Varetta Dillard
Encyclopedia
Varetta Dillard was an American
rhythm and blues
singer in the 1950s whose biggest hit was "Mercy, Mr. Percy".
group The Chords, who encouraged her to enter talent contests as a singer, and in 1951 she won two consecutive competitions at the Apollo Theater
. She was signed by Savoy Records
, and had her first recording session with the company in September 1951. Although her early singles were commercially unsuccessful, she was invited by Alan Freed
to perform at what later became recognised as the first major rock and roll
concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball
held in Cleveland, Ohio
on March 21, 1952. Because of concerns over crowd safety, the concert was shut down by the authorities after the first song, by Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams
, and in the event Dillard did not perform. However, her next record, "Easy, Easy Baby", reached # 8 on the Billboard
R&B chart in July 1952, being especially popular in the South.
She then toured with Oran "Hot Lips" Page and The Five Keys
, before the record company paired her with singer H-Bomb Ferguson
for a series of duets. After further tours with Larry Darnell
and Wynonie Harris
, she had her biggest hit in mid 1953 with "Mercy, Mr. Percy", which reached # 6 on the R&B chart. The track was recorded on 15 May 1953 with George Kelly
(tenor sax), Haywood Henry
(baritone sax), Lonnie Johnson
(guitar), Lee Anderson (piano), Prince Babbs (bass), and Gene Brooks (drums), and was arranged by Leroy Kirkland. The song was nationally popular and became her theme song, but she had difficulty following it up and took time off to have a daughter with her husband, Ronald Mack. Her next major success, and final chart hit, came in early 1955 when she recorded "Johnny Has Gone", a tribute to singer Johnny Ace
who had died as a result of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot. Dillard's recording was one of the most popular of several tributes to Ace and reached # 6 on the R&B chart. She continued to tour, and starred in the first rock and roll show in New Jersey
in May 1955.
She left the Savoy label in early 1956 and signed for the RCA
subsidiary label Groove, where she issued several singles including a tribute to James Dean
, "I Miss You Jimmy". In 1957, she moved to the main RCA label, and recorded tracks backed by The Cookies
and produced by Lieber and Stoller, but they were again unsuccessful commercially and she was dropped by the label in early 1958. She went on to record for the Triumph label set up by Herb Abramson
, and then for the Club label, a subsidiary of MGM
. Her last recordings were in 1961.
In the early 1960s, she joined her husband's gospel
group, the Tri-Odds, who were active in the Civil Rights movement. She later worked as a music therapist, with chronically ill children. Two compilations of her recordings from the late 1950s, Got You On My Mind and The Lovin' Bird, were issued by Bear Family Records
in 1989.
She died of cancer in 1993, at the age of 60, in Brooklyn, New York.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer in the 1950s whose biggest hit was "Mercy, Mr. Percy".
Life and career
She was born in Harlem, New York, and spent much of her childhood in hospital due to a congenital bone condition. By her mid-teens her condition had stabilised, though she remained unable to walk without crutches or other assistance. She met Carl Feaster of doo-wopDoo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group The Chords, who encouraged her to enter talent contests as a singer, and in 1951 she won two consecutive competitions at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
. She was signed by Savoy Records
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
, and had her first recording session with the company in September 1951. Although her early singles were commercially unsuccessful, she was invited by Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
to perform at what later became recognised as the first major rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball
Moondog Coronation Ball
The Moondog Coronation Ball was a concert held at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1952. It is generally accepted as the first major rock and roll concert....
held in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
on March 21, 1952. Because of concerns over crowd safety, the concert was shut down by the authorities after the first song, by Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams
Paul Williams (saxophonist)
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams was an American blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist and songwriter. In his Honkers and Shouters, Arnold Shaw credits Williams as one of the first to employ the honking tenor sax solo that became the hallmark of rhythm and blues and rock and roll in the 1950s and...
, and in the event Dillard did not perform. However, her next record, "Easy, Easy Baby", reached # 8 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart in July 1952, being especially popular in the South.
She then toured with Oran "Hot Lips" Page and The Five Keys
The Five Keys
The Five Keys is an American rhythm and blues vocal group that was instrumental in shaping this genre in the 1950s.It was formed with the original name of Sentimental Four in Newport News, Virginia, U.S., in the late 1940s, and initially consisted of two sets of brothers - Rudy West and Bernie...
, before the record company paired her with singer H-Bomb Ferguson
H-Bomb Ferguson
H-Bomb Ferguson was an American jump blues singer from Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He was an early pioneer of the rock and roll sound of the mid 1950s, featuring driving rhythm, intensely shouted vocals, honking tenor saxophone solos, and outlandish personal appearance...
for a series of duets. After further tours with Larry Darnell
Larry Darnell
Larry Darnell was a successful American singer who was instrumental in the formation of the New Orleans style of R&B in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
and Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, she had her biggest hit in mid 1953 with "Mercy, Mr. Percy", which reached # 6 on the R&B chart. The track was recorded on 15 May 1953 with George Kelly
George Kelly (musician)
George Kelly was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, vocalist and arranger born in Miami, Florida, perhaps best-known for his works with Panama Francis first in the 1930s and again in the 1970s, the latter dates representing a newly formed "Savoy Sultans"...
(tenor sax), Haywood Henry
Haywood Henry
Frank Haywood Henry was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. He was a 1978 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame....
(baritone sax), Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson
Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
(guitar), Lee Anderson (piano), Prince Babbs (bass), and Gene Brooks (drums), and was arranged by Leroy Kirkland. The song was nationally popular and became her theme song, but she had difficulty following it up and took time off to have a daughter with her husband, Ronald Mack. Her next major success, and final chart hit, came in early 1955 when she recorded "Johnny Has Gone", a tribute to singer Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace , born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound....
who had died as a result of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot. Dillard's recording was one of the most popular of several tributes to Ace and reached # 6 on the R&B chart. She continued to tour, and starred in the first rock and roll show in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in May 1955.
She left the Savoy label in early 1956 and signed for the RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
subsidiary label Groove, where she issued several singles including a tribute to James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, "I Miss You Jimmy". In 1957, she moved to the main RCA label, and recorded tracks backed by The Cookies
The Cookies
The Cookies were an American R&B girl group in the 1950s to 1960s. Members of the original lineup would later become The Raelettes, the backing vocalists for Ray Charles.-History:...
and produced by Lieber and Stoller, but they were again unsuccessful commercially and she was dropped by the label in early 1958. She went on to record for the Triumph label set up by Herb Abramson
Herb Abramson
Herbert C. Abramson was an American record company executive and producer.He was born in 1916 in Brooklyn, New York City and initially studied to be a dentist but he landed a job with National Records producing such performers as The Ravens, Billy Eckstine and Joe Turner...
, and then for the Club label, a subsidiary of MGM
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
. Her last recordings were in 1961.
In the early 1960s, she joined her husband's gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
group, the Tri-Odds, who were active in the Civil Rights movement. She later worked as a music therapist, with chronically ill children. Two compilations of her recordings from the late 1950s, Got You On My Mind and The Lovin' Bird, were issued by Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label that specializes in reissues of archival material ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.-History:...
in 1989.
She died of cancer in 1993, at the age of 60, in Brooklyn, New York.