Houston vocalist began singing in the church choir in Fresno, where she grew up. also took opera and studied piano. She produced her own debut single on the Brown Door label "Making New Friends" before she moved to San Francisco. She played the lead in .'s Slave Driver in 1970, and then was spotted by in 1976. was a songwriter and producer for the gospel group Voices of Harmony and also had a solo deal with Milk and Honey label. Her vocals were heard on the soundtrack for 's Apocalypse Now, and she then began singing background vocals for . They recorded a duet, "Here Is My Love," in 1981, and 's own Fantasy session Me And You was issued in 1982. She sang lead on 's "Splash" that same year, and did background vocals on releases by Jeffrey Osborne, , , /, Two Tons of Fun, , and . later recorded on the Megatone label, doing dance-oriented material. Despite her undeniable power and range, she was unable to land a breakout hit until her first single for AM Records, 1999's "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," hit the Top 20 dance charts. ~ Ron Wynn

Jeannie Tracy

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