Sandra Feva (born Sandra Arnold, May 14, 1947 – June 26, 2020), also known as Sandra Richardson, was an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

Background

She was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the oldest of five siblings, but grew up in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, after her family moved there. She began singing as a child, and in the early 1970s made her first recordings, as Sandra Richardson. She recorded several singles for small labels, many with producer

Tony Camillo Anthony J. Camillo (August 11, 1928 – August 29, 2018)
bongiovifuneralhome.com retrieved Apri ...

. "Sandra Richardson", ''SoulDennis'', May 17, 2009
Retrieved December 17, 2022

Career

After changing her name to Sandra Feva, she gained national attention as a background vocalist with

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, and George Clinton. As a solo act she had her first hit single in 1979 with her version of " The Need to Be", and released several albums, including ''Kick it Out'', ''The Need to Be'' (1979), ''Savoir Faire'' (1981), and ''Fever All Through The Nigh'' (1989). Her 1981 single "Tell 'Em I Heard It" peaked at number 33 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 ...

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 ...

, and she had further R&B chart hits with "You Can't Come Up Here No More" (1986), and "Here Now" (1987).

later years

She had a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 2000, which ended her music career, and in 2009 became a minister in the Third New Hope Baptist Church in Detroit. She died in 2020, at the age of 73.

References

External links

* * * * 1947 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American women singers Singers from Detroit Singers from Los Angeles 21st-century American women Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) {{US-musician-stub