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 atte ...

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 withou ...

, composer, 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 . "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,

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. T ...

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

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 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.

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* * * * 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