The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

formed in 1958 to provide

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

for

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 ...

. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles.

History

Reformed by

from the all-girl singing group The Cookies, Charles first invited The Cookies for a recording session in New York City, in August 1956, where they taped "Lonely Avenue", "I Want To Know" and "Leave My Woman Alone". The Cookies' lineup at the time consisted of

Margie Hendrix Marjorie "Margie" Hendrix (sometimes Hendricks) (March 13, 1935 – July 14, 1973) was an American rhythm and blues singer and founding member of the Raelettes, who were the backing singers for Ray Charles, the father of her child, Charles Wa ...

, Dorothy Jones, and Darlene McCrea. The Raelettes were officially established in 1958. The first lineup consisted of Darlene McCrea,

Margie Hendricks Marjorie "Margie" Hendrix (sometimes Hendricks) (March 13, 1935 – July 14, 1973) was an American rhythm and blues singer and founding member of the Raelettes, who were the backing singers for Ray Charles, the father of her child, Charles Wa ...

, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn Berry. The Raelettes were an integral part of Charles' organization and provided backing vocals on various hits, such as "

Night Time Is the Right Time "Night Time Is the Right Time" or "The Right Time" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by American musician Nappy Brown in 1957. It draws on earlier blues songs and has inspired popular versions, including those by Ray Charles, Rufus and Carla, ...

" (1958), " What'd I Say" (1959) and "

Hit the Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signat ...

" (1961). In the early years,

was the Raelette's foremost member. Ray Charles said about her: " Aretha, Gladys,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

— these gals are all bad, but on any given night, Margie will scare you to death." Ray and Margie had many affairs, but she started using drugs and alcohol and after a final argument in 1964, she was fired from the Raelettes and later died in 1973. The group always consisted of 4 or 5 singers. The ever-changing lineup included Minnie Riperton, Merry Clayton, Clydie King of the Blackberries, Edna Wright of Honey Cone, and latter-day Supreme Susaye Greene. Charles also produced and played piano on solo singles for various Raelettes. He formed Tangerine Records in 1962, and the Raeletts released three top 40 R&B hits between 1967 and 1971: "One Hurt Deserves Another" (1967), "I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right" (1968), and "Bad Water" (1971). The compilation ''

Souled Out Souled Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January from 1997 through 2000. The 1997 and 1998 WCW Souled Out PPV events were held on Saturdays due to the Super Bowl played ...

'' was released in 1970, featuring songs R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner had recorded for Tangerine. In the 1970s,

Mable John Mable John (November 3, 1930 – August 25, 2022) was an American blues vocalist and was the first female signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label. Biography John was born in Bastrop, Louisiana, on November 3, 1930, the eldest of at le ...

sang lead vocals and the Raelttes toured independent of Charles. After she left the Raelettes returned to the background for good, with various lineups backing Charles until his death in 2004.

Members

*Shalaine Adams *Mabel Armed *Fritz Basket *Dorothy Berry *Gwen "Squatty Roo" Berry *Tangy Biggers *Anita Brooks *Alexandra Brown *Helen Bryant *Dottie Clark *Merry Clayton *Chrylynn Cobb *Trudy Cochran *Kathryn Collier *Sharon Creighton *Pamela Diggs-King *Karen Evans *Verlyn Flenaugh *Lillian Fort *Valerie Geason *Renee Georges *Deborah Gleese *Rita Graham *Susaye Greene *Katrina Harper-Cooke *Avis Harrell *

*Peggy Hutcherson *Denise Jackson *Doretta James *Mable John *Ann Johnson * Clydie King *Beverly Ann Lesure *Pat Lion *Pat (Priscilla) Lyles *Kathy Mackey *Tammy McCann * Marilyn McCoo *Gladezz McCoy *Darlene McCrea *Tonette McKinney *Paula Michelle *Janice Mitchell *Mae Mosely-Lyles *Vernita Moss *Paula More *Kay Nickerson *Pat Peterson *Bobbie Pierce *Madelyn Quebec *Patricia Richards * Minnie Riperton *Donna M. Jones *Ruby Rae Roberson *Vermetea Royster *Mae Saunders *Cynthia Scott *Linda Sims *Bettye Smith *Gwendolyn Smith *Joy Styles *Barbara Nell Terrault *Brianna Perry Tucker *Andromeda Turre *Lalomie Washburn *Tracey Whitney *Elaine Woodard *Angela Workman *Edna Wright *Estella Yarbrough

Discography

Albums

* 1970: ''

'' (Tangerine 1511) – The Raelets with Ike & Tina Turner * 1972: ''(Ray Charles Presents) The Raeletts, Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow'' (Tangerine 1515) * 1993: ''The Raelettes, Hits And Rarities'' (Titanic Records TR-CD 4422)

Singles

References

External links

*
Rita Graham website

Discography at discogs.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raelettes, The African-American girl groups Ray Charles Musical backing groups Tangerine Records artists Musical groups established in the 1950s Musical groups disestablished in the 2000s 1950s establishments in the United States 2000s disestablishments in the United States