Barbara Randolph (May 5, 1942July 15, 2002), also known as Barbara Ann Sanders, Barbara Randolph at Find A Grave
/ref> was an American soul singer and actress who recorded for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

She was born in

Detroit 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 th ...

and was adopted by the actress

Lillian Randolph Lillian Randolph (December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s until shortly before her death. She appeared in hundreds of radi ...

,Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks: The Red Caps
/ref> who appeared in ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...

'' (1946) and many other movies. Her show business career beganunder the name Barbara Ann Sanders, having taken the name of Lillian's second husband – when she was 8 years old, playing the part of Tanya in the 1953 feature film ''

Bright Road ''Bright Road'' is a 1953 low-budget film adapted from the Christopher Award-winning short story "See How They Run" by Mary Elizabeth Vroman. Directed by Gerald Mayer and featuring a nearly all-black cast, the film stars Dorothy Dandridge as an i ...

''. In 1957, both her mother and she joined Steve Gibson's vocal group, The Red Caps, as singers. For a number of years, a common but mistaken belief held that her mother and Steve were siblings, making him Randolph's uncle (although she may have affectionately referred to him as such). James "Jay" Price, a member of the Red Caps from 1952 to 1958, explained that Steve and Lillian only jokingly called each other "sister" and "brother", but they were not related. The story apparently started with a December 31, 1953, article in '' JET'' that referred to them as siblings, in Major Robinson's gossip column—which often carried the most outrageous (and unverified) claims from press agents. Further, the 1910 United States Census shows Lillian's mother was already 50, far too old to have given birth to Steve Gibson on October 12, 1914. Randolph appeared with her mother in Gibson's nightclub acts, using her mother's maiden (and stage) name of Randolph in 1957, continuing to appear with the Red Caps on various occasions in the 1960s. Barbara Randolph first recorded as a solo singer for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in 1960. In 1964, she joined

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

, replacing singer

Zola Taylor Zoletta Lynn Taylor (March 17, 1938 – April 30, 2007) was an American singer. She was the original female member of The Platters from 1954 to 1962, when the group produced most of their popular singles. Litigation Zola Taylor was a member of ...

, but left after a year and one album (''The New Soul of the Platters''). She continued to work as an actress, taking the part of Dorothy in the 1967 movie ''

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy (in his final role), Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and featur ...

''. That same year, she signed with Motown Records, but only released two singles for the company on its subsidiary

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 ...

label – "

I Got a Feeling "I Got a Feeling" is a song recorded by American Motown vocal group Four Tops for their 1966 album, '' On Top''. It was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. In 1967, "I Got a Feeling" was covered ...

"/"You Got Me Hurtin' All Over" (Soul 35038), followed a year later by a version of "

Can I Get a Witness "Can I Get a Witness" is a song composed by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier as a non-album single for American recording vocalist Marvin Gaye, who issued the record on Motown's Tam ...

" (Soul 35050), using the same

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. Neither record was commercially successful, but Randolph was sufficiently highly regarded to tour with

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

as a replacement for

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

after Tammi became ill.Barbara Randolph profile
Soulwalking.co.uk; accessed January 25, 2018. Randolph also toured with

The Four Tops ''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 ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

, and

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

as part of the "Motown Sound" show in 1968. She was reportedly also considered as a replacement for

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-o ...

in 1967 with

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. Barbara Randolph at Super Soul Sisters
/ref> In 1969 and 1970, Randolph issued two singles on the LHI label: "Woman to That Man" and "Miracle on 19th Street", but neither got beyond the status of

promotional recording A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

s. Randolph focused on entertaining US forces in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during 1970, returning to paid performances the next year. Randolph married Eddie Singleton, who had been married to

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

's ex-wife,

Raynoma Liles Gordy Raynoma Mayberry Liles Gordy Singleton (March 8, 1937 – November 11, 2016) was an American R&B producer, songwriter, and vocalist perhaps best known for her association with ex-husband, Berry Gordy during the early days of Motown when she was ...

. They opened a production company together, and she retired from singing, except to re-record a version of "I Got A Feeling" for the

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

label in the UK in 1989. By that time, the track – and other recordings by Randolph during her brief recording career – had achieved considerable popularity in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

on the Northern soul dance scene, and since the 1980s has been reissued on several compilation albums. A collection of her recordings, most of which dated from 1969, but had never been issued, was released by Spectrum Records in 2003.''Barbara Randolph: The Collection''
Discogs.com; accessed January 25, 2018.

Death

Barbara Randolph died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 2002, at the age of 60.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Barbara 1942 births 2002 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American soul singers Motown artists Musicians from Houston Deaths from cancer in South Africa Northern soul musicians The Platters members American film actresses 20th-century American actresses Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)