Sandra Feva (born Sandra Arnold, May 14, 1947 – June 26, 2020), also known as Sandra Richardson, 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 attes ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and

backing vocalist 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 us ...

. She was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the oldest of five siblings, but grew up in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, after her family moved there. She began singing as a child, and in the early 1970s made her first recordings, as Sandra Richardson. She recorded several singles for small labels, many with producer

Tony Camillo Anthony J. Camillo (August 11, 1928 – August 29, 2018)
bongiovifuneralhome.com retrieved Apri ...

. "Sandra Richardson", ''SoulDennis'', May 17, 2009
Retrieved December 17, 2022 After changing her name to Sandra Feva, she gained national attention as a background vocalist with

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 ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, and George Clinton. As a solo act she had her first hit single in 1979 with her version of "

The Need to Be "The Need to Be" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly. First recorded on the Weatherly's 1974 album “The Songs of Jim Weatherly”, the single release peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, No. 11 on ...

", and released several albums, including ''Kick it Out'', ''The Need to Be'' (1979), ''Savoir Faire'' (1981), and ''Fever All Through The Nigh'' (1989). Her 1981 single "Tell 'Em I Heard It" peaked at number 33 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, and she had further R&B chart hits with "You Can't Come Up Here No More" (1986), and "Here Now" (1987). She had a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 2000, which ended her music career, and in 2009 became a minister in the Third New Hope Baptist Church in Detroit. She died in 2020, at the age of 73.

References

External links

* * * * 1947 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American women singers Singers from Detroit 21st-century American women Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) {{US-musician-stub