The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles.
Reformed by Ray Charles from the all-girl singing group The Cookies, Charles first invited The Cookies for a recording session in New York City, in August 1956, where they taped "Lonely Avenue", "I Want To Know" and "Leave My Woman Alone". The Cookies' lineup at the time consisted of Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, and Darlene McCrea.
The Raelettes were officially established in 1958. The first lineup consisted of Darlene McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn Berry.[1] The Raelettes were an integral part of Charles' organization and provided backing vocals on various hits, such as "Night Time Is the Right Time" (1958), "What'd I Say" (1959) and "Hit the Road Jack" (1961).[2]
In the early years, Margie Hendrix was the Raelette's foremost member. Ray Charles said about her: "Aretha, Gladys, Etta James — these gals are all bad, but on any given night, Margie will scare you to death."[3] Ray and Margie had many affairs, but she started using drugs and alcohol and after a final argument in 1964, she was fired from the Raelettes and later died in 1973.
Charles also produced and played piano on solo singles for various Raelettes. He formed Tangerine Records in 1962, and the Raeletts released three top 40 R&B hits between 1967 and 1971: "One Hurt Deserves Another" (1967), "I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right" (1968), and "Bad Water" (1971). The compilation Souled Out was released in 1970, featuring songs R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner had recorded for Tangerine.
In the 1970s, Mable John sang lead vocals and the Raelttes toured independent of Charles. After she left the Raelettes returned to the background for good, with various lineups backing Charles until his death in 2004.
Members
Shalaine Adams (selected but never performed, 2005)
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Raelettes news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Raelettes or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles They were reformed from the group The Cookies Between 1966 and 1973 the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles Ray Charles amp The RaelettesOriginUnited StatesGenresR amp B pop soulOccupation s Girl groupYears active1950s 2000sLabelsTangerine ABC ParamountPast membersMerry ClaytonSusaye GreeneMargaret Hendricks Denise JacksonMable JohnClydie KingLalomie WashburnEdna Wright See also Other members Contents 1 History 2 Members 3 Discography 3 1 Albums 3 2 Singles 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditReformed by Ray Charles from the all girl singing group The Cookies Charles first invited The Cookies for a recording session in New York City in August 1956 where they taped Lonely Avenue I Want To Know and Leave My Woman Alone The Cookies lineup at the time consisted of Margie Hendrix Dorothy Jones and Darlene McCrea The Raelettes were officially established in 1958 The first lineup consisted of Darlene McCrea Margie Hendricks Patricia Lyles and Gwendolyn Berry 1 The Raelettes were an integral part of Charles organization and provided backing vocals on various hits such as Night Time Is the Right Time 1958 What d I Say 1959 and Hit the Road Jack 1961 2 In the early years Margie Hendrix was the Raelette s foremost member Ray Charles said about her Aretha Gladys Etta James these gals are all bad but on any given night Margie will scare you to death 3 Ray and Margie had many affairs but she started using drugs and alcohol and after a final argument in 1964 she was fired from the Raelettes and later died in 1973 The group always consisted of 4 or 5 singers The ever changing lineup included Minnie Riperton Merry Clayton Clydie King of the Blackberries Edna Wright of Honey Cone and latter day Supreme Susaye Greene Charles also produced and played piano on solo singles for various Raelettes He formed Tangerine Records in 1962 and the Raeletts released three top 40 R amp B hits between 1967 and 1971 One Hurt Deserves Another 1967 I m Gettin Long All Right 1968 and Bad Water 1971 The compilation Souled Out was released in 1970 featuring songs R amp B duo Ike amp Tina Turner had recorded for Tangerine In the 1970s Mable John sang lead vocals and the Raelttes toured independent of Charles After she left the Raelettes returned to the background for good with various lineups backing Charles until his death in 2004 Members EditShalaine Adams selected but never performed 2005 Mabel Armed 1969 Fritz Basket 1964 1965 Dorothy Berry 1971 1980 Gwen Squatty Roo Berry 1960 1968 Tangy Biggers 1999 Anita Brooks 1989 Alexandra Brown 1966 1968 Helen Bryant 1964 Dottie Clark 1964 Merry Clayton 1966 1968 Chrylynn Cobb 1978 Trudy Cochran 1977 1991 Kathryn Collier c 1973 Sharon Creighton 1986 1987 Pamela Diggs King 1992 Karen Evans 1996 1999 Verlyn Flenaugh 1968 Lillian Fort 1964 1965 Valerie Geason Renee Georges 1994 1996 2000 2003 Deborah Gleese 1977 Rita Graham 1968 1969 Susaye Greene 1968 1975 Katrina Harper Cooke 1997 Avis Harrell 1979 1982 Margie Hendrix 1955 1964 Peggy Hutcherson 1966 Denise Jackson 1973 Doretta James 1957 Mable John 1968 1978 1998 Ann Johnson 1981 1985 Clydie King 1966 1968 Beverly Ann Lesure 1968 Pat Lion 1957 Pat Priscilla Lyles 1955 1965 Kathy Mackey 1997 Tammy McCann 2001 Marilyn McCoo 1965 Gladezz McCoy Darlene McCrea 1956 1964 Tonette McKinney 1994 2003 Paula Michelle 1991 Janice Mitchell 1981 1986 Mae Mosely Lyles 1959 1960 Vernita Moss 1969 1975 Paula More 1991 1992 Kay Nickerson 1989 1994 Pat Peterson 1980 1989 Bobbie Pierce 1964 Madelyn Quebec 1973 1987 Patricia Richards 1963 Minnie Riperton Donna M Jones Ruby Rae Roberson 1959 1960 Vermetea Royster 1965 1966 Mae Saunders 1960 1961 Cynthia Scott 1972 1974 Linda Sims 1975 1978 Bettye Smith 1960 Gwendolyn Smith 1988 1991 Joy Styles 2005 Barbara Nell Terrault 1968 Brianna Perry Tucker 2001 2002 Andromeda Turre selected but never performed 2005 Lalomie Washburn 1990 Tracey Whitney 1991 Elaine Woodard 1983 1987 Angela Workman 1987 1999 Edna Wright 1966 Estella Yarbrough 1969 2003 4 Discography EditAlbums Edit 1970 Souled Out Tangerine 1511 The Raelets with Ike amp Tina Turner 5 1972 Ray Charles Presents The Raeletts Yesterday Today Tomorrow Tangerine 1515 1993 The Raelettes Hits And Rarities Titanic Records TR CD 4422 Singles Edit Single A side B side Year Label amp Cat No Peak chart positionsUS 6 US R amp B 6 One Hurt Deserves Another b w One Room Paradise 1967 Tangerine 972 76 24 Into Something Fine b w Lover s Blues Tangerine 976 I Want to Thank You b w It s Almost Here 1968 Tangerine 986 47 I m Gettin Long All Right b w All I Need Is His Love Tangerine 984 23 I Want To Do Everything for You b w Keep It to Yourself 1970 Tangerine 1006 96 39 Bad Water b w That Goes to Show You 1971 Tangerine 1014 58 40 Here I Go Again b w Leave My Man Alone Tangerine 1017 101 Come Get It I Got It b w Try a Little Kindness 1972 Tangerine 1024 You Must Be Doing Alright b w You Have a Way with Me 1973 Tangerine 1029 If You Wanna Keep Him b w Many Rivers to Cross Tangerine 1031 denotes releases that did not chart References Edit Passings Darlene McCrea of the Cookies amp Raelettes VVN Music Retrieved August 27 2020 Shaw Arnold October 15 1966 Embodiment Par Excellence of Soul PDF Billboard 54 Smirnoff Marc January 1 2012 The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing University of Arkansas Press p 152 ISBN 978 1 61075 299 2 Ray Charles Video Museum Ray Charles Personnel amp Co Performers Raycharlesvideomuseum blogspot com Retrieved January 25 2018 Special Merit Picks PDF Billboard 57 February 28 1970 a b The Raelettes Songs Top Songs Chart Singles Discography Music VF US amp UK hits charts External links EditThe Raelettes at AllMusic Rita Graham website The Raelettes discography at Discogs Ray Charles Personnel and Co Performers Ray Charles amp The Raelettes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Raelettes amp oldid 1140314637, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
