b. Barbara Ann Sanders, 5th May 1942, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
d. 15th July 2002, South Africa.
Barbara Randolph was born Barbara Ann Sanders in Detroit in 1942.
lillian randolph in 'it's a wonderful life'
She was adopted by the actress Lillian Randolph, who was an accomplished actress, featuring in the movie 'It's A Wonderful Life' and was 'Madam Queen' on the 'Amos N Andy TV Show', amongst other appearances.
barbara and lillian randolph in 1952
Her mother's, husband's surname became her adopted surname to begin with, although she was ton revert to her Randolph surname by 1958.
She became a child actress by the time she was 8 years old, starring with Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in the play 'Bright Road'.
When she was 15 she had began singing in her uncle's group called the Red Caps, along with her mother, along with her uncle, Steve Gibson.
Barbara signed to the RCA imprint in 1960, and sang on one single for the Primettes entitled 'Tears Of Sorrow' b/w 'Pretty' the same year.
the platters in 1964: l to r: david lynch, sonny turner, herb reed, barbara randolph and paul robi
In 1964 she joined The Platters, replacing singer Zola Taylor, but left after a year and an album (The New Soul of the Platters).
sweet daddy tree top tall b/w rock lomond - 1964 / the new soul of the platters - 1965
It was Barbara who, on the 9th of December in 1964, who sang lead the last song that the Platters recorded for Mercury Records, namely 'Hard Hearted Hannah'.
In 1967, Barbara played the part of Dorothy in the film 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner', which starred Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn.
i got a feeling / b/w you got me hurtin' all over - 1966
She then signed to the Motown label the same year and released a couple of singles for Motown's subsidiary Soul label.
i got a feeling b/w you got me hurtin' all over - 1967 / can i get a witness b/w you got me hurtin' all over - 1967
These included 'I Got A Feeling' b/w 'You Got Me Hurtin' All Over' and her version of 'Can I Get a Witness'.
She then toured with Marvin Gaye as a replacement for Tammi Terrell after Tammi became ill.
She also toured with The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Hugh Masekela as part of a Motown Review in 1968.
At this time, Berry Gordy was reported to have considered Barbara as a replacement lead vocalist for the Supremes.
During 1970, Barbara entertained the U.S. forces in Vietnam.
She then married Eddie Singleton, who had previously been married to Berry Gordy's ex-wife, Raynoma Liles Gordy.
They opened a production company together, seeing Barbara working more than performing.
success b/w success inst. - 1982 / i got a feeling b/w turning my back and walking away - 1989
She later recorded a version of 'I Got A Feeling' for Ian Levine's Nightmare label in the U.K. in 1989.
soul searching b/w save me now - 1992 / breaking into my heart - 1992
A collection of Barbara's career recordings were released by Spectrum Records in 2003.
Barbara Randolph died from cancer in South Africa in 2002, at the age of 60, and was returned to the States and laid to rest in the Woodlawn Cemetry in Detroit.
Albums:
with the platters:
The New Soul Of The Platters (Mercury Records 1965)
solo:
Breaking Into My Heart (Motorcity Records 1992)
Best of Barbara Randolph (Hot Records 1996)
Barbara Randolph: The Collection (Spectrum/Universal Records 2003)
