Yvonne Fair

http://classic.motown.com/artist_pages/yvonne-fair/

Yvonne Fair got her start as a latter-day member of the Chantels and the James Brown Revue. Signed to Motown in the early ’70s as a result of her work with Chuck Jackson, she appeared in a minor role as a chanteuse in the film Lady Sings the Blues before hooking up with producer Norman Whitfield for a first-rate series of singles: “Love Ain’t No Toy,” “Walk Out the Door If You Wanna,” what is perhaps the definitive version of “Funky Music Sho’ ‘Nuff Turns Me On,” and a stunning remake of the Kim Weston/Gladys Knight semistandard “It Should Have Been Me,” which dented the lower end of the pop charts in 1976. A raucous soul belter who deserved better at Motown, Fair died in 1994.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Fair

Yvonne Fair (October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994) was an American singer, best known for her 1976 recording of "It Should Have Been Me".

Biography

Born as Flora Yvonne Coleman in Richmond, Virginia, Fair's early jobs included work with the Chantels and the James Brown Revue.[1] While performing with Brown, she recorded the song "I Found You", which he later re-worked into his own signature hit "I Got You (I Feel Good)".

She signed to Motown Records in the early 1970s and had a small part as a singer in the film Lady Sings the Blues (1972).[1] Fair worked with producer Norman Whitfield on a series of singles: "Love Ain't No Toy", "Walk Out the Door If You Wanna", and her cover version of "Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On".[1] All these featured on her only album for Motown in 1975 called The Bitch Is Black, which was re-released on CD for the first time more than 30 years later.

Her cover of "It Should Have Been Me" reached the low end of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976.[1] The track proved a big hit in the UK, where it climbed to number 5 in February 1976, Fair's only UK hit record.[2] In addition, the song featured in a special episode of BBC TV programme The Vicar of Dibley, entitled "The Handsome Stranger", originally broadcast on 25 December 2006.

Personal life

She was married to Sammy Strain, who was a member of both Little Anthony and the Imperials and the O'Jays.[3] 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. and (with James Brown) Venisha Brown.

Death

Yvonne Fair died, aged 51, from undisclosed causes in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 6, 1994.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0265433/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Overview (3)

• Date of Birth 1942, Virginia, USA
• Date of Death 6 March 1994, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Birth Name Flora Yvonne Coleman

Mini Bio (1)

Yvonne Fair was born in 1942 in Virginia, USA as Flora Yvonne Coleman. She was an actress, known for Lady Sings the Blues (1972), The Vicar of Dibley (1994) and Soul Train (1971). She was married to Sammy Strain. She died on March 6, 1994 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Spouse (1) Sammy Strain (? - ?) (divorced)

Trivia (4)

• Recorded for Motown in the 1970s.
• Toured with the James Brown revue in the early 1960s.
• Yvonne Fair was married to Sammy Strain, who started out as a member of the group Little Anthony & The Imperials. He later joined the group The O'Jays. After a sixteen year career of hits with The O'Jays, he would later rejoin Little Anthony & The Imperials in 1992.
• Her second child, a daughter named Venisha, was fathered by soul singer James Brown. He was separated from his wife, but still legally married, at the time of his relationship with Fair.

http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Yvonne%20Fair.html

Yvonne Fair was a Soul singer, who is, probably, best remembered for her mid Seventies chart hit, ‘It Should Have Been Me’.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Flora Yvonne Coleman, was musically involved with James Brown and the Chantels during the early Sixties.

Whilst working with James Brown (as his protege), she recorded the song ‘I Found You’.

James was to later re-work the song into the singers evergreen hit, ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’.

Between 1962 and 1966, Yvonne recorded 5 singles with the James Brown Band, for the King Records imprint.

These included ‘Say So Long’ b/w ‘Tell Me Why’ ‎(in 1962), ‘I Found You’ b/w ‘If I Knew’ (in 1962), ‘It Hurts To Be In Love’ b/w ‘You Can Make It If You Try ‎(in 1962), ‘Say Yeah Yeah’ b/w ‘Straighten Up’ (in 1963) and ‘Tell Me Why’ b/w ‘You Can Make It If You Try’ (in 1966).

After stays at the Smash and Soul Records imprints (in the late Sixties), Yvonne signed to the Motown Records imprint at the outset of the Seventies.

See also

Albums

References

• http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-2014/james-brown-soul-...
• http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/get-on-up/
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10076879
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRZ_7lt7C6U
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAZ3ULLU_9I
• http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread.php?7553-Yvonne-Fair-It-Should...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PjbLgIJZho