Martha High (born Martha Harvin) is an American vocalist.

Biography

Harvin grew up in Washington, D.C., attending Roosevelt High School and singing in Trinity AME Zion Church. She began singing in

The Four Jewels The Jewels (initially The Impalas, later The Four Jewels) were an American girl group from Washington, D.C., United States. Overview The group began singing as The Impalas in 1961; its members had attended Roosevelt High School and sang in Tr ...

(whose members attended the same church and school) after the departure of Carrie Mingo. After Martha joined the group, they changed their name simply to

The Jewels The Jewels (initially The Impalas, later The Four Jewels) were an American girl group from Washington, D.C., United States. Overview The group began singing as The Impalas in 1961; its members had attended Roosevelt High School and sang in Tr ...

and released their best-known hit, "Opportunity". After a follow-up single, "But I Do" b/w "Smokey Joe", flopped, they were dropped from

Dimension Records Dimension Records was a record label founded in 1962 in New York City by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins, owners of Aldon Music. It concentrated on the girl group sound and showcased songs by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Their composition "The Loco ...

. The Jewels went on tour with

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

in 1964, with a demanding nightly schedule. They visited the studios of

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

on the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

leg of the tour, hoping to record, but the building was closed that day. They did record two singles while they toured with Brown, but after a year and a half with Brown the group split up. Not ready to leave the tour, Harvin asked Brown if she could stay. Brown agreed, but he required her name change from Harvin to the stage name High. She continued singing with Brown for the next 30-plus years. Among her appearances with Brown are on the track "Summertime" and on the '' Original Funky Divas'' album. High also recorded a self-titled

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

album in 1979, released on

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases ...

. In January 2000, she stopped performing with Brown and went on tour with

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of ...

. In 2004, High teamed up with the Soulpower organization, which is also behind the comebacks of Soul artists like

Marva Whitney Marva Whitney (born Marva Ann Manning; May 1, 1944 – December 22, 2012) was an American funk singer commonly referred to by her honorary title, Soul Sister #1. Whitney was considered by many funk enthusiasts to be one of the "rawest" and "brassi ...

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader, and talent dedicated. He played a part in the development of soul and funk m ...

Gwen McCrae Gwendolyn Patricia McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943 – February 21, 2025) was an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit record, hit "Rockin' Chair (Gwen McCrae song), Rockin' Chair". Known in the music industry as the "Queen of Rare Gro ...

and

RAMP An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

. During her collaboration with Soulpower, High performed all across Europe and even performed in Africa, backed by the Soulpower Allstars. In February 2005, High embarked on the "James Brown's Funky Divas Tour" in Europe, sharing the stage with her friend

. In 2016, High released her solo album on Blind Faith Records, with 11 original tunes produced and recorded by Italian soul man Luca Sapio and his crew. In 2017, High recorded a single titled "We are one" with DJ Toner, released on Enlace Funk (Spain). Fred Thomas ( The J.B.´s musician) also collaborated playing bass. In 2021, High recorded an album titled "Got My Senses Back" with Grey and the Hit Me Band, released on Only One Records with 9 tracks arranged, produced and recorded by Michael Edell.

Single discography

"The Jewls"
''Soulful Kinda Music''.

Album discography

* ''High'' (Salsoul 8526) released 1979 * ''Live at Quai Du Blues'' (Austerlitz Music 5978012) released 2003 * ''W.O.M.A.N.'' by Martha High With Shaolin Temple Defenders (Soulbeats 004 D005 P released 2008 * ''It's High Time'' (Diaspora Connections 90101) released 2009 * ''Soul Overdue'' by Martha High & Speedometer (Freestyle FSRCD096 DFSRLP096 P released 2012 * ''Singing For The Good Times'' by Martha High (Blind Faith Records BF01002 D P released 2016 * ''Tribute To My Soul Sisters'' by Martha High (Rekord Kicks Records RKX 067 D P released 2017 * ''Nothing's Going Wrong'' by Martha High & The Italian Royal Family, released 2020 * ''Got My Senses Back'' by Martha High & Grey and the Hit Me Band (Only One Records igital released 2021

Other appearances

* ''Presenting… The James Brown Show'' (LP by various artists, 1967) Smash 27087 (mono) & 67087 (stereo) "This Is My Story" and "Something's Got A Hold On Me" by The Jewels * ''James Brown's Original Funky Divas'' (CD compilation, 1998) PolyGram 314 537 709-2 "This Is My Story" by The Jewels
"Summertime" by Martha And James * ''Love Over-Due'' (album by James Brown, 1991) Scotti Bros. 72392 75225-1 "Later For Dancing" (duet with James Brown) * ''Martha High'' (CD, 2014) on Octave-lav/Ultra-Vybe inc. 5067) *Reissue of Salsoul 8526 with 4 bonus-tracks

References

* Martha Highat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:High, Martha 1945 births 21st-century American women American funk singers American soul musicians American women singers James Brown vocalists Living people People from Victoria, Virginia Singers from Washington, D.C.