Kendra Spotswood is an American soul singer and is considered to be one of the most underrated singers of the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

era. She is known best for her collaboration with

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

, her membership of

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

and her song "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" a favorite on the UK

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene, which she recorded under the name Sandi Sheldon.

Career

Aged 18 in 1963, she made her professional debut singing backup with the Four Buddies' fronted by Van McCoy on their song "Lonely Summer". Recording on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

label as Kenni Woods her solo debut, "Can't He Take a Hint," followed in the same year. Her next single was "Back with My Baby"; her backing singers were

Dee Dee Warwick Delia Juanita Warrick (September 25, 1942 – October 18, 2008), known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, a ...

Cissy Houston Emily Drinkard (September 30, 1933 – October 7, 2024), known professionally as Cissy Houston, was an American soul and gospel singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Houston began singing with three of her siblings in the family gospel group, T ...

and

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She was ...

. Spotswood performed with The Shirelles, touring with the group from 1964-1966 but did not record with them as she was still under contract with Philips. During that time, she and McCoy, her boyfriend at the time, collaborated and co-wrote several singles using a number of aliases, including the Pacettes' "You Don't Know Baby," Jack & Jill's "Two of a Kind," and the Fantastic Vantastics' "Gee What a Boy". In 1965, her "Stickin' With My Baby," the only record using her birth name. She also sang backing vocals with Van McCoy on the

Barbara Lewis Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. Career Lewis was born in Salem Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, Salem, Michigan, United States. She was writ ...

song Baby, I'm Yours.

Northern soul

Spotswood used the alias Sandi Sheldon for 1967's "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" on

Okeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

; the single making little impact on release. After the same fate met 1968's "Touch My Heart," credited to the Vonettes and released on the Cobblestone label, she relocated to Atlanta and retired from the music business. "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" was rediscovered in the 1970s; one theory is that it was among a number of singles sold by

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

to record dealer Graham Stapleton, who in turn sold it to "Froggy" Taylor, then the DJ at the influential

nightspot The Twisted Wheel. An alternative view according to Northern soul DJ

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...

is that it was bought by fellow Northern soul DJ Rob Bellars while working in California and brought back to the UK where it became the epitome of a rare, fast Northern soul classic. The song met with wide approval, and it remains a Northern soul favorite to this day, quoted as one of the crown jewels of the Northern soul club scene. Spotswood's whereabouts and real name remained unknown for decades until she finally learned of her latter-day fame on the Northern soul circuit and began appearing again to live audiences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spotswood, Kendra American women singers Singers from New Jersey Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey African-American women singers Northern soul musicians