Carol Williams, born in Montclair,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is a vocalist and songwriter who achieved success with her disco songs in the 1970s. She was the first female artist signed to the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

label

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...

. Carol Williams was once a member of the

post-disco Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to c ...

garage house Garage house (originally known as "garage"; local terms include "New York house" and New Jersey sound) is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s ...

studio project called

Komiko Komiko was a short-lived electronic music studio group signed to SAM Records, an independent label in New York City. According to Allmusic, Carol Williams was once a member of this group but the vocals are attributed to unnamed female personnel, m ...

Career

Williams began her career working with producer

Vincent Montana, Jr. Vincent Montana Jr. (February 12, 1928 – April 13, 2013), known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has b ...

and the

Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestra was formed i ...

. Her most notable recording, "

More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka ...

", was very popular at a time when disco was just breaking into the mainstream. The success of "More" led to the ''Lectric Lady'' album, released on Salsoul Records in 1976 and featured the singles "Come Back" and "Love Is You". The latter song was sampled in 1999 by Italian DJ

Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single " Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, ...

in an instrumental track called " Groove Jet", on the ''Mighty Miami EP'', and in 2000 in the vocal version of the track, called "

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" is a song by Italian electronic music producer Spiller with lead vocals performed by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the German reissue and som ...

" with vocals performed by

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

. The track featuring Ellis-Bextor reached number one in the UK and Australia, and sparked renewed demand for the original. Not long after the release of her album, Williams parted Salsoul Records. In 1978 she signed with Canadian label Roy B.

Quality Records Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

where she recorded a duet with singer producer Tony Valor "Love Has Come My Way". Her second album ''Reflections of Carol Williams'' was issued in 1979 and featured the singles "Tell the World" and "Dance the Night Away".

1980s to present

She turned down

Darryl Payne Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darelle ...

's song "Over Like a Fat Rat" and passed it to

Fonda Rae Fonda Rae Wood (performing as simply Fonda Rae) is an American R&B singer best known for her club hits like "Over Like a Fat Rat" and " Touch Me" (the latter which was later covered by Cathy Dennis). She has also worked with artists such as Don ...

because she wasn't fond of the concept of a song that is "about a rat," defending her position, "Anything I am singing has to make sense to me and tell a story." Rae's version which turned into a minor club hit was appraised by Williams, " ndshe did a fantastic job. The way they arranged it—it was amazing." In 1982 she had a R&B hit "Can't Get Away (from Your Love)" on Vanguard label which did well on the ''Billboard'' dance chart peaking at number 38. "You've Reached the Bottom Line" was also a dance chart hit in 1983, and peaked at number 59. Carol Williams is still performing spending up to ten hours a day in her

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, recording studio. She actively does shows on

flashback concerts and travels with her live band. Her songs have appeared on various Salsoul and

Unidisc Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cap ...

compilations. In 2016 she co-wrote, co-produced and sang "It’s Gonna Be Different" with her musician son De-Verne Williams Jr.

Discography

Albums

* ''Lectric Lady'' (1976,

) * ''Reflections of Carol Williams'' (1979,

)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carol Year of birth missing (living people) American disco musicians American women pop singers American dance musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters People from Montclair, New Jersey Salsoul Records artists Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers