LENNY WILLIAMS
Lenny Williams is part of the Nov. 15 “Blues Is Alright” show at The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. But the 80-year-old crooner does not sing the blues when asked about his own life and career.
“I still have the zest for what I’m doing, and I’m hungry for it,” Williams says. “I get up in the morning and I’m looking for something that connects with people.”
Williams has been connecting to people through music for more than 60 years. The Oakland-based performer first came to national attention as the lead singer for Tower of Power, joining them for hits such as “So Very Hard to Go,” “What is Hip?” and “Don’t Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream).” He left the band in the mid-’70s for a solo career and has now found a home in the Southern Soul movement.
Southern Soul is a genre that mixes gospel, blues, R&B and classic soul. The genre can trace its origins back to the 1960s with breakthrough artists such as Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, who recorded in 1967 with the Muscle Shoals horns. The music is rooted in styles that predate hip-hop and often has a more languorous feel that seems well-suited to the steamy climes of the American South.
In addition to Williams, the lineup of “Blues Is Alright” — which is part of this year’s TD James Moody Jazz Festival — includes Southern artists with different approaches to a common vibe.
Clockwise from top left, Tucka James, King George, Wardell “Pokey Bear” Brown, Theodis Ealey, Lenny Williams and West Love.
King George became popular on the modern Southern Soul circuit with his 2022 album Juke Joint Music, which is filled with upbeat, danceable tunes. Tucka James began as a singer in a Louisiana zydeco band before becoming known for old-school romantic soul. Wardell “Pokey Bear” Brown started as a rapper in Louisiana, but found a career as a Southern Soul crooner.
Other performers include West Love, a blues singer from Mississippi; her fine-grit sandpaper voice carries on the genre-expanding legacy of women such as Koko Taylor and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Theodis Ealey, called “The Bluesman Lover,” is a guitarist and singer from Mississippi who blends a smooth blues style with Southern Soul.
“The combination of mature artists and the younger artists, it works really well,” Williams says.
Williams’ career started in Oakland after singing with church choirs. He began performing as a solo artist and was introduced to a group called The Motown Soul Band. He and the group drifted apart, but he rejoined them after they had renamed themselves Tower of Power and began to take off.
“It was an easy transition, but definitely I felt blessed, and I realized that this is not something that happens to everybody,” he says. “I knew guys that were out there trying to make that happen, that were maybe as talented as me, or maybe more talented. But you know, it just takes everything all coming together to make it happen.”
Williams left the group in part due to the drug use of several of its members, and went out on his own. In 1978 he scored his biggest solo hit, “Cause I Love You.”
The cover of Lenny Williams’ 2012 album, “Still in the Game.”
“The majority of songs are written about love,” he says. “It’s just really interesting. How can you say ‘I love you’ or talk about relationships over a span of, what, 100 years, since people started recording music?”
The other thing that has always stayed the same about music, he says, “is that you’ve got these entities out there that want to control (the music), and are always kind of looking for a way to separate the artists from the money.”
Keeping his eye out for opportunities helped lead him to his latest career transition. He met talent agent Roger Redding, the brother of Otis Redding, who began booking him across the South. Williams says he noticed the popularity of Southern Soul.
“There was a particular type of music that they kind of swayed to,” Williams says. “So I just started learning how to write that kind of music. Just kind of seeing what got them excited, and got them listening, and definitely what made them go spend a dollar to purchase the record … I’ve caught a wave. I guess you could say I’m riding it.”
At an age when many might kick back, Williams is still pursuing his passion for performing.
“I love it,” Williams says. “Putting on my stuff, dressing up, and making sure everything is all together, all buttoned up and shiny and then hear them say, ‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Lenny Williams.’ It’s something I look forward to, and I get excited by it.
“I’ve had droughts where I wasn’t doing anything. The phone wasn’t ringing. Nobody calling. So I definitely don’t ever take that for granted.”
NJPAC will present “Blues Is Alright” at its Prudential Hall, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Visit ticketmaster.com.
_________________________
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
