Pat Lewis is 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 and backing vocalist since the 1960s.
Biography
Patsy Lewis was born October 23, 1947 in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...
, United States, and moved to
Detroit
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 th ...
,
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 ...
in 1951. In the early 1960s, Pat, her sister Dianne, and two friends (Betty and Jackie Winston) formed the group, The Adorables, who recorded a record and began singing backing vocals for
Golden World Records
Golden World Records was a record label owned by Eddie Wingate and Joanne Bratton (née Jackson, former wife of boxing champion Johnny Bratton). The recording studio was located in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The studio's national hits incl ...
. Lewis debuted as a solo artist in 1966 with ''Can't Shake It Loose'' while also beginning to do outside backing vocals sessions. She met
Motown Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
' in-house backing group
The Andantes
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...
, and one day when one of the girls could not make the session for
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's "
Up-Tight
''Up-Tight'' (shown as ''Up-Tight Everything's Alright'' on the cover) is a 1966 album by American singer Stevie Wonder, released by Motown on the Tamla label. It was his fifth studio release.
Production
''Up-Tight'' was recorded at Motown's s ...
", Lewis stepped in and did it as well as several other Motown sessions. She signed to
Solid Hit Bound Records and released a string of singles, including "Look At What I Almost Missed", "Warning", "No One to Love", "No Baby No", and "The Loser". From the late 1960s on, she became a permanent backing singer for
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
and later on
George Clinton too. She wrote several songs for Isaac Hayes.
Later years
In 1989, Lewis as well as The Andantes were among the invited artists to join UK producer
Ian Levine
Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...
's mega-project
Motorcity Records
Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.
History
Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...
, a label formed to record new material on former Motown artists. She became the main backing vocals co-ordinator for the label and did several hundred arrangements while she recorded more than 50 tracks with herself and as a lead singer for the re-formed Andantes. Her single ''Separation'' (1991) (co-written by Levine and
Billy Griffin
William L. Griffin (born August 15, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for replacing Smokey Robinson as lead singer of The Miracles in 1972.
Biography
Griffin was born and raised in West Baltimore, Maryland. He attend ...
) was ''Single of the Week'' when reviewed in British soul magazine ''Blues & Soul''. After the label's demise in 1992, she continued to work with Levine on a regular basis. In 1997, she recorded 50 cover versions of selected Motown and
Northern Soul classics, although only a handful of tracks have been released on various artists compilations. In 1999, she recorded 76 gospel tracks with Levine for
K-Tel
K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynami ...
.
As for the present, Lewis occasionally tours with
Martha Reeves
Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas which scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Come and Get These Memories", " Nowhere to R ...
's original backing group
The Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosali ...
and most recently performed in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England in October 2007; where she had also been scheduled to record a new track for Levine's album ''Disco 2008'', an engagement she had to cancel due to health problems.
Albums
*''Separation'' (Motorcity, 1991)
*''The Best of Pat Lewis'' (Motorcity, 1996)
*''This Is Gospel'' (103rd Street Gospel Choir with Pat Lewis - 2CD - K-Tel, 2000)
*''A Gospel Christmas'' (K-Tel, 2000)
Singles
* "Can't Shake It Loose" (1966)
* "Look at What I Almost Missed" (1966)
* "Warning" (1967)
* "No One to Love" (1967)
* "No Baby No" (1967)
* "The Loser" (1967)
* "Separation" (1991)
* "No Right Turn" (1991)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Pat
1947 births
Living people
People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Motown artists
20th-century African-American women singers