Jessie Smith (singer)


Jessie Smith is an American R&B vocalist. She began her career singing with musician Benny Sharp, recording as Little Miss Jessie. Smith is best known as one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She later sang backing vocals for various artists, including Dr. John, Paul Williams, Al Kooper, José Feliciano, and Leon Ware.

Life and career

Smith began her career singing with bandleader Benny Sharp and his band the Zorros of Rhythm in St. Louis. Sharp's band included New Breed, a vocal trio consisting of Stacy Johnson, Vernon Guy, and Horise O'Toole. Backed by Sharp and his band, Smith released the single, "My Baby Has Gone" /" St. Louis Sunset Twist," on Chicago's Mel-O Records under the name Little Miss Jessie in 1961.
By 1962, Smith, Johnson, and Guy had left Sharp to join the Ike & Tina Turner Revue which had relocated to Los Angeles. Smith along with Robbie Montgomery who she knew from St. Louis and Venetta Fields formed the first official incarnation of the Ikettes. The revue toured throughout the country performing a grueling schedule of one-nighters. They performed at prominent venues such as the Apollo Theater in New York, the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia. As an Ikette, Smith performed on the American television shows American Bandstand, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shindig!. Two of the Ikettes' biggest hits were released on Modern Records in 1965, "Peaches 'N' Cream" and "I'm So Thankful". Later that year Smith, Fields and Montgomery left the revue and formed the Mirettes in 1966, named after their new label Mirwood Records. They released a few singles, including "In the Midnight Hour" in 1968. After they disbanded, Smith continued to record as a backing vocalist in the 1970s. On occasion she teamed up with former band member Robbie Montgomery for sessions, such as the recording of Dr. John albums In The Right Place, Triumvirate,, and Desitively Bonnaroo.

Discography

Singles