Wade Herbert Flemons (September 25, 1940 – October 13, 1993) 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. He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas to Samuel and Kathyrine Flemons. His father was a minister, who introduced him to gospel music. After his parents' marriage ended in divorce, Wade moved to

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...

, where his mother was living, in 1955. A graduate of

Battle Creek Central High School Battle Creek Central High School (BCCHS) is a public high school in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It is the sole high school in the Battle Creek Public Schools district, and one of four public high schools in Battle Creek. Demographics ...

, Flemons began

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

solo work in 1958. He was only 17 when he had his first charting pop song, "Here I Stand," which he wrote and recorded with his band, the New Comers. He was signed to Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records; "Here I Stand" was a regional hit, and peaked at #80 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. It earned him an appearance on

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

in 1958, as well as an appearance on the

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

Show. Subsequent releases did not become hits, however, and Flemons began doing session work at Chicago recording studios, and also writing commercial jingles; one of his writing partners was

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

, later the founder of

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

. Flemons gained a reputation as a prolific songwriter: during his career, he wrote as many as 200 songs for himself and for other musicians. Having developed a good writing relationship with Maurice White, he was asked to become part of White's band called the Salty Peppers in 1969. Flemons subsequently went on to join White in his next venture, working as a vocalist in the pop band

between 1971 and 1972. Some of Flemons' songs away from the group are still revived, especially with the Northern soul movement in the UK, notably "That Other Place" and "Jeanette", recorded in 1968. Flemons married in 1980; he and his wife Brenda had a daughter and three sons. He died from cancer in

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encom ...

, Michigan, at age 53. A United States Army veteran who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, he was buried at the

Fort Custer National Cemetery Fort Custer National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located just outside the village of Augusta, Michigan, Augusta in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It encompasses , and had 30,000 interments. History Named for General George Arms ...

Augusta, Michigan Augusta is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 885 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly within Ross Township, though a small portion extends south into Charleston Township. Augusta is situated ...

. One of his sons, Brian Wade Flemons, followed in his father's footsteps and also became a musician."Musician Releases Single, Starts Record Company." ''Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer'', June 14, 1998, p. 22.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Wade Flemons'' (1959)

Singles

Other releases

1960 * "Little John Green" * "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" / "I'll Come Runnin" 1961 * "At the Party" / "Devil in Your Soul" 1962 * "I Hope, I Think, I Wish" / "Ain't These Tears?" * "Half a Love" / "Welcome Stranger" 1963 * "I Came Running (Back From the Party)" / "That Time of Year" 1964 * "I Knew You When" / "That Other Place" * "Watch Over Her" / "When It Rains It Pours" 1965 * "Empty Balcony" / "Where Did You Go Last Night" 1968 * "Jeanette" / "What A Price to Pay" * "Two of a Kind" / "I Knew You'd Be Mine"

References

Notes

External links

Wade Flemons Biography at rockabilly.nl

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flemons, Wade 1940 births 1993 deaths American soul singers People from Coffeyville, Kansas people from Battle Creek, Michigan Singers from Kansas Vee-Jay Records artists Earth, Wind & Fire members Deaths from cancer in Michigan 20th-century American singers