Dorothy Vernell Simmons (1910–1996) was the founder and singer for the Los Angeles–based Gospel act the Simmons-Akers Singers.

Biography

Simmons was born in Powhatan, Louisiana, in 1910. Her family moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

when Simmons was seven year old. After she graduated from high school she went to work for the Martin and Morris Music Company. In 1940 Simmons became a member of the

Sallie Martin Sallie Martin (November 20, 1895 – June 18, 1988) was an American gospel singer referred to as the "Mother of Gospel" for her efforts to popularize the songs of Thomas A. Dorsey and her influence on other artists. Biography Martin was born i ...

Singers. She moved to Los Angeles in 1947. In 1948, she and Doris Akers (1923–1995) formed the Simmons-Akers Singers. Their music played a part in the expanding Los Angeles gospel movement and emphasized melody and a smooth sound. Simmons sang

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and Akers sang

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

-alto. Simmons died in 1996.

References

External links

Meet Me in the Glory Land
audio file of the Simmons-Akers Singers {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Dorothy Vernell 1910 births 1996 deaths American gospel singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers People from Louisiana