Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American R&B singer and songwriter whose smooth vocal styling was a fixture on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B charts between 1963 and 1968.
Barbara began been writing songs at the age of nine and
began recording as a teenager with producer Ollie McLaughlin, who'd also had a
hand in the careers of Del Shannon, the Capitols, and Deon Jackson.
Lewis wrote
all of the songs on her debut LP (including "Hello Stranger"), and
confidently handled harmony soul numbers (some with backing by the Dells) and
more pop-savvy tunes, some of which, like "Hello Stranger," were
driven by an organ and a bossa nova-like beat. "Hello Stranger" reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Follow-ups didn't sell nearly as well (although one of her
singles, "Someday We're Gonna Love Again," was covered by the
Searchers for a British Invasion hit). In the mid-'60s, she began doing some
recordings in New York City, with assistance from producers like Bert Berns and
Jerry Wexler that employed more orchestral arrangements and pop-conscious
material. The approach clicked, both commercially and artistically: "Baby
I'm Yours" and "Make Me Your Baby" were both big hits, and both
among the best mid-’60s girl-group style productions. Lewis' final Top 40 hit was "Make Me
Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor and Billy Vera.
She would have two more small pop hits, “Baby What Do You
want me to Do” (#74 in 1966), and “I’ll Make Him Love me” (#72 in 1967). Lewis
cut an album in the late '60s for Stax records that, as one would expect, gave
her sound a grittier approach, without compromising the smooth and poppy
elements integral to her appeal. It passed mostly unnoticed, though, and Lewis
withdrew from the music business in the early 70s after a few other singles.
Barbara soon found herself
in the work-a-day world, where she did everything from running her own jewelry
store to working security. But in her
various jobs, she never touted her former fame to co-workers; nobody knew she
had earlier been a popular recording artist.
By 1993, however, Lewis began wondering if she could still
sing and perform. She made a few calls
to old contacts and before long was once again playing on the nostalgia
circuit. She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in
1999.
As of 2013, she was still performing, explaining to Chuck
Laszewski: “My voice is better than it ever was. …I still sing the songs in their original
key. I've been very, very blessed.”
The "beach music" scene of the Carolina s remains a mainstay of appreciation for Lewis' records, which continue to enjoy popularity and airplay there decades after their original release.
(Info edited from ACSAP
Biographical Dictionary; The Pop History Dig & Wikipedia)
