Laura Lee (singer-songwriter)
Laura Lee | |
---|---|
Birth name | Laura Lee Newton |
Also known as | Laura Lee Rundless |
Born | Ariola | March 9, 1945
Laura Lee (born Laura Lee Newton; 9 March 1945 in
Career
Lee was born in Chicago, but as a child moved to
As Laura Lee Rundless, she replaced Reese in The Meditation Singers in 1956, and over the next few years toured widely around the country. In 1965, as Laura Lee, she launched her secular solo career as an R&B singer in clubs in Detroit, although she also continued to record occasionally with The Meditation Singers. She first recorded solo for Ric-Tic Records in 1966, with "To Win Your Heart".[4]
Around this time, she recorded an interesting uptempo adaption of an unreleased Little Richard song, "You'd Better Stop", titled "Stop Giving Your Man Away". A typically "mature" philosophical side by Laura.[5]
The following year, she signed with
A short spell with Atlantic subsidiary, Cotillion resulted in two singles and then in 1970, Lee moved to former Motown producers,
"Millie Jackson is touted as Lady Funk, but as of now she hasn't come up with an album nearly as satisfying as this unorthodox compilation, constructed on short notice from just two LPs, the second of which never charted. Lee's voice isn't as big as Jackson's, but she's got comparable breadth emotionally and timbrally as well as stronger material. Hard-assed on one side, winsome on the other, and let's hope she doesn't fall through the cracks."
—The Best of Laura Lee review in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[10]
Lee left Invictus / Hot Wax in 1975 and signed with
A Swedish garage rock band did an unexpected homage to Lee by baptizing themselves as Division of Laura Lee.[12]
She made an appearance in the 1973 blaxploitation film Detroit 9000, as a singer in the opening scenes.[13][14]
Discography
Albums
Year[4] | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1971 | Women's Love Rights | Hot Wax |
1972 | Love More than Pride | Cadet |
1972 | Two Sides of Laura Lee | Hot Wax |
1974 | I Can't Make it Alone | Invictus |
Chart singles
Year[4] | Single | Chart Positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Pop[15] | US R&B[16] | ||
1967 | "Dirty Man" | 68 | 13 |
"Wanted: Lover, No Experience Necessary" / "Up Tight, Good Man" |
84 93 |
- 16 | |
1968 | "As Long As I Got You" | 123 | 31 |
"Need To Belong" | – | 44 | |
1969 | "Hang It Up" | – | 48 |
1971 | "Wedlock Is A Padlock" | – | 37 |
"Women's Love Rights" | 36 | 11 | |
"Love And Liberty" | 94 | 23 | |
1972 | "Since I Fell For You" | 76 | 24 |
"Rip Off" | 68 | 3 | |
"If You Can Beat Me Rockin' (You Can Have My Chair)" | 65 | 31 | |
"Crumbs Off The Table" | – | 40 | |
1973 | "I'll Catch You When You Fall" | – | 49 |
1974 | "I Need It Just As Bad As You" | – | 55 |
1976 | "Love's Got Me Tired (But I Ain't Tired Of Love)" | – | 61 |
References
- ^ a b "Laura Lee | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Soulful Detroit: Ernestine Rundless - Laura Lee's mother passed away". faac.us. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- )
- ^ a b c d "Laura Lee". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Laura Lee - You Need Me / Stop Giving Your Man Away". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Greatest Hits - Laura Lee | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Laura Lee Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Detroit minister sues radio station over Al Green grits comment". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "William Weatherspoon | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "Laura Lee - Jesus Is The Light Of My Life". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Division of Laura Lee". Division of Laura Lee. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Call Detroit 9000 (1973)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
- ^ Detroit 9000 (1973), retrieved 2017-11-24
- ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. p. 263.