Edna Woods (born August 23, 1949), also known as LeJeune Richardson, is an American singer, dancer and actress. She was an Ikette in the

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

Revue in the 1960s and 1970s, and later a dancer for Tina Turner in the 1980s and 1990s. Richardson was a backing vocalist for

Gayle McCormick Gayle McCormick (November 26, 1948 – March 1, 2016) was an American singer, best known for her work with the rock band Smith. She attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri and sang high soprano with the Suburb Choir, a 150-v ...

and

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

. She was also a member of the vocal group Silver, Platinum & Gold.

Life and career

Richardson was born Edna Woods on August 23, 1949 in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

. As a teenager she worked as a beautician and sang gospel. Richardson got her professional start as a singer in the group Soul Sensations. Richardson joined the Ike & Tina Turner Revue an Ikette in 1968. As an Ikette, Richardson toured the world and appeared on various television shows, including ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...

'', ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sched ...

'', ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

'', ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...

'', ''The Midnight Special'', ''Cher'', and ''

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later ...

''. In the mid 1970s Richardson pursued a career in film. As an actress she has credited roles in ''

Truck Turner ''Truck Turner'', also known as ''Black Bullet'', is a 1974 blaxploitation film, starring Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. The screenplay was written by Michael Allin, Leigh Chapman (under a pseudonym, Jerry Wilke ...

'' (1974) and ''

Darktown Strutters ''Darktown Strutters'' is a 1975 blaxploitation musical comedy film from New World Pictures. Despite having mixed reviews at the time it has gained cult status over the years with praise from film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino called it ...

'' (1975). After the dissolution of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1976, Richardson recorded an album as part of the vocal trio Silver, Platinum & Gold. The group consisted of Richardson, Renee King and Flo King, who were also former backing vocalists. They released a self-titled album on Farr Records in late 1976. Richardson co-wrote seven songs on the album. The single "Just Friends" reached No. 63 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. The group toured with Wild Cherry in 1976. They released another album, ''Hollywood'', on

Neptune Records Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, William Dunst and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to t ...

in 1981. Richardson joined

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

during her solo career as a dancer in 1980. By then she began going by the name LeJeune Richardson. Richardson appeared in Turner's music videos " Let's Stay Together" (1983) and "

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help! ( ...

" (1984). She toured with Turner on-and-off until her Foreign Affair World Tour in 1990. She was married to

Kings of Rhythm The Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has underg ...

drummer

Soko Richardson Eulis Soko Richardson (December 8, 1939 – January 29, 2004) was an American rhythm and blues drummer. His career spanned almost fifty years, during which he performed and recorded with seminal groups including John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and ...

Discography

Silver, Platinum & Gold albums

* 1976: ''Silver, Platinum & Gold'' * 1981: ''Hollywood''

Backing vocal credits

* 1972:

– ''Flesh & Blood'' * 1977:

– ''A Hard Core Package''

Filmography

References

External links

*
Edna Richardson
on

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Edna 1949 births Living people Musicians from Akron, Ohio Actresses from Akron, Ohio Songwriters from Ohio Ike & Tina Turner members African-American women singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers American film actresses Singers from Ohio African-American songwriters