Lenny LeBlanc's worship songs are recognized, celebrated and sung by millions all around the globe. Praise Him, There Is None Like You, Come And See and the Dove Award-winning Above All are just a few of his time-transcending contemporary worship treasures.
Lenny grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida, before relocating in the mid-'70s to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which remains his home today. In what Lenny is quick to describe as a less-than-auspicious debut, he first sang as a young teenager in an impromptu gathering of friends that evolved into one of a number of '60s garage-rock bands of which he was a part. He washed dishes at the soda fountain of a local drugstore, saving his meager salary to buy a bass guitar, after a band mate, having first had to explain to Lenny what a bass was, suggested he learn to play it.
By age 16, Lenny was already becoming established on the local Florida club circuit, with his eyes firmly set on a career in the music business. Following his relocation to Muscle Shoals, Lenny soon became a fixture in the fertile Shoals recording studio scene playing sessions with a host of celebrities including the Supremes, Hank Williams Jr., Roy Orbison, Crystal Gayle and Sawyer Brown. By that time, he had also begun a burgeoning career as a songwriter.
In late 1978, after one little-noticed solo album, Lenny realized his lifelong dream when in partnership with guitarist Pete Carr (billed as LeBlanc & Carr) he landed one of the rock era's biggest hits with the smooth-rock classic, Falling. But the fulfillment of a smash hit proved to be fleeting.
"It was kind of like a kid getting a new bike," Lenny recalls. "It's great at first, and you ride it all around for a week, but then you start wondering what comes next. You want an even bigger record, and to continually top yourself. It really didn't fulfill the deeper needs that I had."
With Pete Carr uninterested in hitting the road to promote the twosome's hit song and album, Lenny found himself in the awkward position of touring as a duo that had only one member and a band. After a solo album in 1980 failed to produce any hits, Lenny was at a crossroads. Then, he received an unexpected, life-changing phone call from an old friend.
"This guy had been a drug smuggler in Florida, and a lifelong friend of mine," Lenny explains. "Out of the blue, he calls me and says, `Lenny, I got saved. I'm going to Heaven and I want you to be there with me.' He sent me a Bible, and as I began reading it, I also began asking the Lord if He was truly real. In the days and weeks that followed, God began revealing Himself to me, and it was then that I completely turned my life over to Him."
Lenny soon became grounded in what would become his home church in Florence, Alabama, and his songs began to reflect his newfound faith. Lenny's evolution, spiritually and musically, developed on a slow-but-sure trajectory. Today, he is known for his talents as a singer/songwriter, producer and praise & worship leader for Integrity Music.
"The closest thing I have to any secret of success is to live a normal life," Lenny says. "I hang out with guys who are just regular folks... people doing everyday jobs. I do much better working in my wood shop, or fishing, than I do sitting around in a room beating my brains out for a song idea. I just live a pretty ordinary, happy life with my wife and two daughters, and God never fails to supply inspiration when He chooses."
