Rhetta Hughes was born in Dallas, Texas on 15 June 1939, and although she sang from a young age into adulthood in the choir of a Baptist church in her hometown of Dallas, she had no aspirations to be a professional singer, and had been employed for five years as a nurse at Parkland Memorial Hospital. In 1963 an impromptu vocal performance at the local club where her close friend Tennyson Stephens played piano caused the club's managers to hire her, and Hughes and Stephens became established as a top local lounge act. They were eventually spotted in a Dallas club by Al Williams - leader of the Four Step Brothers dance troupe - who signed as the duo's manager, successfully transferring them to the Chicago nightclub circuit. In 1965 Hughes made her recording debut with an album focused on standards, which was billed as Rheta (sic) Hughes With Tennyson Stephens 'Introducing An Electrifying New Star', and which was produced by Ralph Bass for Columbia Records. After a gap of a couple of years the label started releasing singles by Hughes, starting with 'One In A Million' in April 1967, followed by 'A Little Bit Of Sunshine' in the December, and 'The Best Thing You Ever Had' in January 1968. She continued to play nightclubs, and was discovered by Bill Cosby who caught her act at the Redd Foxx Club in Los Angeles, with Hughes resultantly being signed to Tetragrammaton Records, the label Cosby had recently co-founded. After her label debut with 'You're Doing It With Her (When It Should Be Me)', almost reached the R&B Top 40 in the autumn of 1968, Hughes scored her biggest hit with a mid-tempo R&B rendition of the Doors hit 'Light My Fire', which reached #36 on the Billboard R&B chart in February 1969. The song was featured on her second album 'Re-Light My Fire', which came out on the Tetragammraton label in 1969, and from which two more singles were released without charting. There were no further releases on Tetragammraton before the label folded in 1971, but she was featured on the track 'Mother's Prayer' on the 1971 album 'As Serious As A Heart-Attack' by Melvin Van Peebles, which kick-started a successful career as a session singer, featuring on the 1974 Roberta Flack hit 'Feel Like Makin' Love', and appearing on albums by Van Dyke Parks, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Brenda Patterson, Bette Midler and Bobby Rydell. In the early 1970's Hughes branched out into acting, her first evident credit being the 1971 blaxploitation film 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song', which was created by Melvin Van Peebles, who next cast her as Earnestine in his 1972 musical 'Don't Play Us Cheap', which was her debut on Broadway. She continued to act and sing during the 1970's and 1980's, including recording two disco tracks in 1983, with 'Angel Man' and 'Crisis'. This collection concentrates on her R&B work in the 1960's, and includes all her singles up to and including her 'Re-Light My Fire' album, and whereas I'd normally only include non-album tracks, that would make for a very short album, so all the singles are included here.
Track listing
01 One In A Million (single 1967)
02 Just Love Me (b-side of 'One In A Million')
03 A Little Bit Of Sunshine (single 1967)
04 Come Live With Me (b-side of 'A Little Bit Of Sunshine')
05 The Best Thing You Ever Had (single 1968)
06 How Can I Leave You (b-side of 'The Best Thing You Ever Had')
07 Hip Old Lady On A Honda (single 1968)
08 His Happiness (b-side of 'Hip Old Lady On A Honda')
09 Gimme Some Of Yours - I'll Give You Some Of Mine (single 1968)
10 You're Doing With Her (When It Should Be Me) (b-side of 'Gimme Some Of Yours')
11 Light My Fire (single 1969)
12 Sooky (b-side of 'Light My Fire')
13 I Can't Stand Under This Pressure (single 1969)
14 Cry Myself To Sleep (single 1969)
15 Giving Up My Heartaches (b-side of 'Cry Myself To Sleep')
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