LEGENDARY VOCALIST/ ARTIST/ PIONEER: MICHAEL WATFORD
LOCATION: NEW JERSEY, USA
Michael Wayne Watford, an American dance music singer whose powerful, gospel-infused voice left a lasting imprint on house music in the 1990s and early 2000s. Born on July 20, 1959, in Suffolk, Virginia, and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Watford grew up immersed in the rhythms of gospel music. His mother, Rev. Betty Brower, was both a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and a gospel vocalist, performing in the 1970s with the Alvin Darling Ensemble. It was in this spiritually rich environment that Watford began singing in church, developing the commanding vocal style that would define his career.
Watford emerged onto the dance music scene in 1991 with the release of his debut single, Holdin’ On. He quickly gained recognition for his emotionally charged and soulful performances, which resonated deeply with club audiences and DJs alike. His signature hit, So Into You, soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in April 1994 and reached No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart. The track’s success was driven by Watford’s romantic, Luther Vandross-inspired delivery, set against lush piano lines, swirling strings, and infectious house beats. That same year, he released his self-titled debut album on EastWest/Atlantic Records, collaborating with house music luminaries such as Little Louie Vega on tracks like My Love.
During the height of his career, Watford became a staple in clubs across the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Newark’s Club Zanzibar, where DJ Tony Humphries helped bring his music to prominence. His voice—deep, resonant, and unmistakably rooted in church traditions—helped pioneer the gospel house subgenre, blending spiritual fervor with the kinetic energy of dance music.
Despite his early successes, Watford’s mainstream career slowed after 1995 following internal changes at EastWest Records. He gradually stepped away from the music industry, later running karaoke bars in Newark and working in a welfare office. Still, he never lost his passion for music or the desire to return to the studio.
Michael Watford passed away on January 26, 2024, in Newark, at the age of 64, after a battle with dementia. His legacy lives on in the gospel house classics that continue to fill dance floors, and in the voices of countless artists he inspired. As DJ Tony Humphries once noted, “There was a smaller number of records everyone had to have… and So Into You was absolutely one of those.”
