Ella Washington (born October 25, 1943) is an American former R&B and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singer, described as "an outstanding

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fr ...

vocalist" and best known for her 1969 hit "

He Called Me Baby "She Called Me Baby" is a country song written in 1961 by Harlan Howard. Background The song was first recorded by Howard for his September 1961 album release ''Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard''. The track was released as a single in January 1 ...

". She later became a church

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

Biography

Washington was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, and first recorded in 1965 for the local Octavia label. Biography from '' Encyclopedia of Popular Music''
Her single "The Grass Always Seems Greener" was leased to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

for release, but did not achieve commercial success. In 1967, she began recording for the Sound Stage 7 label in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. Several of her records were produced by radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

John Richbourg, and were recorded in

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. Her third single for Sound Stage 7, "He Called Me Baby", was a reworking of a 1962 song by

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

(originally "

She Called Me Baby "She Called Me Baby" is a country song written in 1961 by Harlan Howard. Background The song was first recorded by Howard for his September 1961 album release ''Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard''. The track was released as a single in January 19 ...

"), which had previously been recorded by many

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

singers including

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs " Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ...

and

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Amon ...

. Washington's version reached # 77 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100, and # 38 on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, but was her only hit record. However, she released an LP, ''Ella Washington'', in 1969, and a succession of singles on the Sound Stage 7 label through to 1972, including "Stop Giving Your Man Away" and "Trying To Make You Love Me". In 1973, she turned from secular to gospel music. She sang "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for bot ...

" and " Because He Lives" at John Richbourg's funeral in 1986. By 2009, as Ella Washington Cobbs, she was pastor at Theos Ministries church in

Opa-locka Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010 United States census, 2010. The city was developed ...

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

, Florida. The first compilation album of her recordings, ''Nobody But Me'', was released by

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fra ...

in 1987. A CD of her recordings for Sound Stage 7, ''He Called Me Baby'', was issued on the Soulscape label in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Ella 1943 births American soul singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American singers Living people People from Opa-locka, Florida Singers from Miami 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women