Joseph Williams (musician)

American singer, songwriter, and composer

For other people named Joseph Williams, see Joseph Williams.

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|

Joseph Williams

Williams in 2013

Born|

Joseph Stanley Williams

(1960-09-01) September 1, 1960 (age 64)

Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Occupations|

* Singer
* songwriter
* composer

Spouse|

Amye Troyer

(m. 1992)​

Children| 3
Parents|

* John Williams (father)
* Barbara Ruick (mother)

Relatives|

* Johnny Williams
(paternal grandfather)
* Melville Ruick
(maternal grandfather)
* Lurene Tuttle
(maternal grandmother)

Musical career
Genres|

* Hard rock
* pop rock
* film score
* adult contemporary

Instruments|

* Vocals
* keyboards
* tambourine

Years active| 1982–present
Member of| Toto
Website| joeswill.com

Musical artist

Signature

Joseph Stanley Williams (born September 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and film score composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Toto from 1986 to 1988 and again since 2010. Williams is a son of actress Barbara Ruick and prolific film composer John Williams.[1] Outside of Toto, he has worked as a composer and studio vocalist, including providing the singing voice of Simba in the 1994 animated film The Lion King.

## Career

[edit]

### Toto

[edit]

Williams (left) with Toto in Copenhagen in 2010

Williams was the lead vocalist for 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. He is featured on Toto's 2006 album, Falling in Between, sharing lead vocals with Steve Lukather on "Bottom of Your Soul". In addition to his guest spot on Falling in Between, Williams was a guest singer at several Toto concerts.

Williams rejoined Toto upon its reformation in 2010 and performed on the band's recent live albums and the 2015 studio album Toto XIV. When the group disbanded in 2019 and subsequently reformed in 2020, Williams was the only member from the previous lineup besides Lukather and touring members Warren Ham and Dominique "Xavier" Taplin to return.

### Solo work as a singer

[edit]

Williams released his first, self-titled solo album in 1982. After his initial tenure with Toto, he has released several more. Many of Toto's members have contributed to his solo work over the years. In 2003, he released an album called Vertigo, a project he initiated, but where he was not in full charge of the production, only recording and supplying the vocals.[2] The second Vertigo album, Vertigo 2, was released in 2006. Williams released an album of cover songs from artists such as Elton John, Bryan Adams, Diane Warren, and Kevin Cronin in 2006 called Two of Us, featuring piano and voice only. He returned with two more voice and piano albums in 2007, Smiles and Tears, also consisting of classic hits by popular artists. His latest solo album containing original songs, This Fall, was released in November 2008.

### Work as a film composer

[edit]

Joseph Williams has also been 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.

He was the writer of the original English lyrics for the songs "Lapti Nek" and "Ewok Celebration" from the original 1983 release of Return of the Jedi, which was scored and conducted by his father, John Williams.[3] Both songs were replaced with new compositions in the 1997 Special Edition.[4] He collaborated again with his father on the releases of 1999's The Phantom Menace and the 2002's Attack of the Clones. In the former he helped compose Augie's Great Municipal Band which appears during the ending of the film and in the latter 2M4, an untitled composition that appears during the Dex's Diner sequence.

In 2003, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music" for the TV series Miracles.[2] The music to the CBS miniseries Category 7: The End of the World[5] and the TV film Momentum[6] were composed by him.

### Session work

[edit]

Williams has been in demand as a session vocalist and can be heard on numerous projects by other artists, as well as on movie soundtracks. In 1985 he sang the vocals for the theme song of the animated TV series Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.[7] He provided backing vocals on Peter Cetera's album World Falling Down and co-wrote the song "Man in Me", lead vocals for three tracks – "Walk the Wire", "History" and "When You Look in My Eyes" – to Jay Graydon's Airplay for the Planet album, subsequently touring with the band and backing vocals on Jon Anderson's In the City of Angels in 1988, most prominently on the song "Top of the World (The Glass Bead Game)". In Disney's animated feature film The Lion King, he can be heard as the singing voice of the Adult Simba, singing on the songs "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". He reprised this singing role in the direct-to-video animated film Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. In 1997 and 1998 respectively, he shared vocal duties on two albums by the a cappella covers group The West Coast All Stars, the other vocalists being Bobby Kimball, Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff, whereas Tommy Funderburk replaced Champlin on the Naturally album. He sings background vocals on Chicago's "King of Might Have Been" on the 2006 album Chicago XXX as well as on "Let's Take a Lifetime" on the 1993-recorded/2008-released album Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus. The song "What You're Missing" from the Chicago album Chicago 16 was co-written by him.[8] He also sings backing vocals on five tracks from Steve Lukather's solo album Ever Changing Times in addition to lending his vocals to another three of Lukather's solo albums, All's Well That Ends Well, I Found the Sun Again and Bridges.

Williams in Sweden, 2013, Toto's 35th Anniversary Tour

## Discography

[edit]

### Toto albums

[edit]

* 1986: Fahrenheit
* 1988: The Seventh One
* 1998: Toto XX (lead vocals on "Last Night" and “In A Word”)
* 2006: Falling in Between (co-lead vocals and background vocals on "Bottom Of Your Soul")
* 2015: Toto XIV
* 2018: Old Is New

### Solo albums

[edit]

* 1982: Joseph Williams (re-released 2002)
* 1996: I Am Alive
* 1997: 3
* 1999: Early Years
* 2003: Vertigo
* 2006: Two of Us
* 2006: Vertigo 2
* 2007: Smiles
* 2007: Tears
* 2008: This Fall
* 2021: Denizen Tenant[9]

### with Peter Friestedt

[edit]

* 2011: Williams/Friestedt

### with CWF - Bill Champlin / Peter Friestedt / Joseph Williams

[edit]

* 2015: CWF
* 2018: 10 Miles
* 2020: CWF 2
* 2023: Carrie

### Guest vocals (excerpt)

[edit]

* 1983: Lapti Nek (Urth)
* 1984: Which One of Us Is Me (Jay Gruska)
* 1985: Save the Night (The Goonies soundtrack)
* 1985: Sleepess Nights (Alan Gorrie)
* 1985: Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (Theme Song Vocals)
* 1988: In the City of Angels (Jon Anderson)
* 1989: My Heart in Red (Ijiima Mari)
* 1990: Tatsuro Songs from L.A. (Compilation)
* 1990: Toy Matinee (Toy Matinee)
* 1991: Tatsuro Songs from L.A. 2 (Compilation)
* 1991: Fade in Love (Compilation)
* 1992: Re-Import (Compilation)
* 1992: Goody's (Compilation)
* 1992: The Radical Light (Vonda Shepard)
* 1993: Airplay for the Planet (Jay Graydon)
* 1993: L.A. Cowboys / Endless Summer (Compilation)
* 1994: Love Stories 3 (Compilation)
* 1994: The Lion King (Original Movie Soundtrack)
* 1997: California Dreamin' (West Coast All Stars)
* 1998: Naturally (West Coast All Stars)
* 1999: ELT Songs from L.A. (Compilation)
* 1999: In a Dream (Lionel's Dad)
* 2001: Radioactive (Ceremony Of Innocence)
* 2002: LA Project (Peter Friestedt)
* 2006: Avalon (The Richie Zito Project)
* 2008: LA Project II (Peter Friestedt)
* 2008: Holy God (Brian Doerksen)
* 2014: My Kind O' Lovin' (Intelligent Music Project II)
* 2015: Touching the Divine' (Intelligent Music Project III)
* 2015: CWF (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt)
* 2018: 10 Miles/CWF (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt)
* 2020: CWF II (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt)
* 2023: Carrie (Champlin, Williams, Friestedt)

### Source music (excerpt)

[edit]

* 1983: Return of the Jedi (lyrics for "Lapti Nek" and an unused source cue)

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year | Title | Role | Notes

|
|
|

1994  | The Lion King | Adult Simba (singing voice)  | Voice
2001  | Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse | Adult Simba  | Voice; direct-to-video
2002  | Disney Sing-Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas | Archive footage

### Television

[edit]

Year | Title | Role | Notes

|
|
|

2000-2002  | Roswell | Choir Member #1  | 1 episode

### Video games

[edit]

Year | Title | Role | Notes

|
|
|

1998  | Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Active Play | Adult Simba (singing voice)  | Voice
2010  | Disney Sing It: Family Hits | Archive footage

## Film scores

[edit]

The following list consists of select films for which Joseph Williams composed the score and/or songs.

### 1990s

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Studio(s)  | Notes / Accolades

|
|
|
|

1993  | The Waiter | Doug Ellin | Vance/Fellow Productions  | First film score
1995  | Embrace of the Vampire | Anne Goursaud | The Ministry of Film
General Media Entertainment
New Line Cinema | Known As Joseph Stanley Williams
Last Gasp | Scott McGinnis  | The Kushner-Locke Company
WarnerVision Films
Castel Film Romania | —
1996  | Poison Ivy II: Lily | Anne Goursand  | New Line Cinema
Cintel Pictures
MG Entertainment  | —
Phat Beach | Doug Ellin | Connection III Entertainment
Live Entertainment
Orion Pictures | —
The Legend of Gator Face | Vic Sarin | Showtime Networks
The Ministry of Film  | —
Shoot the Moon | Tom Hodges | Sugardaddy Productions  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
Snitch | Keith Markinson  | Cinestage Productions  | —
1997  | Below Utopia | Kurt Voss | Cintel Films
Subtopian Films Inc.  | —
Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard | Jeff Burr | Castel Film Romania
Full Moon Entertainment
The Kushner-Locke Company | —
1998  | Butter | Peter Gathings Bunche  | Butter Films Inc.
Cintel Pictures
World International Network  | —
1999  | From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money | Scott Spiegel | Los Hooligans Productions
A Band Apart
Dimension Films | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
Judgment Day | John Terlesky | Cintel Films
Judgment Cinema Inc.  | —

### 2000s

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Studio(s)  | Notes / Accolades

|
|
|
|

2000  | Chain of Command | John Terlesky  | Cinetel Films
Chain of Command Inc.  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
2001  | Last Request | Tom Hodges  | Kismet Productions  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
Guardian | John Terlesky  | Cintel Films  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
2002  | Another Life | Tracey D'Arcy  | Another Life Productions  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
Malevolent | John Terlesky  | Burg/Koules Productions
Cintel Films  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
2003  | Written in Blood | Cintel Films  | —
2004  | Soccer Dog: European Cup | Sandy Tung | John Brister Productions  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
Composed with Steve Porcaro
2005  | The Golden Blaze | Bryon E. Carson  | 120dB Films
Aurum Digital Entertainment
DH Institute of Media Arts  | Known as Joseph Stanley Williams
2006  | No I in Security | Eric A. Lee  | Foursquare and 7 Productions  | —
2007  | Real Estate Super Man  | —

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Joseph Williams talks about music, life during Toto's 40th trip around the sun". The Slate.
2. ^ a b "Interviews: Joseph Williams". Melodicrock.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
3. ^ Traynor, Cian (December 15, 2016). "Jabba the Hutt's favourite disco song". Little White Lies. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
4. ^ Raftery, Brian (December 21, 2005). "The 9 Best Songs Ever Played in a Star Wars Movie". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
5. ^ "Full cast and crew for Category 7: The End of the World". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
6. ^ "Full cast and crew for Momentum". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
7. ^ "Disney Song #48: Gummi Bears / The Silvershers: A Conversation". themacgyverproject.blogspot.it. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
8. ^ "What You're Missing – Chicago | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. July 22, 2003. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
9. ^ "Joseph Williams - Denizen Tenant Released 26th February 2021 Via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group". Rock 'N' Load. January 14, 2021. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph Williams.

* Joseph Williams at IMDb
* List of songs and scores for film and television written by Joseph Williams

* v
* t
* e

Toto

* Steve Lukather
* Joseph Williams
* David Paich
* Greg Phillinganes

* Steve Porcaro
* David Hungate
* Bobby Kimball
* Jeff Porcaro
* Mike Porcaro
* Fergie Frederiksen
* Jean-Michel Byron
* Simon Phillips
* Keith Carlock

Studio albums|

* Toto
* Hydra
* Turn Back
* Toto IV
* Isolation
* Fahrenheit
* The Seventh One
* Kingdom of Desire
* Tambu
* Mindfields
* Through the Looking Glass
* Falling in Between
* Toto XIV
* Old Is New

Live albums|

* Absolutely Live
* Livefields
* Live in Amsterdam
* Falling in Between Live

Compilation albums|

* Past to Present 1977–1990
* Best Ballads
* Toto XX
* The Essential Toto
* 40 Trips Around the Sun

Soundtracks|

* Dune

Singles|

* "Hold the Line"
* "I'll Supply the Love"
* "Georgy Porgy"
* "99"
* "Live for Today"
* "Rosanna"
* "Africa"
* "Make Believe"
* "I Won't Hold You Back"
* "Waiting for Your Love"
* "Stranger in Town"
* "I'll Be Over You"
* "Without Your Love"
* "Stop Loving You"
* "Anna"
* "Pamela"
* "I Will Remember"
* "Bottom of Your Soul"
* "Holy War"

Related people|

* Lenny Castro
* Warren Ham
* Nathan East
* Boz Scaggs
* Tony Spinner
* Leland Sklar
* Shannon Forrest

Related articles|

* Discography
* Members

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* 2
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef

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