Little Ann (born Ann Bridgeforth; 22 March 1945 – 26 January 2003) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer. Her recording career was short-lived but her work was 'rediscovered' shortly before her death.

Life and career

Originally from Chicago, but growing up in the small town of

Mount Clemens Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,314 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Macomb County. History Mount Clemens was first surveyed in 1795 after the American Revolutionary War by Christia ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, "Little Ann" Bridgeforth performed regularly as a singer, including at her cousin's club, Michelle's Playroom. When she was getting gigs elsewhere, she changed her name to Little Ann - how she was known within the family, as the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. In 1967 in Detroit, she recorded "Deep Shadows", produced by Dave Hamilton, but it was not released, and was almost lost to history. In 1969, she recorded an album's worth of her soulful singing, with Hamilton. The record company, Ric-Tic, released only one song, "Going Down a One Way Street", as a single (Ric-Tic142). It was to be her only release for a long time. (One of the executives of the company was Joanne Bratton-Jackson, with whom Little Ann is sometimes, erroneously, identified.) In the early 1980s, an acetate of a Little Ann song was discovered by someone in England. Under the title "When He's Not Around" by Rose Valentine, it became a big hit in the Northern soul scene. Then in 1990, that original master tape, including the song, which was really called "What Should I Do?", was discovered at Hamilton's home, leading to a release of the single on

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

. "Deep Shadows" was finally heard by the world on the CD compilation ''Dave Hamilton's Detroit Dancers, Vol 1'' in 1998, along with two other, at-that-time unreleased, tracks. It has since been covered several times and has featured in a

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Jordan trainers ad in the US. Further unreleased tracks appeared on ''Detroit Dancers'' Volumes 2 and 3, in 1999 and 2006 respectively, before the tracks were compiled on vinyl in 2009 with the release of the entire ''Deep Shadows'' album on Helsinki's Timmion Records. Finally, with the release of some of her music, Little Ann performed in the UK, shortly before her death in 2003. Little Ann (Bridgeforth) is not to be confused with Little Ann (Sandford) who recorded with

Tarheel Slim Allen Rathel Bunn (September 24, 1923 – August 21, 1977), who was sometimes credited as Alden Bunn and who performed as Tarheel Slim, was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter whose work spanned gospel, blues, doowop, R&B, pop, a ...

between 1959 and 1965.

Discography

*"Going Down a One-Way Street (The Wrong Way)"/"I'd Like to Know You Better" 7" (1968) *''Deep Shadows'' LP (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Ann 1945 births 2003 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters People from Chicago Singer-songwriters from Illinois American soul musicians Ric-Tic Records artists Kent Records artists Northern soul musicians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women