TV One begins a new season of "Unsung" (10 tonight), its series exploring the life and times and unheralded performers, and this season is one to get excited about.

It starts strong with a look at Deneice Williams, the multi-octave singer of such hits as "Silly" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy," convincingly making the case that Williams never got her due for her soaring pipes. After all, before Mariah Carey trilled her pop, R&B and gospel tunes, Niecy did it. (I'd put Minnie Riperton, a former "Unsung" subject, firmly in R&B, albeit alternative at times.)
 

Sometimes a good idea can box you into a corner. That's my theory about what's happening with "Unsung" (10 tonight), the terrific TV One series that starts a new season tonight.

As suggested by the title, the series aims to bring deserved light to artists who have not gotten their due. And it has done some stellar episodes featuring Phyllis Hyman, Debarge, Minnie Riperton, and Donny Hathaway.

Tonight, though, the premiere episode features Teddy Pendergrass. Teddy? Unsung? And later, there are episodes featuring George Clinton and the O'Jays, both Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

On Sunday at 8 p.m (and then again at 11 p.m.) TV One brings back its terrific biography series "Unsung," which features the lives and careers of artists and groups that have been under-recognized or under-appreciated.

This Sunday features singer Minnie Riperton, known most for "Lovin' You" which showed off not just a sweet voice but spectacular range. (Nearly six octaves.)

It's a great piece of reporting, featuring Riperton's widowed husband Richard Rudolph and their daughter Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph, as well as folks from her early singing career in Chicago.