She was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and was raised in the Jewish faith.^[2] She sang, with her eight brothers and sisters, in the Temple Beth-El choir.^[1] After completing high school, she moved to Virginia Beach where she worked as a waitress and began singing rhythm and blues with local bands, before spending two years with Samuel Latham and the Rhythm Makers.^[1] She then moved to Washington, D.C. in the late 1950s, and joined Ambrose and the Showstoppers, the house band at the Spa nightclub.^[1] Local entrepreneur Never Duncan Jnr. became her manager,^[1] and placed her with record producer Dicky Williams. Her first single, "Calling All Boys", was issued in 1960 on the V-Tone label, before Duncan established his own recording company, NEBS.^[1] She released a succession of singles on NEBS, including "Here I Go Again", "Worried Mind", and "Nobody Cares", some of which became local hits.^[2]

When her local supporter, disc jockey Al Bell, began working for Stax Records in Memphis in 1965, he won her a contract with the label.^[1] There, she recorded a handful of classic soul records with the writing and production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter,^[1] and backing musicians including Steve Cropper, "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson. These were issued on the Stax subsidiary label, Volt.^[1] They included "I'll Run Your Hurt Away",^[1] which reached No. 31 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1966, and "If I Ever Needed Love", both tracks which became staples of subsequent soul compilations, such as those by Dave Godin.^[3]

Despite the quality of her records, they met with little success, and after a few more years singing in clubs, she gave up her singing career in 1974.^[1] She worked in government posts, and eventually became the director of Foster Grandparents, a federal programme helping handicapped children relate to older generations.^[1] She also returned to worship and sing at the Temple Beth-El near her home in Lanham, Maryland. A compilation CD, including many previously unissued tracks, was issued in 1993.^[4]

She died in 1999, aged 63.^[2]

Singles edit

• 1961 "Callin' All Boys" / "Pleadin' Heart" – V-TONE 222
• 1963 "I Received Your Message" / "Stop Wasting Your Tears" – Pledge 108
• 1964 "Worried Mind" / "I'm Hooked" – NEBS 502
• 1964 "What Goes Up Must Come Down" / "I Want A Real Man" – NEBS 503
• 1965 "Let Me Apologise" / "Don't Start Nothing" – NEBS 101
• 1965 "Here I Go Again" / "Jerk Shout" – NEBS 501
• 1966 "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" / "Weak Spot" – Volt 133
• 1966 "Come To Me My Darling" / "When My Love Comes Down" – Volt 140
• 1967 "Reach Out and Touch Me" / "Come Back To Me" – NEBS 508
• 1967 "If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)" / "Keep On Keeping On" – Volt 147
• 1968 "I've Been Hurt (So Many Times)" / "Through Dealing" – NEBS 509
• 1968 "Why You Want To Leave Me" / "I Can't Do It" – NEBS 511
• 1969 "Nobody Care" / "Why Do You Want To Leave Me" – NEBS 600^[5]

Albums edit

I'll Run Your Hurt Away, Stax, 1993^[4]

• Volt Discography