Years before she appeared in SPARKLE, THE COTTON CLUB, 'ROUND MIDNIGHT, and numerous Spike Lee movies, actress Lonette McKee was a singer in Detroit at the height of the Motown era. As Lonette, she recorded her first single at age 11 and was cutting tracks for producers Dennis Coffey & Mike Theodore by 13 (In his autobiography Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars, Coffey recalls Lonette's mom dropping her off at the studio every day after school). A couple of her early singles on the Dearborn and M-S labels, like "Blue Jeans," are very hard to find. "Mind Intruder" from '67 can be heard on the import comp CD Detroit: The Northern Soul Years (Goldmine), but here it is on YouTube for your listening pleasure:
Lonette recorded her first LP in 1974 for Sussex Records, again with the Theo-Coff team handling production chores. Here she is on Soul Train performing the single from that album, "Save It." Enjoy!
1 comment:
back in the day I'd get L.M. mixed up with Vonetta McGee--they're both a couple of babes, tho!
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