Lenny Williams

"Girl, you know I-I-I-I love you/No matter what I do..."

It was THE scene: Steve Harvey lip-synching these words in The Original Kings Of Comedy, the smash hit tour and film of summer 2000, as the crowd crooned along to Lenny Williams and his classic ballad "'Cause I Love You."

Now all of Williams' biggest hits, favorite album tracks and rare singles, as a solo artist and as the defining lead singer of Tower Of Power, have been gathered together on Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection (Hip-O Records), released July 17, 2001. The first comprehensive major label compilation of his career, Ultimate Collection brings together 16 selections, the best of his work from 1973-1979 on ABC, MCA, Warner Bros. and Motown. From the Tower Of Power Top 40 R&B hits "What Is Hip?," "Don't Changes Horses (In The Middle Of The Stream)" and "So Very Hard To Go" to his own R&B Top 40s "You Got Me Running," "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!," "Midnight Girl" and "Doing The Loop De Loop"-all in their original, full-length album mixes-Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection showcases one of soul-pop's finest singers.

A passionate, wailing, gospel-influenced dynamo of a singer, Williams joined TOP in 1973. Both a belter and a balladeer, he was the horn-centered group's ideal singer. On their self-titled 1973 album, and Ultimate Collection, he's heard on the band's biggest single hit, "So Very Hard To Go" (#11 R&B/#17 pop), and the memorable "What Is Hip?" Back To Oakland, from 1974, included the classic ballad "Just When We Start Makin' It" and the funk hit, "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)."

After TOP's monumental Urban Renewal, Lenny left the group permanently in 1975. His solo Motown album, Rise Sleeping Beauty, with "Since I Met You," his first chart hit, was released shortly thereafter. He moved to ABC Records in 1977. Choosing You included the addictive groove of the title track, the soothing "Problem Solver" and the upbeat "Look Up With Your Mind" and "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!" "You Got Me Running" and "Midnight Girl" appeared on Spark Of Love (1978). But more importantly, that album featured a re-worked version of a ballad from his Motown album-"'Cause I Love You." It was never a single, but you can call it Lenny Williams' biggest and best-known performance on record. His two subsequent MCA albums, Love Current (1979) and Let's Do It Today (1980), bore "Love Hurt Me, Love Healed Me" and "Doing The Loop De Loop" as well as "I've Been Away From Love Too Long" and "Let's Talk It Over."

Williams recorded sporadically throughout the '90s, and today he continues to tour. With Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection, now you too can sing along to an Old School soul master.

Lenny Williams is the latest compilation album in the Hip-O Ultimate Collection series which celebrates noteworthy artists.

"Girl, you know I-I-I-I love you/No matter what I do..."

It was THE scene: Steve Harvey lip-synching these words in The Original Kings Of Comedy, the smash hit tour and film of summer 2000, as the crowd crooned along to Lenny Williams and his classic ballad "'Cause I Love You."

Now all of Williams' biggest hits, favorite album tracks and rare singles, as a solo artist and as the defining lead singer of Tower Of Power, have been gathered together on Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection (Hip-O Records), released July 17, 2001. The first comprehensive major label compilation of his career, Ultimate Collection brings together 16 selections, the best of his work from 1973-1979 on ABC, MCA, Warner Bros. and Motown. From the Tower Of Power Top 40 R&B hits "What Is Hip?," "Don't Changes Horses (In The Middle Of The Stream)" and "So Very Hard To Go" to his own R&B Top 40s "You Got Me Running," "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!," "Midnight Girl" and "Doing The Loop De Loop"-all in their original, full-length album mixes-Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection showcases one of soul-pop's finest singers.

A passionate, wailing, gospel-influenced dynamo of a singer, Williams joined TOP in 1973. Both a belter and a balladeer, he was the horn-centered group's ideal singer. On their self-titled 1973 album, and Ultimate Collection, he's heard on the band's biggest single hit, "So Very Hard To Go" (#11 R&B/#17 pop), and the memorable "What Is Hip?" Back To Oakland, from 1974, included the classic ballad "Just When We Start Makin' It" and the funk hit, "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)."

After TOP's monumental Urban Renewal, Lenny left the group permanently in 1975. His solo Motown album, Rise Sleeping Beauty, with "Since I Met You," his first chart hit, was released shortly thereafter. He moved to ABC Records in 1977. Choosing You included the addictive groove of the title track, the soothing "Problem Solver" and the upbeat "Look Up With Your Mind" and "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!" "You Got Me Running" and "Midnight Girl" appeared on Spark Of Love (1978). But more importantly, that album featured a re-worked version of a ballad from his Motown album-"'Cause I Love You." It was never a single, but you can call it Lenny Williams' biggest and best-known performance on record. His two subsequent MCA albums, Love Current (1979) and Let's Do It Today (1980), bore "Love Hurt Me, Love Healed Me" and "Doing The Loop De Loop" as well as "I've Been Away From Love Too Long" and "Let's Talk It Over."

Williams recorded sporadically throughout the '90s, and today he continues to tour. With Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection, now you too can sing along to an Old School soul master.

Lenny Williams is the latest compilation album in the Hip-O Ultimate Collection series which celebrates noteworthy artists.

"Girl, you know I-I-I-I love you/No matter what I do..."

It was THE scene: Steve Harvey lip-synching these words in The Original Kings Of Comedy, the smash hit tour and film of summer 2000, as the crowd crooned along to Lenny Williams and his classic ballad "'Cause I Love You."

Now all of Williams' biggest hits, favorite album tracks and rare singles, as a solo artist and as the defining lead singer of Tower Of Power, have been gathered together on Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection (Hip-O Records), released July 17, 2001. The first comprehensive major label compilation of his career, Ultimate Collection brings together 16 selections, the best of his work from 1973-1979 on ABC, MCA, Warner Bros. and Motown. From the Tower Of Power Top 40 R&B hits "What Is Hip?," "Don't Changes Horses (In The Middle Of The Stream)" and "So Very Hard To Go" to his own R&B Top 40s "You Got Me Running," "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!," "Midnight Girl" and "Doing The Loop De Loop"-all in their original, full-length album mixes-Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection showcases one of soul-pop's finest singers.

A passionate, wailing, gospel-influenced dynamo of a singer, Williams joined TOP in 1973. Both a belter and a balladeer, he was the horn-centered group's ideal singer. On their self-titled 1973 album, and Ultimate Collection, he's heard on the band's biggest single hit, "So Very Hard To Go" (#11 R&B/#17 pop), and the memorable "What Is Hip?" Back To Oakland, from 1974, included the classic ballad "Just When We Start Makin' It" and the funk hit, "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)."

After TOP's monumental Urban Renewal, Lenny left the group permanently in 1975. His solo Motown album, Rise Sleeping Beauty, with "Since I Met You," his first chart hit, was released shortly thereafter. He moved to ABC Records in 1977. Choosing You included the addictive groove of the title track, the soothing "Problem Solver" and the upbeat "Look Up With Your Mind" and "Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!" "You Got Me Running" and "Midnight Girl" appeared on Spark Of Love (1978). But more importantly, that album featured a re-worked version of a ballad from his Motown album-"'Cause I Love You." It was never a single, but you can call it Lenny Williams' biggest and best-known performance on record. His two subsequent MCA albums, Love Current (1979) and Let's Do It Today (1980), bore "Love Hurt Me, Love Healed Me" and "Doing The Loop De Loop" as well as "I've Been Away From Love Too Long" and "Let's Talk It Over."

Williams recorded sporadically throughout the '90s, and today he continues to tour. With Lenny Williams: Ultimate Collection, now you too can sing along to an Old School soul master.

Lenny Williams is the latest compilation album in the Hip-O Ultimate Collection series which celebrates noteworthy artists.