10 Underrated Black Female Singers: A Czar’s Recognition

Underrated Female R&B Artists: About a decade ago, my colleague Kevin Ross compiled a list of Black female singers that he felt were underrated and under-appreciated in comparison to their talents.

He invited me to take a crack at compiling such a Top 10 as we near the end of 2019. What follows is a list of female singers I consider talented and accompli1. Jackie Moore

I begin my list with a woman we sadly lost on November 8. The Jacksonville, Florida-native was in possession of what may have not been the most electrifying voice in Soul music in the highly competitive late `60s to early `80s, but it was most certainly one of the sweetest – a clear ringing alto richly inspired by the likes of Gladys Knight.

After garnering attention on the southern and Philly indies Shout and Wand Records, Jackie was traded to Atlantic Records, where

Strangely, Jackie didn’t get a full album release on Atlantic until 1973 with the strong 10-song Sweet Charlie Babe, a project that showcased her winning versatility from the charming Soul-Pop of the title track (penned by Bunny Sigler and Phil Hurtt) to grittier sides like “Both Ends Against The Middle,” both of which should have been huge hits

.Underrated Black Female Singers “Miss Moore” (as

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Sadly, after recording 30 songs for Atlantic (14 unreleased until a 2-CD compilation was done in the U.K. last year, The Complete Atlantic Recordings), Millie Jackson and super Soul producer Brad Shapiro) was critically acclaimed but sank with little trace.

It wasn’t until signing to Columbia Records in the late `70s that Jackie rebounded with two classy albums, I’m On My Way (1979) and With Your Love (1980) where Jackie’s last notable single was a duet with kindred Atlantic Records ex-patriot Wilson Picket on the sexy, orchestrated techno funk cut “Seconds,” after which 2. Margie Joseph

Another singer who suffered during Aretha’s reign at Atlantic Records was Margie Joseph, a powerhouse who made a few important appearances on the Soul charts but never seemed to hit a big.

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The Pascagoula, Mississippi native went from church singing to a couple of sides for Okeh Records before signing to the Stax Records subsidiary Volt where Underrated Black Female Singers

A move to Atlantic in 1973 resulted in the following year in what would be her highest charting single, a cover of Paul McCartney’s “My Love” which hit #10 on Billboard’s R&B chart.

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Otherwise, Margie also had a controversial hit paired with Blue Magic on a remix of the romantic “What’s Come Ove Me” though they did not sing it together. Her parts were spliced in. Margie’s last major chart appearance was the #12 charter “Knockout,” a club hit. She is still around today sounding better than ever wherever 3. Randy Crawford

When we talk about one-of-a-kind voices, Randy Crawford’s is a treasure. The Macon, Georgia native has proven impossible to box in though you most often found her records in the Jazz bin tanks to early associations with Cannonball Adderley (in the John Henry musical “Big Man”) and “Street Life,” the breakthrough 1979 hit Amazon.com - Black Friday Sale Starts NOW!!!

But on her own albums, Randy served up confections that could and should have worked all over the radio dial – from R&B and Adult Contemporary to Pop and Country.

Most comfortably, Lethal Weapon 2”) and the film-worthy “Almaz” which Randy composed.

Underrated Black Female Singers

A club remix of her cover of George Benson’s Rod Temperton-penned classic “Give Me the Night” also became a staple of NAC radio. In later years, Randy has struggled with health issues but was chaperoned and Feeling Good and No Regrets) plus a Live CD with Joe’s son bassist Nicklas Sample and drumming legend Steve Gadd before Joe passed on. Prolific and with a sound that has made her internationally adored, it is still criminal that Miss Randy Crawford is not more of a household name.  

4. Carmen Lundy

This Miami, Florida native is a Grammy-winning composer of over 120 songs – highly distinct for a Jazz artist – yet is not as well known as And her performances are knockouts of intricate arrangements, passionate singing and multi-media experiments utilizing video and paintings – all created by Carmen. Her 1985 debut album Good Morning Kiss topped the Billboard Jazz chart for 23 weeks and subsequent albums of the 15 in her catalog include acclaimed works such as Self Portrait, Code Noir, Solaments, Changes, Come Home, Soul to Soul and her latest, Modern Ancestors. It’s high time this woman became wider known.

Underrated Black Female Singers

5. DK Dyson

When so-called “Black Rock” began making a splash with the quartet Living Colour thanks in part to the efforts of the Black Rock Coalition, another band slid onto Epic Records behind them: Eye & I. Fronting this band was female singer DK Dyson with a power that could not only chase rain clouds away, it could turn mountains into rubble.

The group suffered the cruel fate of being too eclectic for its own good throwing Rock, Funk, Hip-Hop, Pop and Punk into a blender that no single radio format elected to support. But from the power ballad “Virgin Heart” to the anthemic chant “Don’t Just Say Peace” to the cosmos rearranging “World Without End” even to a cover of Lou Reed’s “Venus in Furs,” Sister Dyson was a blast of bracing arctic air all over that 1992 anomaly deserving of wider recognition.

Teaching yoga now following one solo release, DK still has a voice the world could surely use right now tied to the consciousness of her life walk. 

6. Rhonda Clark

Pint-size powerhouse Rhonda Clark – born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Detroit, Michigan – was a latter-day signee to Black Music industry godfather Clarence Avant’s Tabu Records. Her 1989 debut, Between Friends, was launched with a song custom produced for her by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis entitled “State of Attraction” which peaked at #6 Billboard R&B, was given several club mixes but no music video – a gamble to persuade the industry to listen to her first.

Underrated Black Female Singers

No matter. The second single, the steamy ballad “Stay Here, Stay Near,” received one of the sexiest video treatments of the decade, helping it become a Quiet Storm burner. This was a strong setup for better things to come.

Unfortunately, Tabu made a switch from Sony to A&M Records for distribution, delaying the release of Clark’s crucial sophomore project which drastically cut into her momentum.

After a thoroughly satisfying cover of Luther Ingram’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” failed to ignite at radio plus had a run of the mill video, Tabu threw her into the New Jack Swing frying pan with the upbeat “Must Be Real Love” (penned by producers Christopher Troy & Zak Harmon with singer Marva King) that, again, had slammin’ remixes but no video to show off how well Rhonda – a young woman – could dance and perform.

There were plenty of other songs that could have given her a final shot at success on that album – from the ballad “When the Next Teardrop Falls” and a smokin’ version of Aretha’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” to three songs custom made for her by the late, great Gerald Levert.

Overall, Clark also wanted to write her own material but that did not happen at Tabu. Currently working in the field of psychology (which