Brandi Wells (May 13, 1955 – March 24, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, recording artist and entertainer. Born Marguerite J. Pinder in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

, one of the five daughters of Thomas and Dorothy (née Williams) Pinder, and educated in the

Chester Upland School District The Chester Upland School District (CUSD) is a midsized, urban public school district serving the City of Chester, the Borough of Upland and Chester Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Chester-Upland School District administrative of ...

.Obituary
oldchesterpa.com; accessed October 1, 2014. She sang with

Fat Larry's Band Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B and funk band from Philadelphia, which enjoyed some commercial success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Career Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August ...

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, and Slick before starting a solo career. Her debut album, ''Watch Out'', appeared in 1981 on

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

and reached #37 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

. The title track charted at #27 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and #16 on the US

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. It also peaked at #74 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 1982. "Watch Out" proved to be her only hit, though she released a follow-up LP in 1985.

Marriage

Wells married Ronald E. Bannister Jr. , the couple had two children together, Nathaniel Brown Walker Pinder, and the late Shameka Pinder. Wells also had four stepchildren: Janay Graham, Janine Graham, Ronald E. Bannister III and Juakira Gordon, and one grandchild.

Death

Brandi Wells was 47 years of age when she died at the

Crozer-Chester Medical Center Crozer Health is a four-hospital health system based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania and serving Delaware County; northern Delaware and parts of western New Jersey. History In 1893, the 48-bed Chester Hospital opened to serve the growing popu ...

, on March 24, 2003, from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

.Profile
Thedeadrockstarsclub.com; accessed October 1, 2014. She is interred at the Haven Memorial Cemetery in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Discography

*''Watch Out'' (

, 1981) *''21st Century Fox'' ( Omni Records, 1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Brandi 1955 births 2003 deaths American rhythm and blues singers Singers from Philadelphia People from Chester, Pennsylvania Musicians from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Deaths from breast cancer in Pennsylvania 20th-century American women singers