Viola Wills ~ If You Could Read My Mind 1980 Disco Purrfection Version

Viola Wills kept the disco spirit alive in 1980 with her signature hit, a high energy disco cover of Canadian artist Gordon Lightfoot's # "If You Could Read My Mind" a #5 hit from 1971. She explored the same territory that Gloria Gaynor did on "Never Can Say Goodbye" in that both songs were covers of downtempo and popular singles that turned into dance floor anthems.

This one came out in the late summer of 1980 and beat a path to #2 and stayed there for five weeks, a feat previously made by Penny McLean and her "Lady Bump" single back in 1975.

Viola was born Viola Mae Wilkerson on December 30, 1939 in the Watts district of Los Angeles. Married as a teen, she had six children by the time she was 21. In 1965 she rose out of the heap with help from Barry White who signed her to Bronco Records. He also suggested she shorten her surname and it became Wills.

Studying at the Los Angeles Conservatory Of Music, she began stints with Joe Cocker and Smokey Robinson who helped her gain a solo contract which got her first disco hit in 1979, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" and paved the way for "If You Could Read My Mind". She was more popular in the UK where she charted three disco songs there.


The official follow up, "If You Could Read My Mind" brought her more fame in the clubs and everywhere but US radio since the release date was after the "death" of disco. That was a shame as her reading of the Lightfoot classic was perfect. The song lived on in the movie "54" where a new version credited to Stars On 54 was recorded by Ultra Naté, Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez in 1998 that almost matched Viola's version by peaking at #3.