DUKE Doris


I'AM A LOSER LP

Deep soul diva Doris Duke was born Doris Curry in Sandersville, GA, in 1945. After stints in a series of gospel units, by 1963 she was settled in New York City, working as a session vocalist in addition to backup duties at the legendary Apollo Theater. Under her married name of Doris Willingham, she cut her debut solo single,
Running Away from Loneliness, in 1966. You Can't Do That followed two years later. Despite solid reviews, neither record made a commercial splash, and she returned to her session career. When former Atlantic Records producer Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams Jr. struck out on his own, he signed the singer and renamed her Doris Duke, recording the 1969 LP I'm a Loser. Though considered the finest deep soul record of all time by no less than soul expert Dave Godin, I'm a Loser was rejected by dozens of labels before it finally surfaced on Canyon label. Although the first single, To the Other Woman, cracked Billboard's R&B Top Ten, Canyon soon spiraled into financial disaster, destroying the album's commercial momentum. Duke spent the next several years in creative limbo, finally reuniting with Swamp Dogg for 1975's Mankind label release A Legend in Her Own Time. their partnership ended acrimoniously prior to its release, however, and the record received scant attention. Duke next resurfaced on the British label Contempo with Woman, a much-acclaimed set released stateside on the Scepter imprint. After 1981's Manhattan set Funky Fox, she retired from music, and at the time of this writing her whereabouts and activities are unknown.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Doris Duke. I also have her lp Woman, and Legend in her own time. I could post, but I do not know how

JUST ME said...

SOULMANRED, NO WORRIES, I HAVE THOSE LP'S. THX YOU. BEST. DANIEL

Anonymous said...

I have quite a lot of soul - maybe we could start a women of soul thread of discussion and exploration of the music. Ella washington, Doris Troy, Irma Thomas, Linda Jones, Etta James and many more ...

JUST ME said...

SOULMANRED, ALL THOSE GIRLS ARE ASLEEP ON MY SHELVES BUT I CAN'T GO IN ALL DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME... ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING ARE THE RULES FOR ME. I DRIVE THE BUS, OTHERWISE I'LL END IN THE DITCH... BEST. DANIEL

Anonymous said...

No problem. You drive the bus :-)