Leon Ware
Encyclopedia
Leon Ware is a soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

. Best known for crafting the hit album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

 was assigned to the album in 1976. Ware also is notable for writing the Top 5 R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "I Wanna Be Where You Are
I Wanna Be Where You Are
"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number sixteen on the U.S. pop singles chart and number two on the U.S. R&B singles chart in 1972...

", for a young Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 in 1972, and creating the Body Heat
Body Heat (Quincy Jones album)
Body Heat is a 1974 Jazz-funk album by Quincy Jones.- Track listing :# "Body Heat" – 3:58# "Soul Saga " – 4:58# "Everything Must Change" – 6:01...

album along with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

. He also collaborated with Maxwell
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...

 on his debut album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is the debut album of American recording artist Maxwell, released April 2, 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1994 to 1995 at Electric Lady Studios, RPM, Sorcerer, and Chung King Studios in New York City and...

.

Biography

Leon Ware started his career as a songwriter in the spring of 1967 as a songwriter. He co-wrote along with Ivy Hunter and Steve Bowden for the Isley Brothers recording of "Got to Have You Back," In 1971, Leon would collaborate with Ike & Tina Turner, co-writing six songs on their United Artist
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

 album called Nuff Said. Released Fall 1971, the album reached the Top 40 of the R&B charts and also appeared in the pop charts. Later that year, Ware began collaborating with Arthur "T-Boy" Ross, the younger brother of Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

. One of the songs they wrote was 'I Wanna Be Where You Are
I Wanna Be Where You Are
"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number sixteen on the U.S. pop singles chart and number two on the U.S. R&B singles chart in 1972...

'. Recorded by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 in November, 1971 for his 1972 Got To Be There album. The single exploded in the spring of 1972 peaking at number two on the R&B charts and number 16 on the pop charts. This success would lead to a record contract with United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

 with the release of his self-titled debut album 'Leon Ware. By 1973 Leon had songwriting credits on albums by the Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...

, Jackson 5, Average White Band, The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...

 and others. In the spring of 1974. Quincy Jones tapped Leon as songwriter and performer for two songs on his Body Heat
Body Heat (Quincy Jones album)
Body Heat is a 1974 Jazz-funk album by Quincy Jones.- Track listing :# "Body Heat" – 3:58# "Soul Saga " – 4:58# "Everything Must Change" – 6:01...

 album. The single "If I Ever Lose This Heaven," which he co wrote with Pam Sawyer and also sang on the album with Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...

 and Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...

, was an R&B singles chart entry in September. Nearly a year later, it was covered by the Average White Band reaching the Top 40 of both the pop and R&B charts in 1975. Ware collaborated again with Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...

  on two songs for her Adventures in Paradise
Adventures in Paradise (Minnie Riperton album)
Adventures in Paradise is the third studio album by Minnie Riperton, produced by Stewart Levine with music by The Crusaders. Joe Sample co-wrote the title song "Adventures in Paradise". The album was a modest success, but didn't match the success of Perfect Angel. After Lovin’ You and Perfect...

 album "Inside My Love," released as a single in the summer of 1975. The song became a Top 40 R&B hit and also reached the pop charts. Also in 1975, Ware and T-Boy Ross had started working on demos for Ware's second album to be released on Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

 and a demo to secure T-Boy Ross a record deal. One of those demo recordings, "I Want You
I Want You (Marvin Gaye song)
-Background:Madonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack for her ballads compilation album Something to Remember and the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye in 1995...

 was heard by Motown boss Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

 decided it would be a good fit for Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

. Gaye would hear the rest of the demo of the demo tracks for what would become Gaye's album I Want You. Ware would co produce and co write the album along with T-Boy Ross. Released in March 1976, the album exploded on the charts going number one on the R&B charts and the Top Ten of the pop charts. Having given away the material for his album, Ware began again on a solo effort for Motown. The result would be Ware's second album, "Musical Massage. Released in September 1976, it did not chart at all due to no promotion by Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

.

For the rest of the 70's into the 1990s, Ware would continue writing songs for others such as Teena Marie
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...

, Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...

, Loose Ends
Loose Ends
In common conversation, the phrase loose ends usually refers to unresolved issues.Loose Ends may also refer to the following:In music:* Loose Ends * Loose Ends...

, James Ingram
James Ingram
James Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...

, Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....

, Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...

 and Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

. He would also release nine solo albums between 1979 and 2008 with varying degrees of success. By the late '80s and 1990s, Ware continued to work on various sessions as a musician, arranger, and producer. One of his co-written songs, "Independence", the title track of a 1993 album by Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

 was a hit, particularly in Europe. Another sesssion was Maxwell
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...

's debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is the debut album of American recording artist Maxwell, released April 2, 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1994 to 1995 at Electric Lady Studios, RPM, Sorcerer, and Chung King Studios in New York City and...

 which was one of the first albums to usher in New Soul
New Soul
"New Soul" is a song by the French-Israeli indie folk singer Yael Naïm, from her eponymous album. The song has gained popularity in the U.S. following its use by Apple in an advertisement for their MacBook Air laptop. In the song Naïm sings of being a new soul who has come into the world to learn...

 genre. Also, his work was discovered as a source of sampling by rappers and hip-hop artists.

As of 2009, Ware was recovering from treatment for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

, and credited his friend and fellow songwriter Adrienne Anderson
Adrienne Anderson
Adrienne Anderson is an American songwriter, most notable for being the co-writer of "Could It Be Magic", among other Barry Manilow songs, as well as being the co-writer of signature songs for Dionne Warwick and Peter Allen ....

 with directing him to appropriate medical care.

Ware is featured on the debut album of Irish electo band Zombie Computer
Zombie Computer (band)
Zombie Computer is an Irish electronic/rock band from Cork. The group, formed in 2010, consists of Eoghan Reid , Vincent Murray and Scimon Tist .-History:...

. He features on the title track “Indian Summer” with a beautifully written and performed spoken word piece which is complemented by Zombie Computer’s melodic & rhythmic sensibilities.

Studio albums

Year Album Chart positions Record label
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

US
R&B
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

1972 Leon Ware United Artists
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

1976 Musical Massage Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

1979 Inside Is Love 62 Fabulous
TK Records
TK Records was an American record label started by record distributor, Henry Stone in Miami, Florida, one of several labels that he founded in the 1960s and 1970s...

1981 Rockin' You Eternally Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

1982 Leon Ware
1987 Undercover Sling Shot Records
1995 Taste The Love Kitchen Records
2001 Candlelight
2003 Love's Drippin
2004 A Kiss In The Sand
2008 Moon Ride Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...

"—" denotes the album failed to chart

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