Postscript: Leon Ware
Leon Ware.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. So it goes with unsung musical pioneers, the men and women who played crucial roles in the careers of superstars and record executives. These people penned arrangements that stood the test of time, lay down the groove behind countless tracks and wrote class-A songs that were vehicles for legends. Unfortunately, these folks stay under the radar until they pass and few people give them a proper eulogy. That’s why I follow Questlove on Instagram - among other reasons - because he gives the sidemen, producers, songwriters and arrangers their due. He’s a drummer, so he knows what’s up.
Ware with Marvin Gaye.
It was through Questlove’s Instagram that I learned of the passing of Leon Ware. Ware’s musical credentials run deep, and he was best known for producing and co-writing Marvin Gaye’s seminal (pun intended) 1976 album I Want You. In fact, it was Ware who defined soul’s sound in the later half of the 1970s. He married the sensual backbeat of funk and the lush melodies of jazz in a holy union that’s stood the test of decades, thanks to being rediscovered by young crate diggers. The renaissance of old school soul has produced endless samples that find their way onto hip-hop tracks, Spotify playlists and niche radio shows like Six Million Steps. The latter has an episode dedicated to Ware - produced long before his death at the age of 77 - which I tune into when I need inspiration or soothing, because that’s what Leon Ware’s music did best.
Born February 16, 1940, Ware grew up in Detroit and passed days after his 77th birthday. That seems young in this day and age, but let’s not forget Ware had an illustrious and full 50-year career in music. He began as a songwriter in 1967, working with the likes of Stevie Wonder and the Isley Brothers, before his breakout 1972 tune “I Wanna Be Where You Are.” Sung by Michael Jackson, “I Wanna Be Where You Are” hit #16 on the Billboard charts. Charts weren’t the metric of Ware’s success, however, like many influential musicians. With “I Wanna Be Where You Are,” Ware cemented his reputation as a man that turned out a melody like no one’s business. Though Jackson’s rendition of the tune was brighter and poppier than most of Ware’s personal output, it nonetheless introduced audiences to his lush arrangements and sensuous chord progressions. Ware had a good ear for not only what went together, but what sounded romantic. After all, romance was his métier.
Marvin Gaye's 1976 masterpiece I Want You, which Ware produced and co-wrote.
In terms of romance, Ware’s 1976 album Musical Massage oozes sensuality from every note. And just look at the cover. The erotic beauty of a female model on all fours, back arched and butt in the air, lets listeners know what the album is all about before the first note of the first track. Unfortunately for Ware, Musical Massage came out the same year as Marvin Gaye’s I Want You, which he produced and cowrote. The two album’s tracks sounded interchangeable because they were both defined by Ware’s haunting, seductive minor-key love songs. In fact, they share several tracks. Gaye covered “I Wanna Be Where You Are” and performed a version of Ware’s duet with Minnie Riperton, “Come Live With Me Angel.” There’s also an instrumental version of Ware’s “You Are The Way You Are” on I Want You.
Of the twin albums, it’s Gaye’s that people remember 40 years later though Ware’s is as good. Songs like the title track, “Phantom Lover” and “Body Heat” let Ware define his individual style more than other tracks penned for Gaye and Riperton, and they stand out among Musical Massage’s best. As a whole, the album fits together as well as I Want You, and they’re best enjoyed back to back. Dim the lights and grab your lover, because these two hours of music built on raw, unbridled passion mean it will be a long night.
Ware followed up Musical Massage with a series of well-regarded (yet undersung) albums, the best being 1981’s Rockin’ You Eternally. The title track defined the blueprint for love songs of the era, and bands like the Whispers and Atlantic Starr followed suit and started making music using Ware’s signature flourishes. Amid the straight ahead love songs on Rockin’, Ware threw in explorative tunes like “In Our Garden,” which features flutes, strings and synthesizers interspersed with political dialogue. The garden here functions as both a refuge from strife and discrimination, and a place where lovers rendezvous. Even in Ware’s most political tunes, his sweet tenor (which veered into alto falsetto) possessed undertones of love and few verses went by where he didn’t speak of the amorous arts.
Ware with frequent collaborator Quincy Jones.
After staying under the radar in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ware co-wrote Maxwell’s 1996 single “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” and produced his excellent album Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite. Since then, Ware’s music experienced a resurgence that introduced him to younger listeners. These open-eared audiophiles included Theophilus London and Tyler the Creator, who worked with Ware on music in 2014 (London’s Vibes) and 2015 (Tyler’s “OKAGA, CA” off Cherry Bomb). Though their lyrical content couldn’t be more different from Ware’s, their melodies’ flowing lines are direct descendents of Ware’s arranging style. Hopefully this influence cements Ware’s place among the all-time great R&B singers and songsmiths, a place that might elude him because he never had a hit of his own. Nonetheless, it’s a place he belongs in because of his contributions to defining the sound of soul, under his own name and for others.