The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles.
History
Reformed by Ray Charles from the all-girl singing group The Cookies, Charles first invited The Cookies for a recording session in New York City, in August 1956, where they taped "Lonely Avenue", "I Want To Know" and "Leave My Woman Alone". The Cookies' lineup at the time consisted of Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, and Darlene McCrea.
The Raelettes were officially established in 1958. The first lineup consisted of Darlene McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn Berry. The Raelettes were an integral part of Charles' organization and provided backing vocals on various hits, such as "Night Time Is the Right Time" (1958), "What'd I Say" (1959) and "Hit the Road Jack" (1961).
In the early years, Margie Hendrix was the Raelette's foremost member. Ray Charles said about her: "Aretha, Gladys, Etta James — these gals are all bad, but on any given night, Margie will scare you to death." Ray and Margie had many affairs, but she started using drugs and alcohol and after a final argument in 1964, she was fired from the Raelettes and later died in 1973.
The group always consisted of 4 or 5 singers. The ever-changing lineup included Minnie Riperton, Merry Clayton, Clydie King of the Blackberries, Edna Wright of Honey Cone, and latter-day Supreme Susaye Greene.
Charles also produced and played piano on solo singles for various Raelettes. He formed Tangerine Records in 1962, and the Raeletts released three top 40 R&B hits between 1967 and 1971: "One Hurt Deserves Another" (1967), "I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right" (1968), and "Bad Water" (1971). The compilation Souled Out was released in 1970, featuring songs R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner had recorded for Tangerine.
In the 1970s, Mable John sang lead vocals and the Raelttes toured independent of Charles. After she left the Raelettes returned to the background for good, with various lineups backing Charles until his death in 2004.
Members
Shalaine Adams
Mabel Armed
Fritz Basket
Dorothy Berry
Gwen "Squatty Roo" Berry
Tangy Biggers
Anita Brooks
Alexandra Brown
Helen Bryant
Dottie Clark
Merry Clayton
Chrylynn Cobb
Trudy Cochran
Kathryn Collier
Sharon Creighton
Pamela Diggs-King
Karen Evans
Verlyn Flenaugh
Lillian Fort
Valerie Geason
Renee Georges
Deborah Gleese
Rita Graham
Susaye Greene
Katrina Harper-Cooke
Avis Harrell
Margie Hendrix
Peggy Hutcherson
Denise Jackson
Doretta James
Mable John
Ann Johnson
Clydie King
Beverly Ann Lesure
Pat Lion
Pat (Priscilla) Lyles
Kathy Mackey
Tammy McCann
Marilyn McCoo
Gladezz McCoy
Darlene McCrea
Tonette McKinney
Paula Michelle
Janice Mitchell
Mae Mosely-Lyles
Vernita Moss
Paula More
Kay Nickerson
Pat Peterson
Bobbie Pierce
Madelyn Quebec
Patricia Richards
Minnie Riperton
Donna M. Jones
Ruby Rae Roberson
Vermetea Royster
Mae Saunders
Cynthia Scott
Linda Sims
Bettye Smith
Gwendolyn Smith
Joy Styles
Barbara Nell Terrault
Brianna Perry Tucker
Andromeda Turre
Lalomie Washburn
Tracey Whitney
Elaine Woodard
Angela Workman
Edna Wright
Estella Yarbrough
Discography
Albums
1970: Souled Out (Tangerine 1511) – The Raelets with Ike & Tina Turner
1972: (Ray Charles Presents) The Raeletts, Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow (Tangerine 1515) 1993: The Raelettes, Hits And Rarities (Titanic Records TR-CD 4422)