Yvonne Fair
Yvonne Fair | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Flora Yvonne Coleman |
Born | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | October 21, 1942
Died | March 6, 1994 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | (aged 51)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1960–1994 |
Labels |
Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (
Life and career
Flora Yvonne Coleman was born in Richmond, Virginia on October 12, 1942. She dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade to marry Leroy Fair, and gave birth to their son shortly after.[1] At the recommendation of her husband, she joined the Chantels and then the James Brown Revue in 1961.[2][3] While performing with Brown, she recorded a few singles for King Records, including "I Found You", which he later re-worked into his own signature hit "I Got You (I Feel Good)".
She later linked up with
Her cover of "It Should Have Been Me" reached the low end of the
By the 1980s, Fair had retired from recording and would occasionally perform in small clubs and bars around Los Angeles. She worked as Dionne Warwick's wardrobe coordinator.[6]
In 1991, Fair appeared on a TV movie called Mr. Roadrunner, starring Jools Holland and Stephen Fry, lip-synching her signature song, "It Should Have Been Me".
Fair died at the age of 51, from pancreatic cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 6, 1994.
Personal life
Fair was married to Leroy Fair and later to Sammy Strain, who was a member of both Little Anthony and the Imperials and the O'Jays.[7] Strain is one of the few artists in music history that is a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, having been inducted with the O'Jays in 2005, and the Imperials in 2009.
Fair had two children: Leroy Fair Jr. with her husband Leroy Fair and Venisha Brown with James Brown.[1] Her daughter Venisha Brown struggled with drug addiction and was arrested multiple times; she died from complications from pneumonia at the age of 53 in 2018.[8]
In popular culture
Fair was portrayed by
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Label | US R&B [9] |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | The Bitch Is Black | Motown | 57 |
Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [9] |
US R&B [9] |
AUS [10] |
UK
[11] | ||
1962 | "I Found You" (with the James Brown Band) | ― | ― | ― | ― |
"Tell Me Why" (with the James Brown Band) | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
"It Hurts to Be in Love" (with the James Brown Band) | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
1963 | "Say Yeah Yeah" | ― | ― | ― | ― |
1966 | "Baby, Baby, Baby" | ― | ― | ― | ― |
1970 | "Stay a Little Longer" | ― | ― | ― | ― |
"We Should Never Be Lonely My Love" | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
1974 | "Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On" | ― | 32 | ― | ― |
"Walk Out the Door If You Wanna" | ― | 60 | ― | ― | |
1975 | "Love Ain't No Toy" | ― | 96 | ― | ― |
"It's Bad for Me to See You" | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
"You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
" It Should Have Been Me "
|
85 | ― | 10 | 5 | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
As a background singer
- 1978: Patti LaBelle – "You Are My Friend" b/w "I Think About You" (Epic 8–50487)
- 1980: The Commodores– "Jesus Is Love" (Motown)
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4809-9770-7.
- ^ a b c d Lowe, John. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ "New York Beat". Jet. 46 (19): 60. August 1, 1974.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.
- ^ Rock, Doc. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1994 - 1995". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Poole, Shelia (September 20, 2018). "Venisha Brown fought addiction but never lost her faith, say sisters". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ a b c "Yvonne Fair - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "YVONNE FAIR - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
External links
- Yvonne Fair on AllMusic
- Yvonne Fair discography at Discogs