Alex Henderson

Leon Haywood
Intimate  [Expanded Edition]

On April 6, 2016, the headline “R&B Singer Leon Haywood Dead at 74” appeared on Rolling Stone’s website. Lovers of classic soul and funk were sad to learn of his passing, but as Rolling Stone’s sub-headline noted, Haywood’s influence went beyond the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The sub-headline read, “Funk artist’s ‘I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You’ buoyed Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's ‘Nuthin’ But a G Thang’ track.” And, to be sure, Haywood appealed to different generations during his long career.

Born in Houston, Texas on February 11, 1942, Haywood started out as a blues musician: he was a sideman for Guitar Slim while still in his teens and worked with saxophonist Big Jay McNeely in the early 1960s (when he moved to Los Angeles). But it was after he shifted his focus to R&B and launched a solo career that Haywood enjoyed his greatest commercial success. Haywood’s hits included “She’s With Her Other Love” in 1965 and the good-natured “It’s Got to Be Mellow” in 1967, followed by “Keep It in the Family” in 1974 and the sexy “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You” in 1975.

“I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You” was one of his biggest hits, reaching #7 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the United States—and he enjoyed an even bigger hit when “Don’t Push It, Don’t Force It” made it to #2 on that chart in 1980. After 1984’s synth-funk hit “Tenderoni” (a #22 R&B single in Billboard in the U.S.), Haywood disappeared from the charts. But his recordings lived on thanks, in part, to hip-hop.

Haywood’s 1960s, 1970s and 1980s recordings have been sampled by many rappers. But the most famous Haywood sample in hip-hop, hands down, is Dr. Dre’s use of “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You” on his post-N.W.A hit of 1992, “Nuthin' But a G Thang”—which featured Snoop Dogg and established him as a major hip-hop star. Thanks to Dre and Snoop, a whole new generation heard the addictive melody of “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You.”

Haywood, it should be noted, was himself an early proponent of hip-hop: “Lovers Rap,” included on his 1980 album Naturally, found Haywood rapping in an early hip-hop style along the lines of Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Melle Mel. Back in 1980, hip-hop was much more underground than it would become later in the decade—and it was rare for an established R&B singer of Haywood’s caliber to devote an entire song to rapping.

Released by Columbia Records in 1976, the self-produced Intimate is the album that followed 1975’s Come and Get Yourself Some—which included “I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You.” And while Intimate isn’t as well known as Come and Get Yourself Some, this album has a very good reputation among Haywood’s hardcore fans and contains the singles “Strokin’” (a #13 R&B hit in Billboard in the U.S.) and “The Streets Will Love You to Death” (which peaked at #63 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart). “The Streets Will Love You to Death” is a cautionary tale, warning men in committed relationships to appreciate what they have at home because the grass may not be greener on the other side.

Haywood was a master of funk as well as romantic ballads, and he offers examples of both on Intimate. While “Strokin’” (not to be confused with Clarence Carter’s 1980s hit for Ichiban Records) shows how funky and danceable Haywood could be, “I’m Your Knight in Shining Armor,” “Dream Dream” and “They Don't Make ‘Em No More Like You” underscores his mastery of romantic ballads and slow jams. 

“I’m Your Knight in Shining Armor” and “Dream Dream” were both written by the late Van McCoy, who is remembered for writing 1960s hits for Gladys Knight & the Pips (“Giving Up”) and Barbara Lewis (“Baby, I’m Yours”) as well as for his 1975 disco favorite “The Hustle.” Sadly, McCoy was only 39 when he died of a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey on July 6, 1979.

Other highlights of Intimate include a cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On” and a remake of Haywood’s own “It’s Got to Be Mellow.” Clearly, the version of “It’s Got to Be Mellow” that Haywood offers on Intimate was not designed to be a carbon copy of his original 1967 version: although Haywood maintains the song’s good-natured feel, the Intimate arrangement is 1970s all the way.

“Let’s Get It On” was one of the biggest hits of Gaye’s career, soaring to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the U.S. in 1973; in fact, “Let’s Get It On” stayed at #1 R&B for an astounding eight weeks (in the U.K., it was a #31 hit). Haywood’s appealing version sounds like a cross between Gaye’s vision for the song and the Staples Singers’ 1975 hit “Let’s Do It Again” (which was written by Curtis Mayfield and was the title song of the Sidney Poitier film).

The credits on Intimate read like a who’s-who of Los Angeles session players of the 1970s. Haywood is backed by, among others, Ray Parker, Jr. on guitar, Louis Johnson (of Brothers Johnson fame) on bass and Ernie Watts on saxophone. The late Gene Page, known for his lush work with Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, provides horn and string arrangements—and the female trio the Jones Girls contributes backing vocals. The Jones Girls were from Detroit, but their greatest commercial success came when they went to Philadelphia and recorded “You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else” (1979) and “I Just Love That Man” (1980) for Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records.

Funkytown Grooves’ 2016 reissue of Intimate contains the original 1976 LP in its entirety along with three bonus tracks, which include the single versions of “Dream Dream” and Parts 1 and 2 of “The Streets Will Love You to Death.” 1976 was a productive year for Haywood, who is in solid form throughout Intimate.         

—Alex Henderson, August 2016

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, The Raw Story, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.