He is a singer-songwriter and bass player born in Leominster, Massachusetts, who grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida from the time he was four years old. He got his first bass guitar after saving money from a dishwashing job and this would see him performing in clubs and dances for the rest of his school years.
The following year after his high school graduation in 1969 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then in 1973 he settled in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and went to work in a studio with his friend Pete Carr. Soon he was performing as a studio backing singer and musician and has since accompanied artists such as Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett, Mac Davis, Crystal Gayle, Connie Francis, Amy Grant, Dobie Gray, Hosanna, Etta James, Mac McAnally, Roy Orbison, Ricky Skaggs, The Supremes, Hank Williams Jr. and many more.
Alongside all this work he branched out as a solo artist in 1975 and Atlantic Records released his first album just months later. They put him together in a duo with Pete Carr and this resulted in his greatest success, the song “Falling” which was No. 1 on the US Billboard charts for a 27-week period in 1978 and 1979 and reached the heights of being named a BMI Millionaire song, which meant it had over a million plays on the radio. They toured and recorded an album but split up after a while and he returned to his solo career and songwriting once again.
In 1980, as a born-again Christian, he turned his songwriting and recording to this type of themed music and after having released a couple of albums he established a recording studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1987. He is also the writer of the hit songs “Father Knows Best” by Ricky Skaggs and “Treat Her Right” by Sawyer Brown.
Since that time he has released several more of his own albums, as well as doing production for other artists, been a member of the group Faithful Heart, received a 2003 Dove Award for his co-written “Above All” which was named “Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year” and been inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Recordings he has featured on during the course of his career include 12 of his own albums such as Breakthrough, Say A Prayer, Faithful Heart and Above All and his work with other artists such as Messin’ With My Mind by Clarence Carter, Pure Heart by Hosanna, My Father’s Eyes by Amy Grant, Levon Helm, Midnight Light by LeBlanc & Carr, Jealous Kind/Plain from the Heartby Delbert McClinton, Living by the Book by Paul Overstreet, My Father’s Son by Ricky Skaggs, House Party by The Temptations, Hank Jr & Friends and Bocephus by Hank Williams Jr. and the soundtrack of Hoot.
He currently continues to record and perform in 30-40 concerts each year and also designs and builds furniture and acts as Worship Leader at Faith Church, Florence, Alabama.
Sources:
- http://www.lennyleblanc.com/My%20Story.html
- http://www.myspace.com/lennyleblanc
- http://www.alamhof.org/leblancl.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_LeBlanc
- http://www.lennyleblanc.com/Discography.html
- http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Lenny%20LeBlanc:1927078679
- http://www.buffettnews.com/bandmember247.html