Doris Coley (August 2, 1941 – February 5, 2000) was an American musician, who was best known as a member (and occasional

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

) of

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

. She initially left the group in 1968, but returned in 1975. Through marriages, she became ''Doris Coley Kenner'' and later, ''Doris Kenner Jackson''.

Personal life

Coley was born in

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropol ...

but moved with her family to

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

. With schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Addie "Micki" Harris and Beverly Lee, she formed the Shirelles in Passaic in 1958, one of the 1st all-girl groups of the rock era. The four teenagers did not graduate with their class of 1958, but they earned diplomas later. They performed their self-written "I Met Him on a Sunday" for Florence Greenberg and was signed to her Tiara label (the song was so popular, it was bought by Decca Records). Many years later, in 1994, when the Rhythm and Blues Foundation gave the Shirelles a Heritage Award, Kenner sang with the group's other surviving members, Ms. Alston Reeves and Ms. Lee, for the first time in 19 years (Harris having died in 1982). The threesome met again when they were inducted into the

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

in 1996.

Death

Coley died of

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 ...

at the age of 58 on February 5, 2000.

References

External links

* 1941 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American women singers American women pop singers Musicians from Passaic, New Jersey The Shirelles members Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American singers {{US-singer-stub