Lula Reed (born Lula Marietta McClelland, March 21, 1926 – June 21, 2008)
Retrieved December 29, 2013 was an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer who recorded in the 1950s and 1960s. She had two R&B hits in 1952 as vocalist with pianist and bandleader

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thomps ...

, and later recorded with guitarist

Freddy King Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1960 ...

. She was occasionally credited as Lulu Reed.

Biography

Reed was born in Mingo Junction,

Jefferson County, Ohio Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,249. Its county seat is Steubenville. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was vice president at the time of its creation. ...

. As a child her family moved to

Port Clinton, Ohio Port Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, located at the mouth of the Portage River on Lake Erie, about 44 miles east of Toledo. The population was 6,056 at the 2010 census. The city has been nicknamed the "Walleye Capit ...

, where she sang in her local church choir. She was mentored by blind

gospel singer Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

Professor Harold Boggs, before winning an audition over 50 other contestants in Toledo to become the vocalist with Sonny Thompson's band. Credited as vocalist on Thompson's records, she made her recording debut for King Records in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in late 1951, on the song "I'll Drown in My Tears" written by

Henry Glover Henry Bernard Glover (May 21, 1921 – April 7, 1991) was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gai ...

. The song reached no.5 on the ''

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 in 1952, and was recorded by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

in 1956 as "

Drown in My Own Tears "Drown in My Own Tears", originally credited as "I'll Drown in My Tears", is a song written by Henry Glover. It is best known in the version released as a single in 1956 by Ray Charles on the Atlantic record label. History "Drown in My Own Tear ...

", with wider commercial success. Dave Penny, ''Lula Reed'', Black Cat Rockabilly
Retrieved December 29, 2013 Reed's next record with Thompson, "Let's Call It A Day", also written by Glover, reached no.7 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Most of her later records for King were credited in her own name, although she continued to record with Thompson, who became her husband in 1954. ''Jet'', 9 September 1954, p.63
Retrieved December 29, 2013 She was a versatile singer, performing some gospel songs as well as

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and R&B. Her 1954 recording, "Rock Love", was later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Little Willie John William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1 ...

.Biography by Bill Dahl at Allmusic.com
Retrieved December 29, 2013 She remained popular, being voted no.4 R&B singer in the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' annual poll in 1954, and continued to record for the King label until 1956. However, Reed failed to have any further chart hits. King released an album of her recordings, ''Blue And Moody'', in 1958. Pete Hoppula, Lula Reed Discography, WangDangDula.com
Retrieved December 29, 2013 Reed and Thompson recorded for the

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

subsidiary

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

between 1958 and 1960, before returning to Cincinnati and starting to record for King's subsidiary

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

label in 1961. She released seven singles on Federal over the next two years, on many of them accompanied by Freddy King, but none made the charts. Accompanied by King and Thompson, she also released an album on Federal, ''Boy-Girl-Boy'', in 1962. She then moved to the

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

label set up by Ray Charles, and recorded a series of singles in the early 1960s. Her final single was released in 1967. She then left the music business, due to lack of true promotion by the last record company she signed with. But she always talked with family and friends about her career singing and recording secular rhythm and blues music and wanted her granddaughters to follow her footsteps. She died in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 2008 at the age of 82. Her son, also a talented vocalist is Reginald Melvin Reed and great-granddaughters Dejah McKenzie and Dominique Johnson great-grandsons Joel Fox and Joshua Weaver granddaughter is Melludee G. and Nicole G.(Detroit, Michigan). Several compilation albums of her recordings have been issued, including ''I'll Drown in My Tears – The King Anthology''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Lula 1926 births 2008 deaths American rhythm and blues singers People from Mingo Junction, Ohio People from Port Clinton, Ohio Tangerine Records artists 20th-century African-American women singers