Will Wheaton

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the musician. For the actor and writer, see Wil Wheaton. For the 19th-century lawyer and baseball pioneer, see William Wheaton.

Will Wheaton
Birth nameWillie Mack Wheaton Jr.
Born (1972-10-26) October 26, 1972 (age 51)
OriginLaurel, Mississippi, United States
GenresSoul, jazz
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Voice, bass guitar
Years active1990s–present
LabelsPlatinum Bass Records

Will Wheaton, born Willie Mack Wheaton Jr. (born October 26, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He grew up in Los Angeles and is the son of Gospel singer Juanita Wheaton.[1] He studied music in his teens and was eventually tutored by Furman Fordham, whose former students include Lena Horne.

He became a sought-after studio background singer and has performed on projects for

Sprite.[3]

In 1992 he won

Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster who signed him to the vocal group Next Millennium. He co-wrote four songs for the project with Foster[5] but that album was not released either.[6]

Wheaton began to achieve major success as a songwriter in the 1990s and has composed songs for the

Manhattans, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tevin Campbell, Will Downing, and Iyanla Vanzant. He also co-wrote the title hit for American superstar Anastacia's Not That Kind
which sold over 10 million copies.

He has released two albums on his own Platinum Brass Records imprint: Consenting Adultz in 1999, and the critically acclaimed Old School Soul in 2005. In a nationwide promotion and marketing campaign, the latter was launched in AMC Theatres in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and New York.[3]

In 2000

Black Entertainment Television used three of Wheaton's songs from "Consenting Adultz" for its Midnight Blue movie of the week. He also sang bass on the soundtrack for The Temptations mini series. The Felicity TV series used two of his songs for their syndication update.[3]

He toured with Japanese superstar Namie Amuro on her Genius 2000 tour and has worked on her recent albums. He was also a featured singer in Ben Stiller's Mystery Men. Wheaton lives in Los Angeles.

Discography

Projects including Will Wheaton compositions (partial list)

  • Not That Kind – Anastacia single (album title song 1998)
  • Earth Wind and Fire
  • Somewhere in the Night (lyrics) –
    Manhattans
    , Even Now
  • Invitation Only – Will Downing
  • In The Mean Time – Iyanla Vanzant (Inspirational project)
  • Consenting Adultz – Will Wheaton
  • Old School Soul – Will Wheaton
  • French Exit – Film score contribution
  • Mystery Men – Film (featured singer)
  • Lady in My Life - Will Wheaton cover of Rod Temperton composition first popularized by Michael Jackson

References

  1. ^ Soultracks.com
  2. ^ Musicmos.com, Rod Stewart When We Were The New Boys
  3. ^ a b c Music Remedy.com
  4. ^ Music Remedy.com Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ BMI Repertoire search
  6. ^ The New Black Magazine website

External links

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