Blinky (singer)

Last updated
Sondra "Blinky" Williams
Birth nameSondra Williams
Born (1944-05-21) May 21, 1944 (age 80)
Oakland, California U.S.
Genres R&B, Soul
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano
Years active1952–present
Labels Vee-Jay, Atlantic, Motown, Reprise

Sondra "Blinky" Williams (born May 21, 1944) [1] is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, probably best known for singing the female lead on the theme for the 1970s TV series, Good Times .

Contents

Early life

Williams was born in Oakland, California, United States, [1] but later grew up in Los Angeles. The daughter of a pastor, she was active in church choirs since the age of six. Her two siblings are Diana Williams Witherspoon and Pastor Austin F. Williams.

Career

She recorded the album Hark The Voice on Atlantic Records, then moved to Motown where she recorded (as "Blinky") five singles including her debut, the Ashford & Simpson penned single "I Wouldn't Change The Man He Is", (a song reportedly written about Lovin' Spoonful studio bass player James Killingsworth) in 1968, and thought she would find success when she recorded a duet album with Edwin Starr entitled Just We Two , [2] on the heels of his 25 Miles.

However, they did not get the promotion that either the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell or the Supremes-Temptations duets did, and success again eluded her when, after becoming a protégé of Sammy Davis Jr., his deal with the label fell through. Blinky released two further singles for Motown in the early 1970s (on the company's California-based MoWest subsidiary) and has had several others scheduled for release that were not issued. She is also credited with singing the theme for the 1970s TV series, Good Times , along with Jim Gilstrap.

In February 1972, Blinky Williams traveled with Sammy Davis Jr. and other performers on a USO Show trip to Vietnam where they entertained US soldiers at various bases throughout South Vietnam.

Later career

Blinky's version of "God Bless The Child" appears on the album Rock Gospel: The Key To The Kingdom and her recording of "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do" is on the soundtrack of Lady Sings The Blues , the Billie Holiday bio-pic starring Diana Ross. Most of her solo work, save for a few singles, remained unreleased until 2019, when Real Gone Music released a double CD compilation of tracks from the Motown vaults. She can be heard live on the Motortown Revue Live! CD.

In addition, she was one of the original Cogic Singers, with Andraé Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Billy Preston, Edna Wright (lead singer of The Honey Cone), Frankie Karl, and Gloria Jones. Following her non-success with Motown, she returned to gospel music and resumed her given name.

On October 31, 2009, Blinky appeared as a backup singer, along with Sharon Jones, performing The Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street", as part of the rock band Phish's musical costume at their Festival 8, which was held at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California, from October 30, 2009 through November 1, 2009.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Jones</span> American singer-songwriter

Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has worked in multiple genres as a Motown songwriter and recording artist, backing vocalist, and as a performer in musicals such as Hair. In the 1970s, she was a keyboardist and vocalist in Marc Bolan's glam rock band T. Rex. She and Bolan were also in a committed romantic relationship and had a son together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Wells</span> American singer and songwriter (1943–1992)

Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiki Dee</span> English pop singer (born 1947)

Pauline Matthews better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syreeta Wright</span> American singer-songwriter (1946–2004)

Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the mononym Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Holloway</span> American soul singer

Brenda Holloway is an American soul singer who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the hits "Every Little Bit Hurts", "When I'm Gone", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy". The latter, which she co-wrote, was later widely popularized when it became a Top Ten hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears. She left Motown after four years, at the age of 22, and largely retired from the music industry until the 1990s, after her recordings had become popular on the British "Northern soul" scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashford & Simpson</span> American songwriting and recording duo

Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production, recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Undisputed Truth</span> American musical group

The Undisputed Truth was an American Motown recording act assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques. Joe "Pep" Harris served as main lead singer, with Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce Evans on additional leads and background vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Raye</span> American country music singer

Susan Raye is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport", an international crossover pop hit in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tramaine Hawkins</span> American gospel singer (born 1951)

Tramaine Aunzola Richardson, known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins, is an American award-winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won two Grammy Awards, two Doves, and 19 Stellar Awards.

<i>Diana & Marvin</i> 1973 studio album by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye

Diana & Marvin is a duets album by American soul musicians Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released October 26, 1973 on Motown. Recording sessions for the album took place between 1971 and 1973 at Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Gaye and Ross were widely recognized at the time as two of the top pop music performers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Morris</span> American musician (born 1948)

Gary Gwyn Morris is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candi Staton</span> American singer–songwriter (born 1940)

Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In Europe, Staton's biggest selling record is the anthemic "You Got the Love" from 1986, released in collaboration with The Source. Staton was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and is a four-time Grammy Award nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dottie Rambo</span> American singer and songwriter

Dottie Rambo was an American gospel singer and songwriter. She was a Grammy winning solo artist and multiple Dove award-winning artist. Along with ex-husband Buck and daughter Reba, she formed the award-winning southern Gospel group, The Rambos. She wrote more than 2,500 songs, including her most notable, "The Holy Hills of Heaven Call Me", "He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need", "We Shall Behold Him", and "I Go To the Rock".

John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by the Osmonds including a number one on the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the top ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carleen Anderson</span> American soul singer (born 1957)

Carleen Cassandra Anderson is an American musician. She was the vocalist, composer and musician for the Young Disciples and is known for her numerous, varied collaborations. Her solo career began in 1992. She is credited for composing and writing futuristic Operas.

"For Once in My Life" is a song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Stein & Van Stock publishing company, and first recorded in 1965.

Táta Vega is an American vocalist, whose career spans theater, film, and a variety of musical genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You've Made Me So Very Happy</span> 1967 single by Brenda Holloway

"You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label. The song was later a huge hit for jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969, and became a Gold record.

Pattie Howard is an American gospel and R&B Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Composer and Vocal Arranger. She is a Grammy nominated music industry veteran who has released two albums with major record labels, RCA Records and Light Records. Howard, who owns her own full service entertainment company, PH Balanced Music, is also known for singing background for many major artists including Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Brandy, Mary J Blige, Fantasia, Queen LaTifah, Madonna, Rick Astley, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Michael Jackson, Curtis Stiger, Lisa Stansfield, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Reba Rambo, and Diana Ross. She has dozens of gold and platinum albums to her credits encompassing artists from almost every genre. Howard landed one of her most profound gigs traveling the world with Whitney Houston from 1992 to 2001, at the height of her career, The Bodyguard Era. During the early 2000s, Howard returned to songwriting, music production, mixing, and mastering and is currently singing, composing, arranging and producing various artists/bands. In 2016 Pattie released 2 singles through her record label PH Balanced Music. "Jesus Is His Name" introduces Pattie's daughter Shekinah Nicole Howard in a contemporary gospel duet produced by Wow Jones and co produced by Pattie Howard. The second single titled "Feel Me, Heal Me" was also Produced by Wow Jones, written and arranged by Pattie Howard. Pattie Howard is featured in the Nick Broomfield Documentary Whitney Houston "Can I Be Me".

Leonard Caston Jr. is an American rhythm and blues songwriter, record producer, pianist and singer. He recorded for both the Chess and Motown labels in the 1960s and 1970s, and co-wrote or co-produced several major hit records, including Mitty Collier's "I Had A Talk With My Man" (1964), The Supremes' "Nathan Jones" (1971), Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin'" (1973) and "Boogie Down" (1974).

References

  1. 1 2 Bill Dahl (12 October 2001). Motown: the golden years . Krause Publications. p.  339. ISBN   978-0-87349-286-7.
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 269. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.