Ronnie Laws

Ronald Wayne Laws (born October 3, 1950) is an American jazz and smooth jazz saxophonist, and singer. He is the younger brother of jazz flutist Hubert Laws and jazz vocalist Eloise Laws, and the older brother of Debra Laws.

Biography Born and raised in Houston, Texas, United States,

He attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, for two years.

In 1971, Laws journeyed to Los Angeles, California to embark upon a musical career. He started off by performing with trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In 1972, Laws joined the band Earth, Wind & Fire, where he played saxophone and flute on their album Last Days and Time. After 18 months working with Earth, Wind and Fire, he decided to become a solo artist. The album reached No. 25 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. In 1976, Laws went on to release his second LP Fever. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart.

His third album, Friends & Strangers, was issued in 1977 on United Artists Records. The album has been certified gold in the US by the RIAA. Laws' fourth studio LP, entitled Flame was released in September 1978 on United Artists. The LP reached No. 16 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.

His follow up album Every Generation was issued in 1980 by United Artists Records. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.

Work with other artists Laws performed on Hubert Laws 1974 album In the Beginning and co-produced alongside him on his 1978 album Say It with Silence. He then performed on Hubert's 1979 album Land of Passion, Wayne Henderson's 1978 album Living on a Dream, the Crusaders' 1980 album Rhapsody and Blues and Debra Laws' 1981 album Very Special. He later played saxophone on Ramsey Lewis' 1983 album Les Fleurs, Sister Sledge's 1983 LP Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls, Deniece Williams' 1984 album Let's Hear It for the Boy and Jeff Lorber's 1984 LP In the Heat of the Night. Laws also performed on Alphonse Mouzon's 1985 album The Sky Is the Limit and 1988 LP Early Spring.

Laws made guest appearances on Howard Hewett's 1988 LP Forever and Ever, Norman Brown's 1992 album Just Between Us and Earth, Wind & Fire's 1993 LP Millennium. He also performed on Hubert Laws' 1993 album My Time Will Come, Rebbie Jackson's 1998 album Yours Faithfully, Kevin Toney's 2001 album Strut and the Crusaders 2006 live album Alive in South Africa. Laws later appeared on Guru's 2007 album Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future and Brian Culbertson's 2007 LP Bringing Back The Funk.

Legacy Artists such as jazz saxophonist Boney James and jazz guitarist Norman Brown have been influenced by Laws.

Discography Albums Year Title Peak chart positions Record label Certifications(sales thresholds) US USR&B USJazz USCon. Jazz USTra. Jazz 1975 Pressure Sensitive 73 25 — — — Blue Note 1976 Fever 46 13 — — — Blue Note 1977 Friends & Strangers 37 13 — — — Blue Note Gold: RIAA 1978 Flame 51 16 — — — United Artists 1980 Every Generation 24 4 — — — United Artists 1981 Solid Ground 51 17 — — — Liberty 1983 Mr. Nice Guy 98 24 — — 19 Capitol 1984 Classic Masters (compilation) — 33 — — 16 Capitol 1986 Mirror Town — — — — — Columbia 1987 All Day Rhythm — — — — — Columbia 1989 True Spirit — — — 13 — Par Records 1990 Identity — 80 — 19 — ATA Records 1992 Deep Soul — — — 6 — Par Records 1993 Brotherhood — — — — — 101 South Records 1995 Natural Laws — — 34 25 — The Right Stuff/EMI 1997 Tribute to the Legendary Eddie Harris — — — — — Blue Note 1998 Harvest for the World (Portrait of the Isley Brothers) — — 41 — — Blue Note 2000 Dream a Little — — — 16 — HDH Records 2004 Everlasting — — 39 25 — HDH Records

Charted singles Year Title Chart positions US USR&B 1975 "Always There" - 45 1978 "Love Is Here" - 57 1979 "All for You" - 93 1980 "Every Generation" - 12 1981 "Stay Awake" 60 19 "There's a Way" - 75 1983 "In the Groove" - 31 "Mr. Nice Guy" - 80 1985 "City Girl" - 31 1991 "Morning in My Life" - 76 2000 "Old Days / Old Ways" - 36