Will Downing

Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American R&B, soul, neo soul, and jazz singer and songwriter. He has released 22 studio albums.

Biography Early life Downing was born and raised to a working-class family in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Downing attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, Downing then attended college at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia for one year but dropped out to pursue a music career. Downing switched to Island Records for his second release, Come Together as One (1989). In 2002, Downing received the International Association of African-American Music Diamond Award.

He released Love, Lust, & Lies: An Audio Novel in 2010.

In 2014, he was the opening act for Patti LaBelle.

Artistry Downing is a baritone. He has often been compared to Luther Vandross.

Personal life From 1987 to 1992, Downing was married to Revonda Mills. In 2002, Downing married singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch.

In December 2006, Downing received a diagnosis of polymyositis, a rare disease occurring most often in black men, in which inflammation causes debilitating muscle weakness. He was hospitalized for three months, used a wheelchair, and lost 100 pounds.

Downing is also a keen photographer, and self-published the coffee table book Unveiled Series I in 2005.

Discography Studio albums Year Album details Chart positions Certifications / Notes US US R&B 1989 Come Together as One

— 62 — — 36 1991 A Dream Fulfilled

— 22 — — 43 1993 Love's the Place to Be

166 24 — — — 1995 Moods

139 23 — 3 — 1997 Invitation Only

127 30 — — — Heatseekers No. 5 1998 Pleasures of the Night(with Gerald Albright)

169 36 — 1 — 2000 All the Man You Need

100 25 — — — 2002 Sensual Journey

90 11 — 2 — 2003 Emotions

92 9 2 2 — 2004 Christmas, Love and You

— 40 4 3 — Holiday No. 37 2005 Soul Symphony

85 18 — — — 2007 After Tonight

37 1 — — — 2009 Classique

22 3 — — — 2010 Love, Lust, & Lies: An Audio Novel

42 11 — — — 2013 Silver

— 62 — — — 2014 Euphoria

— 40 3 2 — R&B No. 22 2015 Chocolate Drops

— — 9 2 — R&B No. 22 2016 Black Pearls

— 10 — — — R&B No. 5, Indie No. 12 2017 Soul Survivor

— 19 — — — R&B No. 8, Indie No. 33 2018 Promise

— — — — — 2021 Sophisticated Soul

— — — — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

EPs 2021: The Song Garden

Compilations Year Album details Chart positions Note US R&B US R&B 1988 "A Love Supreme" 4 77 14 "Sending Out an S.O.S" ― 45 ― "In My Dreams" ― ― 34 "Free" ― 48 58 1989 "Where Is the Love" (with Mica Paris) ― ― 19 "Test of Time" ― 35 67 1990 "Come Together as One" 40 50 48 "Sometimes I Cry" ― ― ― "Wishing on a Star" ― ― ― 1991 "I Try" ― 13 ― "The World Is a Ghetto" ― ― 83 "I Go Crazy" ― 37 ― "Something's Going On" ― ― ― "Don't Make Me Wait" ― ― ― 1993 "There's No Living Without You" ― 57 67 1994 "Love's the Place to Be" ― ― ― "Break Up to Make Up" ― 66 ― 1995 "Just to Be with You" ― ― 98 "Sorry, I" ― 45 ― 1997 "I Do Believe" (from Cats Don't Dance Soundtrack) ― ― ― "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.