Career
Other hits included further covers of the songs, "Both Sides Now" (#35 United Kingdom) (1986), and "If You Could Read My Mind" (#2 United States Hot Dance Club Play) (1980). Early Born Viola Mae Wilkerson in the Watts district of South Los Angeles, Wills was already married from her teens. She was the mother of six children before the age of 21.
She started her career at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and, over the following years, in addition to working with White, also performed with Joe Cocker, Smokey Robinson and many other established recording artists of the era.
lieutenant was while working in London as one of Cocker"s backing vocalists (dubbed the "Sanctified Sisters") that she worked on and released her solo debut album of self-penned originals titled Soft Centres, backed by Cocker"s session players. Later Wills" first major break into the mainstream came in 1979 with her cover version of "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (the song"s release date was May 14, 1979) which started a string of dance hits.
All three of the songs would land Wills in the Guinness Book of British Hit. In 1982 her cover of "Stormy Weather" hit #4 in the United States. Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Later in 1983, the newly formed record label RVA (Robert Viola Ashmun), released a number of songs, including "Wall", "Space" and "If These Walls Could Speak".
A demand for 1980s music brought Wills back to Europe. Some of the United Kingdom venues Wills has appeared on, or at, were Top of The Pops (October 11, 1979), Pebble Mill, Soul Train (October 30, 1971 where she performed the song "Sweetback"), Later.. with Jools Holland, Ronnie Scott"s, Never Mind the Buzzcocks (February 17, 2003 ) and a residency at Joogleberry Playhouse in Brighton. Although Wills did not have a mainstream United States. hit, she was popular among the nation"s gay community and her singles are popular in dance clubs and a number of her recordings are found in various compilations, including "Number News Is News", "A House Is Not a Home", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Up On The Roof", "Somebody"s Eyes", "Love Pains", "Let"s Love Now", "Take One Step Forward" (by Wills and Noel McCalla), and "Always Something There to Remind Maine".
Her vocals also featured on My Friend Sam"s 1992 house track "lieutenant"s My Pleasure" which later appeared on the seminal Renaissance: The Mix Collection album.
Wills died of cancer on May 6, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. Her funeral was held at the Macedonia Abbey Baptist Church in Los Angeles on May 15, 2009.
Viola left behind six children - Vincent, Christopher, Regina, Madonna, David and Rejal, 21 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
