The Mirettes were a female vocal trio composed of former members of

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as ...

in the

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 ...

Revue.

History

Robbie Montgomery Robbie Montgomery (born June 16, 1940) is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and t ...

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble ...

and Jessie Smith were the first official incarnation of the Ikettes, a backing trio for Ike & Tina Turner. In 1965, the Ikettes had a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

pop hit with "

Peaches 'N' Cream "Peaches 'N' Cream" is a song written by Steve Venet and Tommy Boyce, originally released by The Ikettes on Modern Records in 1965. It became the first ''Billboard'' Top 40 single for The Ikettes since their debut "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" in ...

" and a top 20 R&B hit with "

I'm So Thankful "I'm So Thankful" is a song written by Marc Gordon and Frank Wilson, and released by The Ikettes on Modern Records in 1965. It was the fourth single from The Ikettes' debut album ''Soul The Hits'', and became their second R&B hit of the year f ...

" on

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

. As their popularity grew,

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

sent a different set of Ikettes on the road with "The

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

Caravan of Stars In 1959, radio and television personality and television producer Dick Clark organized and produced a concert tour of rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists, many of whom had appeared on his music performance and dance television program, Ameri ...

" and kept Montgomery, Smith, and Fields on tour with his revue which caused much annoyance to the trio. They also were not receiving the extra money from their hits, so they left the revue in late 1965. After trying unsuccessfully to continue using the name the Ikettes under management of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

's sister,

Alline Bullock Alline Bullock (December 1, 1936 – September 4, 2010) was an American songwriter and the older sister of singer Tina Turner. Bullock was the one-time manager of the girl group the Ikettes. She wrote songs for Ike & Tina Turner as well as thei ...

, they signed to

Mirwood Records Mirwood Records was an American record label founded by former Vee-Jay executive Randy Wood in Los Angeles in 1965. The Mirwood label was a sister label to Mira Records. It primarily released rhythm and blues and jazz recordings,< ...

and changed their name to the Mirettes in 1966. After their two singles on the label did not chart, they signed to

Revue Records Revue Records was an American subsidiary record label of MCA Incorporation. Revue was operated by the same management team that ran Universal City (UNI) Records. Revue was created in 1967 to exclusively cater to the R&B market. The label primar ...

where they had some success. Their first single, "

In the Midnight Hour "In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album ''The Exciting Wilson Pickett''. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropp ...

" reached No. 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 18 on the

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 ...

. Their next two singles made little impression, as did a single on

Minit Records Minit Records was an American independent record label, originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak in 1959. Ernie K. Doe, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and Benny Spellman were early artists on the label. Later artists included Bobb ...

in 1968 entitled "Help Wanted." In June 1968, they performed at the Soul-In show held by the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers (NATRA). A transfer to

Uni Records Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...

in 1969 was more fruitful for them, but the songs were not big hits. That same year they sang on ''

The Lost Man ''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 ...

'' soundtrack produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. In 1970, they signed to the independent label, Zea Records, and released the raunchy "Ain't My Stuff Good Enough." Venetta Fields left the group and was replaced by former Ikette

Pat Powdrill Pat Powdrill (January 21, 1948 – April 11, 1996) was an American soul singer and songwriter. Powdrill was best known for being a member of the Ikettes in the 1960s. She began her career as a solo artist recording for Reprise Records and Downey ...

before they broke up in 1971.

Discography

Studio albums

Vocal credits

* 1969: ''The Lost Man (The Original Soundtrack Album)''

Other appearances

* 1970: ''A Little Shot Of Rhythm & Blues'' (Rhapsody Records) * 2006: ''The Mirwood Soul Story Volume 2'' (Kent dance) * 2010: ''Northern Soul Of Revue'' (Soul World) * 2016:

– ''The Cinema Of Quincy Jones'' (Decca Records) * 2017: ''Mirwood Northern Soul'' (Kent Dance)

Singles

References

External links

The Mirettes
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*
Ikettes/Mirettes Biography and Discography
on Doo Wop Heaven {{DEFAULTSORT:Mirettes, The 1966 establishments in the United States 1971 disestablishments in the United States African-American girl groups Ike & Tina Turner members American soul musical groups Musical groups from Los Angeles Uni Records artists Mirwood Records artists Minit Records artists Revue Records artists American rhythm and blues musical groups Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1971