Darlene Love
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Darlene Love is one of the legends of popular music. Born on July 26, 1938 as Darlene Wright, she was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She began her singing with her local church choir. While still in high school she was invited to join a little-know girl group called The Blossoms who soon began recording for the legendary Phil Spector. With her powerful voice she was soon a highly sought-after vocalist, and managed to work with many of the legends of 1950s and '60s rock and soul, such as Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, and Sonny and Cher.
With The Blossoms she sang backing vocals on some of the biggest hits of the 60s, including Spector's own "Da Doo Ron Ron" (allegedly recorded with her lead, which was later erased by Spector and re-recorded using Crystals' lead La La Brooks). Though credited by Spector as singles recorded by The Crystals, "He's A Rebel" and "He's Sure The Boy I Love" actually featured Darlene singing lead, backed by The Blossoms. "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" was released as a single by Spector and featured Darlene's name as the artist. The Blossoms landed a weekly part on Shindig, one of the top music shows of the era. Into the '70s Darlene continued to work as a back-up singer, before taking a break in order to raise a family.
She returned to music in the early 1980s and to an appreciative audience she thought may have long forgotten her. In addition to singing the songs that made her famous she has re-explored her gospel roots on several recordings. She also began an acting career, playing Danny Glover's wife in all the Lethal Weapon movies, and appearing on Broadway in Grease, the Tony-nominated Leader of the Pack, and the short-lived musical adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie.
External link
- IMDb article (http://imdb.com/name/nm0522306/)