Born William Powell in Spring Valley, New York, the smooth jazz guitarist, and composer is better known by his stage name Doc Powell. He began playing guitar at a young age and by his teens, he was already performing and recording. He attended the University of Charleston before being handpicked by Wilson Pickett to be his musical director. Doc Powell also worked with many other artists including Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Bob James, Quincy Jones, and Luther Vandross, serving as his musical director for over a decade. He also worked on several songs featured on the soundtracks to films such as The Five Heartbeats and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Doc Powell released his solo debut album, Love is Where It’s At, in 1987. The album featured his cover version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Instrumental. In 1992, he scaled down his session work so that he could focus on his solo career, releasing the album The Doctor that same year. Subsequent albums include Inner City Blues (1994), Laid Back (1996), Life Changes (2001), Cool Like That (2004), Doc Powell (2006), and This is Soul (2016). After a five-year break, Doc Powell returned with the single “Me, Myself & Rio De Novo” featuring pianist Bobby Lyle and bassist Larry Kimpel.
