Lenny Welch born 15 May 1938

  

Lenny Welch (May 15, 1938 - April 8, 2025) was an American MOR/pop singer who will be remembered by most for one song, but what a song it was.  His 1964 single "Since I Fell For You" topped the pop and soul charts and became one that the most loved songs of the decade.  It has since been remade by countless artists but none have matched Welch's plaintive reading, arguably one of the great 

pop performances of all time.

 

Lenny Welch was born Leon Welch in Asbury Park, NJ. He started singing as a youngster, assembling groups, and participating in talent-shows.

 

In his late teens, Welch and group auditioned for Decca Records in New York. The executives loved Lenny, as they called Leon, it flowed better so he kept the name but had no interest in the others. Decca recorded Lenny  solo on a couple of promising 45's but the sales were dismal. Two years passed before his next break. Coley Wallace, a prize fighter, introduced Lenny  to Archie Bleyer the owner of Cadence Records. The association clicked and "You Don't Know Me" was his first release, it made some noise, but it was the second Cadence single "Since I Fell For You," a #5 Pop hit in 1963 that brought the mass sells and accolades; he also scored with "Ebb Tide," and was on his way to becoming another Johnny Mathis when two devastating circumstances occurred.

 

For starters, and reasons unknown, Archie Bleyer folded Cadence in September of 1964, the label he started in December 1952. (Cadence had built the careers of many artists including Andy

Williams, the Everly Brothers, and Johnny Tillotson; Andy Williams purchased the companies' masters from Bleyer and reissued them on his Barnaby label, but signed with Columbia Records to release his new recordings, while Bleyer retired to Wisconsin.) Lenny's last Cadence release "If You See My Love," in 1964 charted at #92. He also contributed vocals to Eddie Harris' 1964 LP Cool Sax, Warm Heart. But after a couple of hits and one LP release Since I Fell for You in 1963, Lenny was shopping for a new deal.

 

The second setback came from Uncle Sam. Lenny kept involved in music while serving his country. He did record hops and weekend dates to promote his new releases on Kapp Records, but nothing significant happened until his duty ended. He landed with Kapp shortly after Cadence closed and charted with "Darling Take Me Back," "Two Different Worlds" (1965), "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" (1966), and "The Right to Cry," in 1967.

 

Unexpectedly, Welch then took another hiatus; this time to get his mind together, and to practice and research his musical skills and sell his image. While compared to Johnny Mathis and other ballad singers, Lenny wasn't playing the cushy Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe gigs, his albums didn't sell like Mathis' or Andy Williams'. The leave of absence was a big mistake; he came back, and began gigging at some major clubs, but it never really happened for him like he envisioned. Attempted comebacks in the 70's didn't pan out, including a marvelous single on the Cur label entitled "To Be Loved/Glory of Love" b/w "My Heart Won't Let Me."

 

Dwindling interest caused the handsome, velvet voice singer with the super personality to become a "whatever happened to . . ." topic. You can hear his work on Anthology (1958-1966), on Taragon Records, and the Collectables reissue of Since I Fell for You. He recorded three albums on Kapp: Two Different Worlds (1965), Rags to Riches (1966), and Lenny, in 1967.

 

Despite the last of recording success, Welch continued to perform successfully around the world as well as on the casino circuit in the U.S. He also found a niche performing voice-overs on television commercials.  He then began acting, appearing frequently on ABC's General Hospital. 

In the 90s he also sang with the Royal All Stars – a doo-wop revival band. In more recent years his mature singles 2010’s  ‘Dancing Naked in the Dark’ (from his album ‘It’s All About Love’) and 2021’s steppers tune ‘Tonight’ won him plenty of friends. The COVID lockdown effectively ended Welch's concert career. He died on April 8, 2025, at the age of 86 in Kissimmee Florida following a long illness. 

(Edited from AMG & Soul Jazz & Funk)

A Lovely Ballad by Lenny Welch, Darlin Take Me Back. On Hollywood A Go-Go. (1965)