My Melody (Deniece Williams album)

My Melody is the fifth studio album by American singer Deniece Williams, released in March 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records.^[1] The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart.^[2] My Melody was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.^[3]

Overview

"Silly" and "What Two Can Do" were released as singles with each peaking at No. 11 and No. 17, respectively, on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	^[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[6]

Andrew Hamilton of AllMusic declared: "Deniece's heavenly soprano is as impressive as ever under the guidance of producer Thom Bell. The sweet Philly sound architect keeps Williams' expressive, high-range vocals under wraps, transforming her into a bel canto singer on eight delightful selections."^[4] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that "although her roots are R&B, Miss Williams transcends easy categorisation with this collection of material and her versatile presentation."^[5] Stephen Holden of The New York Times found that "My Melody, Miss Williams's fourth solo album, is an inspired collaboration with Thom Bell, the Philadelphia songwriter and producer whose hits with the Stylistics and the Spinners in the early 70's epitomized pop-soul elegance."^[7] Phyl Garland of Stereo Review scribed "several of the songs have a comfortable, nestling down quality that makes the album, if not one of her best, at least easy to enjoy."^[8]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Melody"	Thom Bell, Deniece Williams	4:12
2.	"It's Your Conscience"	Thom Bell, Deniece Williams	4:53
3.	"Silly"	Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald, Deniece Williams	5:56
4.	"Strangers"	Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald, Deniece Williams	6:26

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"What Two Can Do"	Thom Bell, Deniece Williams	3:50
6.	"You're All That Matters"	Thom Bell, Preston Glass, Alan Glass, Deniece Williams	5:17
7.	"Suspicious"	Thom Bell, Deniece Williams	4:14
8.	"Sweet Surrender"	Thom Bell, Deniece Williams	4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[9]	74
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[10]	13

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Position
US Billboard 200^[11]	86
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[12]	16

Singles – Billboard
Year	Single	Chart	Position
1981	"It's Your Conscience"	Soul Singles	45	US
1981	"Silly"	Hot 100	53	US
1981	"Silly"	Soul Singles	11	US
1981	"What Two Can Do"	Soul Singles	17	US

Personnel

Musicians

Deniece Williams – lead vocals
Thom Bell – keyboards, backing vocals, arrangements and conductor
George Merrill – keyboards, backing vocals
Bobby Eli – guitars
Bill Neale – guitars
Bob Babbitt – bass
Charles Collins – drums
Ed Shea – percussion
Larry Washington – percussion
Don Renaldo – strings, horns
Carl Helm – backing vocals

Production

Producers – Thom Bell and Deniece Williams
Production Coordination – JoDee Omar and Bo Ryan
Rhythm Tracks and Vocals engineered by Jim Gallagher and Don Murray.
Strings and Horns engineered by Jim Gallagher and Arthur Stoppe.
Mixed by Don Murray at Monterey Sound Studios (Glendale, CA).
Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
Art Direction – Desmond Strobel
Photography – Charles William Bush
Fashions – Ann Taylor
Management – Alan Mink and Sherwin Bash at BNB Associates, Ltd.

^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Deniece Williams: My Melody". 45worlds.com.
^ "Deniece Williams: My Melody (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
^ "Deniece Williams: My Melody". riaa.com. RIAA.
^ ^a ^b Hamilton, Andrew. "Deniece Williams: My Melody". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
^ ^a ^b "Deniece Williams: My Melody". newspapers.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 29, 1981. p. 80.
^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 766.
^ Holden, Stephen (April 26, 1981). "TWO TASTEFULLY OPULENT RELEASES". The New York Times.
^ Garland, Phyl (August 1981). "Denice Williams: My Melody" (PDF). Vol. 46, no. 8. Stereo Review. p. 83. Retrieved July 17, 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

v t e Deniece Williams
Studio albums	This Is Niecy (1976) Song Bird (1977) When Love Comes Calling (1979) My Melody (1981) Niecy (1982) I'm So Proud (1983) Let's Hear It for the Boy (1984) So Glad I Know (1986) Water Under the Bridge (1987) Special Love (1989) This Is My Song (1998)
Duet albums	That's What Friends Are For (1978) (with Johnny Mathis)
Compilation albums	From the Beginning (1990)
Singles	"Free" (1976) "That's What Friends Are For" (1977) "Baby, Baby My Love's All for You" (1977) "I've Got the Next Dance" (1979) "What Two Can Do" (1981) "Silly" (1981) "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" (1982) "Waiting by the Hotline" (1982) "Do What You Feel" (1983) "I'm So Proud" (1983) "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (1984) "Next Love" (1984) "Black Butterfly" (1984) "Wiser and Weaker" (1986) "Never Say Never" (1987) "I Confess" (1987) "I Can't Wait" (1988) "This Is as Good as It Gets" (1988)
Duet singles	"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (1978) (with Johnny Mathis) "You're All I Need to Get By" (1978) (with Johnny Mathis) "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (1984) (with Johnny Mathis)
Related topics	Discography Family Ties

This page was last edited on 26 March 2024, at 12:50

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