Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, producer,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, Maxwell,

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, co-producing the latter's album, '' I Want You''.

Biography

Leon Ware was born and raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, United States. In his teens, he was a member of a vocal group, the Romeos, with

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

and Ty Hunter (later of the Originals)."Not Forgotten", ''Record Collector'', No. 466, May 2017, p. 142 After a period at ABC Records he started his career as a songwriter at

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

in 1967. He co-wrote for

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

Martha & the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

and

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. In 1971, he collaborated with

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

, co-writing six songs on their

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

album, ''Nuff Said''. The album reached the #21 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and also appeared on the ''Billboard'' 200. This led to a contract as a solo artist on United Artists where he released his self-titled debut album in 1972. Around this time, Ware began collaborating with Arthur "T-Boy" Ross, younger brother of Diana Ross. One of the songs they wrote was "

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 7 in ''Cash Box'' and number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the ''Billboard ...

" recorded by

for his 1972 album, ''

Got To Be There ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released ...

''.Leon Ware - Musical Massage (Motown Classic Albums re-issue) (CD liner notes). Motown Records. B0000789-02 The single reached #2 R&B charts and peaked at #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1972. Ware wrote for numerous artists during this period including Donny Hathaway and

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

. In 1974, Quincy Jones booked Ware as songwriter and performer for two songs off Jones' ''

Body Heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

'' album. The song, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", hit the R&B charts in September of the year and was covered by the

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

. Ware worked with

on Jones' album and collaborated again on Riperton's album, '' Adventures in Paradise'' album, composing Riperton's R&B hit, "Inside My Love". Ware and T-Boy Ross worked on demos for Ware's second album, this one to be issued on Motown and also for T-Boy Ross to win a deal. One of the demo recordings, " I Want You", was heard by

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

, who decided the song would be a good fit for

. Gaye heard the other demos and decided to record much of it on what would be his next album, '' I Want You''. Buoyed by the number-one

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

, the album peaked at number-one on the R&B charts and reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold over a million copies. Having given away the material for his album, Ware began again on a solo effort for Motown's

Gordy ''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of others ...

label. The result would be Ware's second album, ''Musical Massage''. Released in September 1976, the album failed to chart and was not properly promoted. Ware produced the ''Shadows In The Street'' album for the group

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

, which was released in 1981. Ware continued his songwriting and producing career while also releasing solo albums between 1979 and 2008. During that period, Ware wrote for

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

, Loose Ends,

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

, Krystol,

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

and

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

, co-writing the latter's European hit, "Independence" in 1993. Ware contributed to singer Maxwell's 1996 debut album ''

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite ''Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite'' is the debut album by American R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell. It was recorded in 1994 and 1995, then released on April 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. Maxwell largely wrote and produced the album himself, recordin ...

'' by co-writing "

Sumthin' Sumthin' "Sumthin' Sumthin'" is a mid-uptempo song by American neo soul singer Maxwell, released as the third single from his debut album, '' Urban Hang Suite''. It peaked at number 22 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart in the ...

". The album is considered one of the landmark albums of the

neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

genre. At the time of that success, Ware's earlier work became a heavy source of samples in hip-hop music. As of 2009, Ware was recovering from treatment for prostate cancer, and credited his friend and fellow songwriter

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 ("Déjà Vu") and Peter Allen (" I Go t ...

with directing him to appropriate medical care. He died in Marina del Rey, California on February 23, 2017 from complications of prostate cancer. He was 77.

Discography

Studio albums

Charted singles

Songwriting credits

Ware wrote and co-wrote dozens of songs for various artists, some of his credits include: * 1966: "Tell Me I'll Never Be Alone" –

Martha & The Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

* 1967: ''Souled Out'' –

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...

* 1967: "Land of Tomorrow" –

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye ...

* 1967: "Got To Have You Back" –

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

* 1969: "

When My Love Hand Comes Down ''I Am My Brother's Keeper'' is a 1970 album by Motown vocalists and siblings Jimmy Ruffin and David Ruffin,Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wile ...

" – The Ruffin Brothers * 1970: "2-4-6-8" –

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

* 1970: "Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)" –

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

* 1971: '''Nuff Said'' –

* 1972: "

" –

* 1972: " Up In Heah" – Ike & Tina Turner * 1972: "I Know How It Feels To Be Lonely" –

Delaney & Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg ...

* 1972: "Don't Tell Me I'm Crazy" –

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

* 1973: "Give Me Just Another Day" –

* 1973: "Stay Away" –

Valentinos Valentinos ( el, Βαλεντίνος) is a Greek male given name, equivalent to the English name Valentine. People with this given name include: * Valentinos Sielis (born 1990; el, link=no, Βαλεντίνος Σιέλης), Cypriot soccer p ...

* 1973: "Able, Qualified, And Ready" –

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

* 1973: "Rolling Down A Mountainside" –

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

* 1973: "Euphoria" – Michael Jackson * 1973: "

It's Too Late To Change The Time ''G.I.T.: Get It Together'' (a.k.a. ''Get It Together'') is the eighth studio album by the Jackson 5, released on September 12, 1973 for the Motown label. The album featured the minor hit "Get It Together (The Jackson 5 song), Get It Together" and ...

" – The Jackson 5 * 1973: "Don't Say Goodbye Again" – The Jackson 5 * 1973: "I Know It's You" – Donny Hathaway * 1974: "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" –

* 1975: '' Adventures In Paradise'' –

* 1975: "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" – Nancy Wilson * 1975: "If I Don't Love You This Way" –

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

* 1975: "Git It" –

* 1976: '' I Want You'' –

* 1977: " Fantasy Is Reality" –

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

* 1980: "Everywhere Inside Of Me" –

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is pos ...

* 1980: "No Tricks" –

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

* 1984: "Show Me Your Magic" –

Bobby King Bobby King (born July 28, 1944, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States) is an American gospel-style, R&B and soul singer. He formed a singing duo with Terry Evans in the early 1970s. Since 1973, King has sung on most Ry Cooder albums. He wa ...

* 1984: "My Dear Mr. Gaye" –

* 1986: "Love's Been Here And Gone" –

* 1986: "You Make Me Want To (Love Again)" –

Vesta Williams Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an American singer-songwriter, who performed across genres such as pop, jazz, adult contemporary and R&B. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was simply known as Vesta begin ...

* 1996: "

" – Maxwell

References

External links

* A
Allmusic
*

at Soul Walking *
Leon Ware
75 minute audio mix with dialogue
Leon Ware 2012 Interview at Soulinterviews.com

Video

Leon Ware RBMA video lecture session
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Leon 1940 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Detroit American soul musicians Record producers from Michigan Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in California African-American male singer-songwriters United Artists Records artists Elektra Records artists P-Vine Records artists Motown artists Stax Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan