Song:Let's Hear It For the Boy
Album:The Best Of Deniece Williams: Gonna Take A Miracle
The 1984 chart topper Let's Hear It For The Boy was the biggest solo hit for Deniece Williams. Not long after, Deniece quit secular music for gospel and she still sings gospel today. She was born June Deciece Chandler June 3, 1950 in Gary, IN. She grew up singing in church with her mom. Deniece attended Morgan State University in Baltimore with plans to become a nurse. But she was still interested in music. She was influenced by Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson and especially Minnie Riperton. Her cousin John Harris was a valet for Stevie Wonder and he introduced them and she was hired as a backup singer. She tired of touring after a few years and left in 1975. She signed with Columbia Records and Maurice White and Charles Stepney of Earth Wind & Fire. Her first hit single was Free in 1976. Then she recorded the single Too Much, Too Little, Too Late with Johnny Mathis in 1978. The song was a surprise #1 hit mainly because Mathis hadn't had a hit in years. So the two recorded an album together. Deniece returned to her solo career. She had always recorded one gospel song on each album. But by 1980, she was considering leaving secular music for gospel permanently. She continued to have hits like the 1982 top ten hit It's Gonna Take A Miracle. George Duke produced a few songs on her 1983 album I'm So Proud. So Deniece decided to work with Duke on her next album. Dean Pitchford was a songwriter best known for the 1980 hit Fame. He wrote the screenplay and the music for the 1984 film Footloose. Let's Hear It For The Boy was written with Tom Snow. They pitched it to Deniece and she decided to record it. It topped the charts. The soundtrack for Footloose was a huge success. But the song also appeared on her 1984 album Let's Hear It For The Boy. While still recording for Columbia, she recorded the 1986 gospel album So Glad I Know for Sparrow Records. The producer on that album Brad Westering started producing her Columbia albums. This led to Deniece leaving Columbia for MCA after her late 80s albums were unsuccessful. But she only recorded one album for MCA and she left secular music for gospel. You can get all her Columbia hits on this budget comp. In recent years, Deniece Williams has surfaced occasionally. She last recorded an album in 2007. But she still tours and I guess she's an 80s nostalgia act at this point. Here's the video for Let's Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams.
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