John Macy: So sad to see another member of our recording community taken yesterday. I have known Steve Wiest since the 70’s, and he always greeted you with a smile and a boatload of talent. Rest easy, Steve…
Dear friends and family, this is Steve’s wife, Ruth. Thank you all for the expressions of love, kind words, shared memories and outpouring of support for Steve and our family. A Celebration of Life service for Steve will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 pm with reception to follow at the Crossroads Church located at 9725 West 50th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. We will be providing additional information in the coming days. We look forward to sharing memories, music and love together in honor of Steve.
When: Saturday, March 4th, 2017, 1:30pm
Location: Crossroads Church of Denver, 9725 W 50th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Steve, 58, passed away in Arvada, CO on February 19, 2017 after a courageous battle with cancer. His music, dedication to a healthy lifestyle, and love for life will be missed immensely. He is survived by his wife, Ruth McKinney, father, Richard L. Wiest, two brothers, and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his mother, Dorthy Wiest. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at 1:30 PM at Crossroads Church of Denver – 9725 W. 50th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033.
http://aspenmortuaries.com/book-of-memories/2849957/Wiest-Steve/obituary.php
Steve Pavey: I knew OF him from the Captain/Red Hot Flames and 4Nikators days. Then actually met him when we recorded a long demo in his studio. He was a wonderful guy. He was DANCING in the control booth while engineering our session! We had a great time with him.
John Ware: Very sorry to hear. Steve was a gentleman…and a GENTLE MAN.
Mark McCoin: We went to school together. And did some beautiful recordings at his studio years ago. Excellent man – sorry to hear this.
Mark Derryberry: So sorry to hear. He was a great asset to our musical community. RIP Steve!
Everett Moran: Always sorry to hear of another loss to the musical community and, much more, the loss to his family. Some fantastic musicians waiting up there for you to record them, Steve. MIP.
Jean-Marie Jazz: We will all be missing the wonderful times we had with Steve and the beautiful music he put out into the universe
Matt and Amy Lowe: On Sunday we lost Uncle Steve Wiest to cancer. He was a remarkably talented musician, composer, producer, lyricist and an even better friend and uncle. He had the biggest heart, an undeniable love for life, and would stop everything to lend a hand. I will forever cherish our adventures around the world from Keystone, CO to New York City, NY and Cancun, MX to Paris, FR. You and Ruth have shared so much with me. I am not surprised to see the amount of love and support that has been pouring in from all the lives you touched all across the globe. You will be dearly missed by all who were lucky enough to know you and your music will forever fill our hearts. I love you!
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Leon Ware, Producer, Songwriter, and Composer
Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American music artist, songwriter and composer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Maxwell, Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye, co-producing the latter’s album, I Want You.
Leon Ware was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He started his career as a songwriter in 1967. He co-wrote along with Ivy Hunter and Steve Bowden for The Isley Brothers recording of “Got to Have You Back”. In 1971, Leon would collaborate with Ike & Tina Turner, co-writing six songs on their United Artist album called Nuff Said. The album reached the top 40 of the R&B charts and also appeared in the pop charts. Later that year, Ware began collaborating with Arthur “T-Boy” Ross, younger brother of Diana Ross. One of the songs they wrote was “I Wanna Be Where You Are” recorded by Michael Jackson for his album, Got To Be There. The single reached the runner-up position of the R&B charts and peaked at 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Ware’s songwriting success led to a contract as an artist to United Artists, releasing his self-titled debut album.
Ware wrote for numerous artists during this period including Donny Hathaway and The Miracles. In 1974, Quincy Jones booked Ware as songwriter and performer for two songs off Jones’ Body Heat album. The song, “If I Ever Lose This Heaven”, hit the R&B charts in September of the year and was covered by the Average White Band. Ware worked with Minnie Riperton on Jones’ album and collaborated again on Riperton’s album, Adventures in Paradise album, composing Riperton’s R&B hit, “Inside My Love”. Ware and T-Boy Ross worked on demos for Ware’s second album, this one to be issued on Motown Records and also for T-Boy Ross to win a deal. 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 and decided to record much of it on what would be his next album, I Want You. Buoyed by the number-one title track, the album peaked at number-one on the R&B charts and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 selling over a million copies.
Having given away the material for his album, Ware began again on a solo effort for Motown. The result would be Ware’s second album, Musical Massage. Released in September 1976, the album failed to generate similar success and was not properly promoted. Ware produced the Shadows In The Street album for the group Shadow, which was released in 1981. Ware continued his songwriting and producing career while also releasing solo albums between 1979 and 2008. During that period, Ware wrote for Teena Marie, Jeffrey Osborne, Loose Ends, James Ingram, Melissa Manchester, Krystol, Bobby Womack and Lulu, co-writing the latter’s European hit, “Independence” in 1993. Ware helped to produce singer Maxwell’s debut album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, released in 1996, and considered one of the landmark albums of the neo-soul genre. At the same time of that success, Ware’s earlier work became a heavy source of samples in hip-hop music.
As of 2009, Ware was recovering from treatment for prostate cancer, and credited his friend and fellow songwriter Adrienne Anderson with directing him to appropriate medical care. He died on February 23, 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Ware
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths… February 2017
28: Leone di Lernia, 78, Italian radio host, singer and composer, liver cancer.
27: Arvo Krikmann, 77, Estonian folklorist and academic; Jórunn Viðar, 98, Icelandic pianist and composer.
25: Toshio Nakanishi, 61, Japanese musician (Plastics), esophageal cancer.
24: Fumio Karashima, 68, Japanese jazz pianist; Don Markham, 85, American saxophonist and trumpeter (The Strangers).
23: Horace Parlan, 86, American-born Danish jazz pianist; Leon Ware, 77, American musician, record producer, and songwriter (“I Want You”, “I Wanna Be Where You Are”).
21: Leah Adler, 97, American pianist; Enzo Carella, 65, Italian singer-songwriter; Graciela Paraskevaidis, 76, Argentine writer and composer; Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, 93, Polish-American conductor and composer.