Rosetta Jeanette Hightower (23 June 1944 – 2 August 2014) was an American singer and the lead singer of the 1960s

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 ...

The Orlons The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. The group won gold discs for three of their singles. Career The quartet consisted of lead singer Rosetta Hightower (June 23, 1944 – August 2, 2014), Shi ...

. She was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. As lead singer of The Orlons, the Orlons recorded several Top 10 U.S. hits between 1962 and 1964, including "

The Wah-Watusi "The Wah-Watusi" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and performed by The Orlons. It reached No.2 on the U.S. pop chart behind Bobby Vinton's " Roses Are Red (My Love)", No.5 on the U.S. R&B chart, and No. 12 in Canada in 1962. It wa ...

", " Don't Hang Up", " South Street", and "Not Me". In early 1962, The Orlons provided backup vocals on

Dee Dee Sharp Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue; September 9, 1945, in Philadelphia) is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961. Career Although Sharp had been playing the piano from an early age and directed chur ...

's "Mashed Potato Time" (#2 pop, No. 1 R&B). That spring, they recorded "The Wah-Watusi" which, in July 1962, made it in the Billboard charts to the No. 2 spot. Around the same time, they recorded back-up vocals on

's second hit, "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" which went to No. 9. The follow-up to "The Wah-Watusi", "Don't Hang Up" reached No. 4 pop and No. 3 R&B in the fall and winter of 1962. The Orlons' first major performance was at New York's Apollo Theatre with

The Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans was an early 1960s vocal group produced by Phil Spector, and was initially conceived as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen, who took the stage name Bob B. Soxx. The Blue Jeans were backing vocalists Darlene ...

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

Tommy Hunt Tommy Hunt (born Charles James Hunt; June 18, 1933) is an American soul/ northern soul singer, and a 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee as a member of famed R&B group The Flamingos. Early life Born to Georgianna Derico, Hunt started his li ...

, and

Gene Chandler Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful son ...

. In 1963, they had hits with "South Street" (No. 3 Pop, No. 4 R&B) and "Crossfire" (No. 19 Pop, No. 25 R&B). Hightower left the group in the late 1960s to pursue a solo career in the UK. She joined the ranks of the then-popular female session singers who backed many hit songs. This group included

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the v ...

Lesley Duncan Lesley Cox (née Duncan; 12 August 1943 – 12 March 2010) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for her work during the 1970s. She received much airplay on British radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, but never achieved ...

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

, and

Sue and Sunny Sue and Sunny were a British vocal duo and session singers operating in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although sisters, their stage names were Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. For three years (1969-1972) they were members of British pop group The Bro ...

. She recorded with

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

on his ''

With a Little Help From My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr (as Sgt. Pe ...

'' album. Moving permanently to England in 1970, Hightower married musician-producer Ian Green. She represented the US in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

for the first international singing contest ever held. She released numerous singles and at least two albums. In 1971, she was a backing vocalist for

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's " Power to the People".

Death

Rosetta Hightower Green died in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

, London, on 2 August 2014, aged 70."In Memory of Rosetta Hightower Green"
''Facebook''. Retrieved 21 August 2014. Her son, Ian Green, Jr., works as

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

's main co-producer and remixer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hightower, Rosetta 1944 births 2014 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American expatriates in the United Kingdom Musicians from Philadelphia Singers from Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women