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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. 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

, 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 "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

" (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 Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Sh ...

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

the Blackberries The Blackberries were a female vocal trio composed of experienced backing vocalists. They backed various artists, including Pacific Gas & Electric, Humble Pie, Ringo Starr, and Pink Floyd. The Blackberries recorded for Motown's West Coast subsid ...

, Edna Wright of

Honey Cone Honey Cone was an American R&B and soul girl group formed by lead singer Edna Wright (sister of Darlene Love) with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark in 1968. They are best remembered for their number-one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single, "Want Ads" ...

, and latter-day Supreme

Susaye Greene Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a su ...

. 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 Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

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 *

*Beverly Ann Lesure *Pat Lion *Pat (Priscilla) Lyles *Kathy Mackey *Tammy McCann *

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...

*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 *

*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

* 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