1976 Leon Ware – Musical Massage

Musical Massage is an album by Leon Ware released in 1976. This was his second solo album and his only release for Motown’s Gordy Records subsidy.

By 1975, Ware was signed to Motown as a solo artist. He started working on demos for his next album as well as to win a record deal for T-Boy Ross. One of the demo recordings, “I Want You”, was heard by Berry Gordy, who decided the song would be a good fit for Marvin Gaye. Gaye heard the other demos Ware had worked on and decided to record much of it for what would be his next album, I Want You. Buoyed by the number-one title track, that album peaked at number-one on the Soul charts and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and sold over a million copies.

Having given away the material for his album, Ware had no choice but to compose an entirely new set of songs. The result would be Ware’s second album, Musical Massage. Produced primarily by Ware with Hal Davis producing three tracks (Instant Love, Body Heat & Share Your Love). Musical Massage picks up right where Gaye’s “I Want You” leaves off utilizing some of the same musicians.