Pat Powdrill (January 21, 1948 – April 11, 1996) 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 atte ...

singer and songwriter. Powdrill was best known for being a member of

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as ...

in the 1960s. She began her career as a solo artist recording for Reprise Records and

Downey Records Downey Records was an American record label owned by Bill Wenzel (July 26, 1912 – November 20, 1999) in Downey, California, and distributed at times by Dot Records. Wenzel worked as a sound engineer for MGM studios and in 1958, opened We ...

. She later performed as backing vocalist for various artists.

Life and career

Powdrill was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 8 years old. At 15 years old, Powdrill signed to Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records in 1963. She was produced by

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early life ...

;

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

and

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts ...

. In total, there were three singles on the label between 1963 and 1964, but none of them charted. During this period her mother chaperoned her while she opened for Johnny Otis,

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

, and

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

in San Francisco. While still under contract to Reprise, Powdrill met

independent record The ''Independent Record'' (often abbreviated to ''IR'') is a daily newspaper printed and distributed in Helena, Montana. The newspaper is part of the Lee Enterprises group. History The roots of the ''IR'' lie in two newspapers that were foun ...

producer Nick Risi through her mother who worked with his father at the same company. She would attend practice sessions of other artists at Record City, owned by Risi's friend Jim Thomas. After her Reprise contract ended, she recorded some masters for Nick Risi and Jim Thomas, resulting in two singles released on

between 1966 and 1967. Her song "Do It" is popular in the northern soul scene. Her second single on the label, "Together Forever," was co-written by

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

and released as Pat Powdrill & the Powerdrills. The Powerdrills were session singers that included Pete Parker and Jim Thomas. Around late 1967, Powdrill became an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In April 1968, they toured the United Kingdom and they were the opening act for

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

on the 1969 American Tour. As an ikette between 1967 and 1970, Powdrill made TV appearances on '' Goodbye Again'' and ''

Playboy After Dark ''Playboy After Dark'' is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It aired in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. Overview ''Playboy After Dark'' followed much the sam ...

.'' Turner wrote in his autobiography, ''

Takin' Back My Name ''Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner'' is a 1999 autobiography by American musician Ike Turner with British writer Nigel Cawthorne. Overview After Ike Turner's ex-wife Tina Turner revealed that his violent behavior and infidelity ...

'', that one night while they were gambling during an engagement in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Powdrill left with her winnings and returned to Los Angeles. In 1969, Powdrill's manager Nick Risi negotiated a deal with Forward Records, a division of Transcontinental Entertainment Corporation. Risi and Bob Summers were reported to be the producers for her Forward session for Sidewalk Productions. However, no records by Powdrill were released on the label, and Risi moved to the UK. She briefly replaced former Ikette

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble Pi ...

the Mirettes The Mirettes were a female vocal trio composed of former members of the Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. History Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields and Jessie Smith were the first official incarnation of the Ikettes, a backing trio for ...

before the group broke up in the early 1970s. Through the 1970s and into the 1980s, Powdrill was a backing vocalist. She worked with various artists, including

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Want ...

, Diana Ross,

the Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

, and Tracy Nelson. In 1976, Powdrill was an uncredited vocalist on the hit song "

Uptown Festival ''Uptown Festival'' is the first album credited to American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1977 on the Soul Train label. The album was in fact recorded by session singers. It peaked at #22 on the US R&B chart and #48 on the Billboard Albums cha ...

" by

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

which was produced by Simon Soussan and recorded at Ike & Tina Turner's

Bolic Sound Bolic Sound Studios was a recording studio complex in Inglewood, California. It was built by musician Ike Turner in 1970, and remained in operation until it burned down in 1981. History As a young bandleader, Ike Turner had grown skeptical of the ...

studio. "He told us this was a demo, for his home use. Simon Soussan took the track to

Soul Train Records SOLAR (acronym for Sound of Los Angeles Records) was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with ''Soul Train'' television show host and creator Don ...

and made a bank. Patty Powdrill got nothing," she said. She co-wrote the song "If It Wasn't For My Baby" on

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 ...

' 1980 album ''Gotta Keep Moving''. Powdrill lived in Los Angeles for the remaining years of her life. She died on April 11, 1996.

Discography

Singles

* 1963: "I Only Came To Dance With You" / "Fell By The Wayside" (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

R-20 166) * 1963: "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" / "Happy Anniversary" (Reprise R-20 204) * 1964: "Breaking Point" / "Luckiest Girl In Town" (Reprise 0286) * 1966: "I Can't Hear You" / "Do It" (

Downey Downey may refer to: People * Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places * Downey, California, US * Downey, Idaho, US * Downey, Iowa, US Businesses * W. & D. Downey, photographic studio * Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Sch ...

D-139) * 1967: "Together Forever" / "They Are The Lonely" (Downey D-141)

Album appearances

* 2008: ''Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities 3'' (Kent Dance) * 2011: ''The Downey Story: Landlocked'' ( Ace Records) * 2015: ''Girl Zone!'' (Ace Records) * 2019: ''Would She Do That For You?! Girl Group Sounds USA 1964–68'' (Ace Records)

Backing vocal credits

* 1973: Sharon Cash – ''Sharon Cash'' * 1974: Tracy Nelson – ''Tracy Nelson'' * 1974:

Michael Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs' ...

– ''Michael Murphey'' * 1975: El Coco – ''Brazil'' * 1975: El Coco – ''Mondo Disc'' * 1976: El Coco – ''Let's Get It Together'' * 1980:

– ''Inherit The Wind''

References

External links

Pat Powdrill Songs
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Spectropop Presents: Looking for Pat Powdrill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powdrill, Pat 1948 births 1996 deaths Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Singers from Los Angeles American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters African-American women singer-songwriters American soul singers Ike & Tina Turner members Reprise Records artists Downey Records artists Northern soul musicians Singer-songwriters from California 20th-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama