Viola Wills, pseudonym of Viola Mae Wilkerson, was born in Los Angeles on December 30, 1939. Married as a teenager, Viola at 21 was already the mother of six children. In 1965 she was discovered by Barry White who made her sign a contract with "Bronco Records" and renamed her with the shorter surname "Wills". He began his musical career at the "Los Angeles Conservatory of Music" and, subsequently, in addition to collaborating with Barry White, she performed with Joe Cocker and Smokey Robinson. Viola Wills' big breakthrough came in 1979 with her cover of "Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now" (released May 14, 1979). "Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now" is a popular song written by Milton Kellem and first sung by Teresa Brewer in 1951. In 1982, her cover of "Stormy Weather" reached #4 on the USA Hot Dance Club chart play”. Viola Wills died of cancer on May 6, 2009 in Phoenix (Arizona).
Album
1974 - SOFT CENTERS
1980 - IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND
1983 - SPACE
1986 - DARE TO DREAM
1994 - GONNA GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU
2006 - THE ESSENTIAL VIOLA WILLS
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