Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 - February 23, 2017) was an American musician,… Read Full Bio ↴Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 - February 23, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter and composer. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware is best known for producing hits for other artists including I Want You, for his friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye in 1976. He is also is notable for writing the Top 5 R&B single, "I Wanna Be Where You Are", for a young Michael Jackson in 1972, collaborating with Quincy Jones on the Body Heat album, co-writing the R&B hit "Inside My Love" with Minnie Riperton, and working with neo-soul artist Maxwell in the mid-'90s.

Leon Ware 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 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.

Ware produced the Shadows In The Street album for the group Shadow, which was released in 1981.

Discography

Studio albums

1972 Leon Ware — — United Artists
1976 Musical Massage — — Motown
1979 Inside Is Love — 62 Fabulous
1981 Rockin' You Eternally — — Elektra
1982 Leon Ware — —
1987 Undercover — — Sling Shot Records
1995 Taste The Love — — Kitchen Records
2001 Candlelight — —
2003 Love's Drippin — —
2004 A Kiss In The Sand — —
2008 Moon Ride — — Stax

I Wanna Be Where You Are
Leon Ware Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Can it be I stayed away too long?
Did I leave your mind when I was gone?
It's not my thing trying get back
But this time let me tell you where I'm at

You don't have to worry cause I'm comin'
Back to where I should have always stayed
And now I've heard the maybe to your story

And it's enough, love, for me stay

Can it be I stayed away too long?
Did I leave your mind when I was gone?
It's not my thing trying get back
But this time let me tell you where I'm at

I wanna, wanna be where you are, oh oh
Anywhere you are, oh oh
I wanna wanna be where you are, oh oh
Everywhere you are, oh oh

Please, don't close the door to our future
There's so many things we haven't tried
I could love you better than I used to
And give you all the love I have inside

(Oooh!!)
I wanna, wanna be where you are, oh oh
Any, any, anywhere you are, oh oh
I wanna wanna be where you are, oh oh
I gotta be where you are, oh oh

I wanna be...
I wanna be... oh, oh
Yeah yeah, baby now
I wanna be...
I wanna be... oh., oh
Oooh
I wanna be...
I wanna be... ohoh
Now, now, yeah baby
Oooh
I wanna be...
I wanna be.. ohoh

Yeah, yeah, baby now
Oooh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Leon Ware's "I Wanna Be Where You Are" are a plea to a lover to take the singer back. The opening lines are filled with regret, with the singer wondering if they have stayed away for too long or forgotten about their partner while they were gone. The singer acknowledges that they have tried to move on, but ultimately realizes that their heart was always with their partner. They assert that they want to be with their partner and will go anywhere they are, and even pleads with them to leave the door open for their future together. The singer also recognizes that they can be a better lover now and promises to give all of their love to their partner.

Overall, the song is a soulful and emotional love letter. The lyrics are raw and honest, tapping into the universal themes of regret, longing, and redemption in relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

Can it be I stayed away too long?
Is there any chance that I was gone longer than I should have been?

Did I leave your mind when I was gone?
Did you forget about me when I wasn't around?

It's not my thing trying get back
I don't usually try to go back to something I left behind

But this time let me tell you where I'm at
But in this case, let me explain where I'm coming from

You don't have to worry cause I'm comin'
No need to be concerned, I'm coming back

Back to where I should have always stayed
Returning to the place where I should have remained all along

And now I've heard the maybe to your story
I've heard the uncertainty in your story

And it's enough, love, for me stay
But despite that uncertainty, my love for you is enough to make me want to stay

I wanna, wanna be where you are, oh oh
I really desire to be wherever you are

Anywhere you are, oh oh
It doesn't matter where you are, I just want to be there

Everywhere you are, oh oh
I want to be with you wherever you go

Please, don't close the door to our future
Don't give up on our future together

There's so many things we haven't tried
There are so many things we haven't experienced together

I could love you better than I used to
I'm capable of loving you even more than before

And give you all the love I have inside
I want to give you all the love that I have within me

(Oooh!!)
Exclamation of passion and excitement

Now, now, yeah baby
Expressing a sense of urgency and desire to be with the one they love

Yeah, yeah, baby now
Reiterating their intense desire to be with their loved one

Oooh
Expressing passion and emotion

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Arthur Ross, Leon Ware

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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