Joseph Williams
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Joseph Williams (born September 1, 1960), is a rock singer and film score composer best known commercially for his work in the rock/pop band Toto, although his voice is well known to millions more from the soundtrack to the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King, for which he provided the singing voice of the main character Simba.
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[edit] History
Joseph Williams was lead vocalist with Toto during the mid-to-late 1980s, and was featured on the albums "Fahrenheit" (1986) and "The Seventh One" (1988) before leaving due to personal problems. He can also be heard on the album "Toto XX" (1998) a compilation of rare and unreleased tracks, as well as co-writing and providing backing vocals on several more. He is featured on Toto's current CD, "Falling In Between" (Released in the U.S. in February 2006).
He has released four solo albums: "Joseph Williams" (1982, re-released 2002), "I Am Alive" (1996), "3" (1997) and "Early Years" (1998). Many of Toto's members have contributed to his solo work over the years, as he and the band have remained on good terms.
Joseph has also been a session vocalist, and can be heard on numerous other projects including:
- The song "Save The Night" on the soundtrack to the children's adventure film "The Goonies" (1985)
- Lead vocals on three tracks - "Walk The Wire", "History" and "When You Look In My Eyes" from Jay Graydon's "Airplay for the Planet" album (1993)
- On the songs "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from Disney's animated feature film "The Lion King" (1994)
- Sharing vocal duties on two albums by the a capella covers group The West Coast All Stars; "California Dreamin'" and "Naturally" (1997/1998 respectively). The other vocalists are Bobby Kimball (another well-known Toto alumni), Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff (from the band Chicago).
- Providing lead vocals to the self titled first album by the band "Vertigo" in 2003.
He was also the writer of the original English lyrics for the song Lapti Nek from the original 1983 release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Ties to the band Chicago:
- When Toto's Jeff Porcaro offered Jason Scheff the job of lead vocalist (replacing Fergie Fredrickson), Jason declined having already just gotten the job as new lead vocalist for Chicago (replacing Peter Cetera). Jason however recommended Joseph to Toto instead, after Chicago had just been listening to demos with Joseph singing lead vocals earlier that day, looking for material for the Chicago 18 album. Although none of his songs ended up on the album, a song written by Joseph, What You're Missing, appeared on the earlier '16' album.
- Jason Scheff was also a close friend of Joseph's brother, Mark.
- Joseph and Jason have also appeared on each other's recordings.
- Joseph sings background vocals on Chicago's King of Might Have Been from the 2006 album, XXX.
His brother, Mark Towner Williams, is a solo and session drummer who has played drums for Air Supply and a variety of other bands. The two brothers recorded a duo album in 1990/1991, but didn't succeed in landing a record deal for the album, which was subsequently cancelled. Mark has been working on remixing the album for a possible release since 1998, however the two brothers seemingly haven't found the time to re-work it for an official release. Joseph recently commented that it was difficult to find the opportunity to do as, as Mark currently resides in Utah and Joseph in Los Angeles. Joseph and Mark are the sons of the internationally famous, and multi Academy Award winning composer/conductor John Williams, responsible for soundtracks to the Star Wars films, and nearly all of Steven Spielberg's films including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List.
Since leaving Toto in 1989, Williams has kept busy as a composer of film and drama scores, most notably for episodes of the science fiction series "Roswell", and "The Lyon's Den" starring Rob Lowe.
In addition to his guest spot on the new Toto album, the second "Vertigo" album has been recorded and is due for release in 2006. Williams also released an album of cover songs in 2006, featuring piano and voice only.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo Albums & Lead Vocals
- 1982: Joseph Williams
- 1986: Fahrenheit (Toto)
- 1988: The Seventh One (Toto)
- 1996: I Am Alive
- 1997: 3
- 1999: Early Years
- 2003: Vertigo
- 2004 - 2006: Two Of Us
- 2006: Vertigo 2
[edit] Solo Singles
- 1982: That First Night
- 1982: (Momma) I Didn't Do It / One More Chance
- 1996: Heroes / I Believe in You
- 1996: Dirty Little War
- 1996: Perfectly Clear / Heroes
[edit] Solo Non-Album Singles
- 1984: Toughen Up / Fire Power (from the Body by Jake soundtrack)
- 1985: Save the Night (from the Goonies Movie Soundtrack)
- 1986: My One / DJ in my Life
- 1995: Look at Me
[edit] Guest Vocals
- 1990: Tatsuro Songs from L.A. (Compilation)
- 1991: Tatsuro Songs from L.A. 2 (Compilation)
- 1993: Airplay for the Planet (Jay Graydon)
- 1994: The Lion King (Original Movie Soundtrack)
- 1997: California Dreamin' (West Coast All Stars)
- 1998: Naturally (West Coast All Stars)
- 1998: Toto XX (Toto)
- 1999: In a Dream (Lionel's Dad)
- 2006: Falling in Between (Toto)
