Leon Haywood (February 11, 1942 – April 5, 2016) – B.M.F. Beautiful (1974)

The very talented singer/songwriter who produced most of his own material co-wrote this ultra-funky jam with the great Gene Page.

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Leon Haywood was a multi-talented singer/songwriter, keyboardist, arranger and producer who is best known for his sexy 1975 hit “I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You.”

Born in Houston, Otha Leon Haywood began playing piano when he was only three years old. In the early 1960s he relocated to Los Angeles where he eventually was hired as the keyboardist in Sam Cooke’s band until his murder in late 1964.

He recorded several singles for various labels, and had his first real hit in 1967 with the #21 R&B “It’s Got to Be Mellow,” b/w the funky instrumental “Cornbread And Buttermilk,” released on Decca Records. Haywood wrote, arranged, and produced both songs, and the A-side became the title track to his 1967 Decca LP.

Haywood switched labels several times in the late sixties and early seventies, recording for Columbia, then MCA, and finally signing with 20th Century Records. He released his first full-length album on the label in 1973, the confidently titled Back to Stay, which he produced himself and co-arranged with longtime Commodores producer/arranger James Carmichael.

It featured the epic slow jam “Long As There's You (I Got Love),” which he co-wrote with songwriter Marshall McQueen, Jr. Earth, Wind & Fire’s Al McKay laid down a killer guitar sound, and James Wesly Smith played bass, who years later recalled:

“I think we were all thinking of Isaac's tune “Walk On By” as playing. If memory serves, rhythm track - one take - and we wuz outta there.”

The LP’s superb closing cut was the socially conscious anthem “There Ain't Enough Hate Around (To Make Me Turn Around),” which Haywood solely wrote.

The following year he released his next album Keep It in the Family (1974) on 20th Century. He produced it, but it was mostly arranged by the legendary Gene Page. The LP again included “Long As There's You (I Got Love)” from Back to Stay, albeit with a slightly longer runtime. Standout cuts were the stellar love song “That Sweet Woman Of Mine,” co-written by Haywood, McQueen, and Bill Williams, Jr., and the ultra-funky instrumental jam “B.M.F. Beautiful,” which Haywood co-wrote with Page.

For his 1975 LP Come and Get Yourself Some on 20th Century, Haywood wrote what would become his all-time biggest hit and signature song. The sexy anthem “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You” was produced by Haywood and co-arranged by himself and Gene Page. It hit #7 R&B and crossed over to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. He had one more even bigger hit on the R&B charts in 1980, the monster funky #2 R&B jam “Don't Push It Don't Force It” which he wrote, produced, and co-arranged.

Rest in Power, Leon Haywood.

Further info:

“Leon Haywood: Back To Stay/Keep It In The Family (Shout),” review by Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk, April 20, 2011.

“R&B singer-songwriter Leon Haywood dies at 74,” Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2016.

#soul #funk #disco #LeonHaywood