Barbara Lewis
Encyclopedia
Barbara Lewis is an American
singer
and songwriter
whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues
.
, Michigan
. She was writing and recording
by her teens
with record producer
Ollie McLaughlin (a black DJ
at Ann Arbor radio station
WHRV, now WAAM
, who is also credited with discovering Del Shannon
).
Lewis' first single
release in 1962, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da," did not chart
nationally, but was a local hit
in the Detroit, Michigan
area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP
, including the hit "Hello Stranger
" which reached #3 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organ
. Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns
produced her million-seller "Baby I'm Yours" (U.S. #11), written by Van McCoy
. Berns also produced the followup "Make Me Your Baby
" (U.S. #11) which had originally been recorded by the Pixies Three
, and Lewis' final Top 40 hit "Make Me Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor
and Billy Vera
.
At the end of the decade, she released a grittier-sounding album on Stax Records
, and after its lack of commercial success, she began to withdraw from the music industry.
However, over the next decade, a number of other artists
had success with Lewis' song
s. Her own composition "Hello Stranger"- which had been remade in 1966 by the Capitols
– was a regional hit in 1973 as remade by Fire & Rain and in 1977 Yvonne Elliman
's version reached the US Top 20 and the UK Singles Chart
Top 30: Elliman's version also topped the US Easy Listening chart
for four weeks. In 1985 Carrie Lucas
' remake of "Hello Stranger" was a Top 20 R&B hit and in 2004 Queen Latifah
remade "Hello Stranger" for her The Dana Owens Album
.
"Baby I'm Yours" charted in versions by country
singer Jody Miller
and Debby Boone
(the B-side
of her single "God Knows"). In Canada
, Suzanne Stevens
had a hit in 1975 with a disco
version of "Make Me Your Baby." Cover versions of Barbara Lewis' tracks continue into the new millennium with the Arctic Monkeys
, including a version of "Baby I'm Yours" as a B-side to their 2006 single, "Leave Before the Lights Come On
."
In 1995, Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours" was featured on the soundtrack
for the film
, The Bridges of Madison County
. She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation
in 1999.
The backup group on many songs from the album Hello Stranger – including the title cut – are The Dells
.
Lewis is also known to have dined with Sharon Tate
, an actress who was brutally murdered a few hours later along her four friends by Charles Manson
's Family followers at 10050 Cielo Drive
in Benedict Canyon.
Other noteworthy songs:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
.
Career
Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann ArborAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. She was writing and recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by her teens
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
with record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Ollie McLaughlin (a black DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at Ann Arbor radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WHRV, now WAAM
WAAM
WAAM is a radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan that broadcasts on AM 1600. Known as "WAAM Talk 1600" , WAAM broadcasts with 5,000 watts of power. The station is owned by Coolarity A2, LLC. Until recently, the station broadcast in AM Stereo.-Early History: WHRV:The station signed on as WHRV in...
, who is also credited with discovering Del Shannon
Del Shannon
Del Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...
).
Lewis' first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
release in 1962, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da," did not chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
nationally, but was a local hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in the Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, including the hit "Hello Stranger
Hello Stranger
"Hello Stranger" was a 1963 hit single by Barbara Lewis which spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in Billboard crossing over to #3 Pop.-Original version:...
" which reached #3 on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns
Bert Berns
Bertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...
produced her million-seller "Baby I'm Yours" (U.S. #11), written by Van McCoy
Van McCoy
Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an accomplished musician, music producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor. He is known best for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle", which is still played in dance halls and on radio to this day more than thirty years since his death...
. Berns also produced the followup "Make Me Your Baby
Make Me Your Baby
"Make Me Your Baby" is the name of a song written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins which was a hit for Barbara Lewis in 1965.The demo for "Make Me Your Baby" was cut by journeyman session singer Jean Thomas on 22 January 1965 at the behest of Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler who wanted to...
" (U.S. #11) which had originally been recorded by the Pixies Three
The Pixies Three
The Pixies Three is an American teenage vocal girl group best known for their hits “Birthday Party” and “442 Glenwood Avenue”.-History:Having performed in local shows since 1955, the Hanover, Pennsylvania trio of Midge Bollinger , Kaye McCool , and Debra Swisher were signed to Mercury Records in...
, and Lewis' final Top 40 hit "Make Me Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor
Chip Taylor
James Wesley Voight , better known by his stage name as Chip Taylor, is an American songwriter, who is noted for writing the songs "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing." He is the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight...
and Billy Vera
Billy Vera
Billy Vera is an American singer, actor, writer and music historian.-Life and career:Vera was born in Riverside, California. He began his singing career in 1962 as a member of the Resolutions. He went on to write several songs throughout the early 1960s, writing for the likes of Barbara Lewis,...
.
At the end of the decade, she released a grittier-sounding album on Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
, and after its lack of commercial success, she began to withdraw from the music industry.
However, over the next decade, a number of other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
had success with Lewis' song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s. Her own composition "Hello Stranger"- which had been remade in 1966 by the Capitols
The Capitols
The Capitols were a Detroit, Michigan-based soul trio widely known in the late 1960s for their Billboard hit single "Cool Jerk".-Formation and Disbandment:...
– was a regional hit in 1973 as remade by Fire & Rain and in 1977 Yvonne Elliman
Yvonne Elliman
Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar...
's version reached the US Top 20 and the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
Top 30: Elliman's version also topped the US Easy Listening chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
for four weeks. In 1985 Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas, is an American female R&B musician, born in Carmel, California. In 1976 she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas made six albums over seven years with Soul Train and Solar Records.-Career:...
' remake of "Hello Stranger" was a Top 20 R&B hit and in 2004 Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
remade "Hello Stranger" for her The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Queen Latifah, released in the United States on September 28, 2004 by Interscope Records. Unlike Latifah's previous hip hop/R&B-oriented efforts, this album showcases a jazz vocal performance...
.
"Baby I'm Yours" charted in versions by country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Jody Miller
Jody Miller
Jody Brooks is an American country music singer. Born as Myrna Joy Miller, she was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Oklahoma.-Career:...
and Debby Boone
Debby Boone
Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a then record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year...
(the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of her single "God Knows"). In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Suzanne Stevens
Suzanne Stevens
Suzanne Stevens is a Canadian singer, based in Montreal and active during the 1970s and 1980s. She won the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year in 1975...
had a hit in 1975 with a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version of "Make Me Your Baby." Cover versions of Barbara Lewis' tracks continue into the new millennium with the Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, including a version of "Baby I'm Yours" as a B-side to their 2006 single, "Leave Before the Lights Come On
Leave Before the Lights Come On
"Leave Before the Lights Come On" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. The song was released on 14 August 2006 as the band's third single in the United Kingdom...
."
In 1995, Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours" was featured on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
for the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Bridges of Madison County
The Bridges of Madison County (film)
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment...
. She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Rhythm and Blues Foundation
The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
in 1999.
The backup group on many songs from the album Hello Stranger – including the title cut – are The Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
.
Lewis is also known to have dined with Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
, an actress who was brutally murdered a few hours later along her four friends by Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
's Family followers at 10050 Cielo Drive
10050 Cielo Drive
The original home located at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California, has been occupied by many famous Hollywood figures, and was the scene of one of the Manson "family" murders. The house was designed by Robert Byrd in 1942 for French actress Michèle Morgan...
in Benedict Canyon.
Songs
- "Hello StrangerHello Stranger"Hello Stranger" was a 1963 hit single by Barbara Lewis which spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in Billboard crossing over to #3 Pop.-Original version:...
" May 1963 – U.S.Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#3, U.S. R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
#1 (2 weeks) - "Straighten Up Your Heart" – August 1963 – U.S. #43; b/w "If You Love Her" – U.S. #131
- "Puppy Love" – January 1964 – U.S. #38; b/w "Snap Your Fingers" December 1963 – U.S. #71
- "Baby I'm Yours" – June 1965 – U.S. #11
- "Make Me Your BabyMake Me Your Baby"Make Me Your Baby" is the name of a song written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins which was a hit for Barbara Lewis in 1965.The demo for "Make Me Your Baby" was cut by journeyman session singer Jean Thomas on 22 January 1965 at the behest of Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler who wanted to...
" – September 1965 – U.S. #11 - "Don't Forget About Me" – January 1966 – U.S. #91
- "Make Me Belong To You" – July 1966 – U.S. #28
- "Baby What Do You Want Me To Do" – October 1966 – U.S. #74
- "I'll Make Him Love Me" – April 1967 – U.S. #72
Other noteworthy songs:
- "My Heart Went Do Dat Da"
- "My Mama Told Me"
- "Think A Little Sugar" (flip side of "Hello Stranger")
- "How Can I Say Goodbye"
- "Spend A Little Time"
- "Someday We're Gonna Love Again"
- "Pushin' A Good Thing Too Far"
- ""I Remember The Feeling (flip side of "Baby What Do You Want Me To Do")
- "Thankful For What I Got"
- "Sho' Nuff (It's Got To Be Your Love)"
- "Love Makes The World Go Round" – a cover of a hit by Deon Jackson
- "On Bended Knee"
External links
- Barbara Lewis via African American Registry