About Leon Ware :

 

One of the true unsung Soul warriors, Leon Ware has quietly written a stunning variety and breadth of classic soul music over the last 40 years.  Born and raised in Detroit, Ware joined Motown in the late 60s and by the early 70s was one of that label's key writers - often at the expense of his own singing career.

 

Ware's first major composition, the Isley Brothers' "Got To Have You Back," appeared on their Soul On The Rocks CD, and Ware helped Michael Jackson launch his solo career with "I Wanna Be Where You Are," a classic cut that has been remade dozens of times (most notably by Jose Feliciano and Chaka Khan).  But perhaps his most memorable contribution at Motown was his thematic disc with Marvin Gaye, I Want You, considered by many to be among Motown's greatest albums of the 70s.  The album was originally written by Ware for his own use, but he ended up handing Gaye a masterpiece, with Ware's production and songwriting taking Gaye in a musical direction markedly different than either What's Goin' On or Let's Get It On.

 

By the late 70s, artists outside of Motown were clamoring for Ware's help, and over the next 20 years he wrote dozens of wonderful cuts that became hits for artists such as the Average White Band ("If I Ever Lose This Heaven"), Peabo Bryson ("Lovers After All" with Melissa Manchester), the Main Ingredient ("Rolling Down a Mountainside"), Jeffrey Osborne ("Forever Mine") and Maxwell ("Sumthin' Sumthin'").  His work as a producer and backing vocalist also continued with artists such as Bobby Womack, El DeBarge, Teena Marie, Billy Griffin, the Isley Brothers and, most recently, Michael McDonald.

Unfortunately, while he was making hits for others, Ware's own singing career often suffered.  Despite recording a handful of critically acclaimed albums for Motown and Elektra during the 70s and 80s, he remained a secret to many outside the music industry. 

Ware continued to record sporadically in the 90s, but at the end of that decade began a new period of productivity and a more concentrated effort to establish his solo performing career.  He released Candlelight to good response and followed it with Love's Drippin' and Deeper over the next couple of years.  Most recently, in 2005 he released A Kiss In The Sand on his own Kitchen Records and he followed it three years later with Moon Ride on Stax Records.

And now as Ware approaches a half century in the music business, his legacy is stronger than ever. While never a household name, he has left an indelible mark in the history of soul music.

http://www.soultracks.com

 

Albums:

Leon Ware (United Artists Records 1972)

The Education Of Sonny Carson (Paramount Records 1973)

Musical Massage (Motown Records 1976)

Inside Is Love (Fabulous Records 1979)

Rockin' You Eternally (Elektra Records 1981)

Leon Ware (Elektra Records 1982)

Undercover Lover (Sling Shot Records 1989)

Taste The Love (Expansion Records 1996)

Musical Massage (Expansion Records 2001, with additional unreleased material)

Candlelight (Expansion Records 2001)

Love's Drippin' (Kitchen Records Records 2003)

Deeper (Blues Interaction Inc Japan Records 2003/4)

A Kiss In The Sand (Kitchen Records 2004)

Moon Ride (Stax Records 2008)

Leon Ware & Friends (Expansion Records 2010)