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Dolores Brooks (born June 20, 1947), also known as Sakinah Muhammad, is an American singer and actress. She is best known as the second lead singer of the girl group The Crystals and the lead vocalist on the Crystals' hits "Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron".
Brooks was the second youngest of 11 children, born to a Native American mother and an African-American father.
Brooks first displayed her talent by singing gospel music in church. At age seven, she took part in her siblings' gospel group, Little Gospel Tears, and sang in Brooklyn. While attending PS 73, she was discovered in an after-school program by Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew and her mother, who invited Brooks to join the Crystals as a replacement for a departing member. [1] She joined the group to replace Merna Girard (who was pregnant) on the March 1962 release "Uptown". [2] [1]
After leaving the Crystals, she married jazz and session musician Idris Muhammad (born Leo Morris) in 1966; the union brought two sons and two daughters. Shortly thereafter, she converted to Islam with him, changing her name to Sakinah Muhammad. [3] She helped Idris write and record his material over the years. In 1968, she appeared in the original Broadway production of the musical Hair , where she sometimes performed the song "Aquarius".[ citation needed ] She later appeared in the Broadway show Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1971. She also toured with, and recorded for, various artists, such as the Neville Brothers, Bobby Womack and Isaac Hayes. She made short appearances in films, and contributed songs to different movie soundtracks (including the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem ). In 1971, she reunited with Kenniebrew, Mary Thomas, and Barbara Alston as the Crystals, and toured and performed in rock-&-roll revival shows. Their touring lasted until 1973, when the members decided to devote their time to their families.
In 1983, she and her family moved to London, England, where she and Idris continued their careers in music. In 1990, they moved to Vienna, Austria, where she continued singing and writing songs with Idris, and also hosted a local radio show. They lived in Vienna until 1997. Andrew Edge sang backing vocals on her BMG (Austria) CD LaLa Brooks & Friends in 1994. [4] In 1999, she and Idris divorced.
Brooks moved back to the United States in about 2000 and resides in the East Village, New York.
Brooks, with her musical group, is back performing across the world.
Samuel Cooke, known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals, pioneering contributions to the genre, and significance in popular music. During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top Ten of Billboard's Black Singles chart. In 1964, Cooke was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles. After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be a justifiable homicide. His family has since questioned the circumstances of his death. Cooke is included on Billboard's 2015 list of the 35 greatest R&B artists of all time.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1963.
The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including "There's No Other ", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me"– featured three different female lead singers and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs were originally ranked number 263, number 114, and number 493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, two songs were omitted from the magazine's 2010 update, leaving only "He's a Rebel" at number 267. In the 2021 update, "Da Doo Ron Ron" was added back to the list at number 366.
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock and roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the writer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes", which became hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively.
Darlene Wright, better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
Rosetta Jeanette Hightower was an American singer and the lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Orlons. She was born in Philadelphia.
Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew is an American singer, best known for her work with the trio The Crystals. She was born as Dolores Kenniebrew and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In 1960, at age 15, she was invited to sing in the girl group the Crystals. The group was formed by a band musician named Benny Wells who would soon become the group's manager. Wells was the uncle of Kenniebrew's bandmate Barbara Alston. Although she rarely sang lead on their songs, she was the only member who stayed in the group from their formation to their disbanding. With the Crystals, she enjoyed a successful career in music. Their hits began to dry up after 1964 and they disbanded two years later.
Delia Juanita Warrick, known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a first cousin of singers Whitney Houston and Leontyne Price.
Idris Muhammad was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such as Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, Pharoah Sanders, Bob James, and Tete Montoliu.
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.
The Sweet Inspirations are an American R&B girl group mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists. A founding member of the group was Dionne Warwick, who was later replaced by her aunt, Cissy Houston.
Garnet Mimms is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He first achieved success as the lead singer of Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters and is best known for the 1963 hit "Cry Baby", later recorded by Janis Joplin. According to Steve Huey at AllMusic, his "pleading, gospel-derived intensity made him one of the earliest true soul singers [and] his legacy remains criminally underappreciated."
Eleanor Louise Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
Jackie Verdell was an American gospel singer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (also released as "Gypsy Woman (La da dee la da da)") is a song by American singer-songwriter Crystal Waters from her debut studio album, Surprise (1991). Written by Neal Conway and Waters, the song was released on April 3, 1991 by Mercury Records, as the lead single from the album. It is famous for its "la da dee, la dee da" refrain and its often-sampled keyboard riff, and is now widely regarded as one of the biggest classics of house music, being remixed several times since its release.
"Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group the Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy recorded the song in 1977 and his version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, including one by the songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich themselves, performing as the Raindrops.
"Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song, produced by Spector, was initially released as a single on Philles Records (#115) in July 1963 by The Crystals. The lyrics are a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual engagement with a young man.
Twist Uptown is the first album by The Crystals, issued to capitalize upon their success with the Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann composition "Uptown" which was a #13 US hit, and their first top forty hit "There's No Other ". Twist Uptown notably features the first released version of "On Broadway," a composition written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. The song was later modified by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and became a hit for The Drifters in 1963.
He's a Rebel is the second album issued by girl group The Crystals in 1963, and also the second LP in the Philles catalogue. This was an effort to take an advantage of the monster hit "He's a Rebel" which went to #1 US in 1962, written by Gene Pitney. The song was actually recorded by The Blossoms with Darlene Love on lead vocals and attributed to The Crystals. Notably on the LP is "He Hit Me ," a withdrawn single by the "real" Crystals group.
Crystal Johnson is an American singer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. She has performed in a variety of stage productions and has collaborated with a wide array of well-known artists including Anthony Hamilton, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Mobb Deep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Angie Stone, Usher and many others.
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