three seconds in to “That’s How Heartaches Are Made”. Williams also salutes Wonder on "Love, Niecy Style" with a heartfelt rendition of “If You Really Love Me”, which she had the opportunity to share with her mentor during their reunion in the studio. (He enthusiastically approved.) Originally a Top 10 hit for Wonder in 1971, Williams makes this version a family affair with the notable appearance of her sons, Forrest and Logan Westerling, on background vocals. Years singing with Stevie Wonder paved the way to "This is Niecy" (1976), Williams’ dazzling debut album. Produced by Maurice White of the Earth, Wind and Fire collective, the album introduced Williams as a talent to be reckoned with and contained the song that eventually became her signature: “Free”."Love, Niecy Style" honors EW&F with a smoldering version of “Love’s Holiday”, a tune from the group’s "All ‘n All" (1977) album that Williams cites as “one of the sexiest songs that they sang”. The song also features none other than EW&F vocalist Philip Bailey, who, like Wonder, was summoned at a moment’s notice to the studio. Williams shares, “I texted Philip Bailey saying, ‘Are you going to be home in the next week or so?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna have four days off’. And I said, ‘Oh man I have a really big favor. You probably don’t want to sing this song on your day off but could you come to the studio…?’ And he did the background on ‘Love’s Holiday’! It was like a duet between he and I. It came out so lush and sexy”. Williams’ inimitable delivery and phrasing gives “Love’s Holiday” a welcome feminine touch and stands as a sumptuous companion to the beloved original. Months before All ‘n All was burning up the charts in 1977, “Free” was fast becoming a top five R&B hit while garnering substantial airplay on pop stations for Williams. It would seem an obvious concept to revisit the tune on "Love, Niecy Style" and that’s exactly what almost happened. “They came to me and they said, ‘Let’s do ‘Free’’ and I thought, ‘Nope let’s not do ‘Free’. I’m not touching that”, Williams recalls with a knowing wink in her voice. “Cause You Love Me Baby”, another hit off "This Is Niecy," was chosen instead, further underscoring the theme of love that runs deep on "Love, Niecy Style." She says about the self-penned tune, “That’s my bubbly, I’m-in-love, I’m-a- romantic song. It’s one of my favorite love songs that I’ve done”. Hearing the updated version offers a tangible contrast with the 1976 rendition, which has elements of what Williams calls a “little girl” in her voice. “You have a woman today”, Williams declares. “I think that today my voice is just as good as it was 30 some-odd years ago. I haven’t lost anything. God’s been really gracious towards me vocally, physically, and emotionally”. Williams’ talent for songwriting hasn’t dimmed either. She contributed a brand new composition to "Love, Niecy Style" called “The Only Thing Missing”, continuing the long line of love songs that started with “Cause You Love Me Baby”. One of the tunes that displays Williams still impressive vocal range is her stirring interpretation of Gwen Guthrie’s “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter”, a song she’s wanted to record for over three decades. She recalls, “I was in the studio years and years ago with Patti Austin, Lani Groves, and Gwen Guthrie. Gwen played us a demo of a song she had just written and the song was ‘This Time I’ll Be Sweeter’. I thought, ‘This is a tremendous song’. Years later another peer of mine, Angela Bofill, recorded it and did this tremendous job on it”. Knowing it would be a perfect fit for" Love, Niecy Style," Williams tried to touch base with Gwen Guthrie to share the news. “I didn’t know that she had passed away”, she confides. “I went into the studio and I was singing this song as homage to Angela Bofill but I was really singing this song for Gwen Guthrie. I was thinking to myself, ‘I bet she’d like what I’ve done with her song’”. Part of the inspiration for the appearance of “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” on "Love, Niecy Style" is the singer’s belief that “nowadays, in music, too many people don’t want to say ‘I’m sorry’”. She believes that love is more than goose bumps, flowers, and candy. “Love means, to me, commitment. Anybody can say ‘I love you’ and anybody can have all of these emotions. But what happens when you wake up one morning and that person has sleep in their eyes and their breath is not so nice and their hair is sticking up like they stuck their finger in a socket. You got to look over there and say ‘Love you anyway’”. It is this spirit of unconditional love that envelops "Love, Niecy Style." When listeners experience "Love, Niecy Style," they are hearing a woman who has come full circle with her dreams yet has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Touring, scripting theater pieces, and producing her sons’ film and recording projects are only a portion of what keeps this woman energized. “There’s only so much I can do at one time”, she chuckles. “I mean I think I’m several people but there are only two hands and this one body!” Hopefully, "Love Niecy Style" will be the first of several more valentines from Deniece Williams to her enraptured audience. |
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