Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom.[3] She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019.[4]
Claudia Lennear | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Claudia Joy Offley |
| Also known as | Joy Lennear[1] |
| Born | 1946 (age 77–78)[2] Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Real Gone Music |
| Website | claudialennear |
Early life
editLennear was born Claudia Joy Offley at Providence Lying-In Hospital in Rhode Island. Her last name was changed after her mother married Leo V. Lennear, a Navy man stationed in Newport.[3] She grew up in different neighborhoods in Providence. Although raised a Catholic, her grandmother taught her to sing gospel songs as a child.[5]
In elementary school, Lennear studied music theory and took French at St. Charles Borromeo parochial school. Her career goal was to become a translator at the United Nations.[3] She also took private piano lessons. In high school, she was in the chorale program. As a teenager she listened to Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Carla Thomas, and Ike & Tina Turner.[5] During her senior year at Hope High School, her stepfather retired from the Navy and she moved to Pomona, California with her family in 1964.[3][6]
Career
editAfter graduating from high school, Lennear enrolled in college and began fronting the Los Angeles-based soul group The Superbs.[5] They performed local gigs around Los Angeles. Lennear made her recording debut with the group on the single "One Bad Habit", released on Doré Records in 1968.[2]
The Ikettes
editThrough her friend, singer Sherlie Matthews, Lennear landed an audition with bandleader Ike Turner in 1968.[2][5] She passed the audition and left the Superbs to become an Ikette. She said: "He [Ike Turner] was a terrific business person, very disciplined, and he was a visionary."[7] Lennear was with Ike & Tina Turner for a few years until she had a spat with Tina Turner.[8] Nonetheless, Lennear recalled her time with the Turners fondly, telling The Providence Journal:
Without Ike and Tina, I'd probably be 20 miles from stardom, not 20 feet....they taught me how to perform, how to work with other singers and musicians. Ike taught me how to support Tina on stage. And Tina taught me how to present myself....During the three years I was an Ikette, I never witnessed any physical abuse.[3]
Post-Ikette career
editAfter leaving the Ikettes in 1970, Lennear worked with many acts including Humble Pie and Joe Cocker. She was part of a trio of backup singers for Delaney and Bonnie that also included Rita Coolidge.[9]
Lennear was one of Leon Russell's Shelter People. She sang back-up vocals on Joe Cocker's 1970 Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and live album, on Leon Russell and the Shelter People (1971), and on George Harrison's The Concert for Bangla Desh (1971).[3] Her lead vocal live recording of "Let It Be" from the film Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1971) was the B side of Leon Russell's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" single on A&M Records in 1971.[10]
In 1973, Lennear released her first and only solo album for Warner Bros. Records entitled Phew!.[3][11] She had a bit part in the film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), playing the secretary who asks Clint Eastwood's character for his Social Security number. Lennear appeared in the August 1974 issue of Playboy magazine in a pictorial entitled "Brown Sugar".[3]
Lennear appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[5] After the success of the film, David Bowie contacted Lennear and offered to write songs for her next project.[12]
Since 2014, Lennear has performed and recorded in Los Angeles with The New Ash Grove Players with S S Jones & Claudia Lennear. They have performed at the McCabes Guitar Shop, The Coffee Gallery, the Pasadena Pavilion for the Performing Arts, and The Improv.[13]
At the Lockn' Festival on September 11, 2015, Lennear performed with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rita Coolidge, Leon Russell, and other alumni from the 1970 Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour in a memorial concert for Cocker.[14][15]
Academic career
editIn 2006, Lennear received degrees in French literature and art history from Pitzer College.[16]
Lennear began teaching first in high school and then at Mt. San Antonio College, where she has been teaching French, Spanish, English, and remedial math.[3][17]
Accolades
editIn 2019, Lennear was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.[4][18][19]
Personal life
editIn 1969, Lennear dated Mick Jagger when Ike & Tina Turner were the opening act for the Rolling Stones on their American tour.[20] Lennear's relationships with Mick Jagger and David Bowie are often cited as inspiration for The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" (1971) and Bowie's "Lady Grinning Soul" (1973).[21][22][23] NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray noted in 1981 that she was "yet to reply in song to either Mick or David."[21] However, in a 1973 article in Rolling Stone, she was quoted as saying that she wrote the song "Not At All" "to inform Mick Jagger of his dispensability".[24]
Discography
editSingles
edit| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Let It be" | A&M Records |
| 1973 | "Two Trains" / "Not At All" | Warner Bros. Records |
Albums
editAs a solo artist
edit| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Phew! | Warner Bros. Records |
As an Ikette
edit| Release date | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| June 1969 | In Person | Minit Records |
| July 1969 | So Fine | Pompeii Records |
| August 1969 | Cussin', Cryin' & Carryin' On | Pompeii Records |
| October 1969 | The Hunter | Blue Thumb Records |
| May 1970 | Come Together | Liberty Records |
| November 1970 | Workin' Together | Liberty Records |
With other artists
edit| Year[25] | Album | Artist | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.F.O. | Ron Davies | Vocals (Background) | |
| Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country Rock, Vol. 6: 1973 | Vocals (Background) | ||
| My Perfect List 60 Titres Soul 1 | Primary Artist | ||
| All the Funk & Groove | Primary Artist | ||
| 1970 | Stephen Stills | Stephen Stills | Vocals |
| 1970 | Mad Dogs & Englishmen | Joe Cocker | Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Choir/Chorus, Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 1970 | Alone Together | Dave Mason | Vocals |
| 1971 | Rock On | Humble Pie | Vocals |
| 1971 | New York City (You're a Woman) | Al Kooper | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1971 | Living by the Days | Don Nix | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1971 | Leon Russell and the Shelter People | Leon Russell | Vocals |
| 1971 | Klatu Berrada Nitku | Dependables | Vocals, Bass, Group Member |
| 1971 | Into the Purple Valley | Ry Cooder | Vocals |
| 1971 | Getting Ready... | Freddie King | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1972 | Bring Me Back | Tony Kelly | Vocals |
| 1972 | Artist Proof | Chris Darrow | Vocals (Background) |
| 1972 | A Possible Projection of the Future | Al Kooper | Vocals |
| 1973 | Chris Jagger | Chris Jagger | Vocals |
| 1974 | No Other | Gene Clark | Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Voices |
| 1974 | Mo' Roots | Taj Mahal | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1974 | Compartments | José Feliciano | Vocals (Background) |
| 1975 | Stills | Stephen Stills | Vocals |
| 1976 | The Best of Leon Russell [DCC/Shelter] | Leon Russell | Vocals |
| 1976 | Glass Heart | Allan Rich | Sound Effects |
| 1976 | Cry Tough | Nils Lofgren | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1977 | Brothers | Taj Mahal | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1985 | Takin' Care of Business | Freddie King | Choir/Chorus |
| 1991 | Key to the Highway [Del Rack] | Freddie King | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 1997 | Soft Fun, Tough Tears | Nils Lofgren | Vocals (Background) |
| 1997 | Retrospective | Leon Russell | Vocals |
| 1999 | Ultimate Collection | Nils Lofgren | Vocals (Background) |
| 1999 | Ultimate Collection | Dave Mason | Vocals (Background) |
| 2000 | The Best of Freddie King: The Shelter Records Years | Freddie King | Vocals (Background) |
| 2001 | Ultimate Collection | Freddie King | Vocals (Background) |
| 2001 | Sing a Happy Song: The Warner Bros. Recordings | Taj Mahal | Vocals (Background) |
| 2001 | Right On, Vol. 3: Break Beats & Grooves from the Atlantic & Warner Vaults | Primary Artist | |
| 2001 | Right On! Box Set | Primary Artist | |
| 2001 | Rare + Well Done: The Greatest & Most Obscure Recordings | Al Kooper | Vocals |
| 2005 | The Essential Taj Mahal | Taj Mahal | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 2005 | Mad Dogs & Englishmen [2005 DVD] | Joe Cocker | Performer |
| 2006 | What It is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves: 1967–1977 | Primary Artist | |
| 2006 | The Definitive Collection | Dave Mason | Vocals (Background) |
| 2006 | The Definitive Collection | Humble Pie | Additional Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 2006 | The Complete Fillmore East Concerts | Joe Cocker | Vocals, Primary Artist |
| 2006 | Mad Dogs & Englishmen: Fillmore March 28, 1970 | Joe Cocker | Vocals, Primary Artist |
| 2007 | Less Than the Song/Life Machine | Hoyt Axton | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 2010 | Rarities Edition: Mad Dogs & Englishmen | Joe Cocker | Choir/Chorus, Primary Artist |
| 2011 | Easy Does It/New York City (You're a Woman)/ A Possible Projection of the Future: Childhood's End |
Al Kooper | Vocals (Background) |
| 2014 | The Best of the Superbs | The Superbs | Photo Courtesy |
| 2014 | Face the Music | Nils Lofgren | Vocals |
| 2016 | Lost Studio Sessions 1964–1982 | Gene Clark | Featured Artist |
Filmography/TV appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Hollywood Palace | Ikette |
| 1969 | Andy's Love Concert | Ikette |
| 1969 | The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | Ikette |
| 1969 | Playboy After Dark | Ikette |
| 1970 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Ikette |
| 1974 | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | Secretary |
| 2013 | 20 Feet from Stardom | Herself |
References
edit- ^ "Spotlights Turn On Her". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 2, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Bernholm, Jonas (July 26, 2019), "Los Angeles: July 30 – August 8, 1968", Soul Music Odyssey USA 1968, York University Libraries
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Andy (June 22, 2014). "From Hope High to '20 Feet From Stardom' was an amazing journey". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015.
- ^ a b Bissonnette, Jonathan (May 2, 2019). "Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame welcomes class of 2019". The Independent.
- ^ a b c d e Wikane, Christian John (June 20, 2013). "Keeping Great Company: An Interview with Claudia Lennear". PopMatters.
- ^ Abrams, Ken (April 17, 2019). "WhatsUp Interview: Claudia Lennear, 2019 RI Music Hall of Fame Inductee". What's Up RhodeIsland.
- ^ "Soul singer to discuss star-crossed life during interview". Claremont Courier. July 24, 2014.
- ^ Mcleod, Pauline (March 30, 2014). "My favourite photograph by Mick Jagger's ex girlfriend, singer Claudia Lennear". Express.
- ^ Newsom, Jim (2007). "Dave Mason". In Woodstra, Chris; bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (eds.). All Music Guide: Classic Rock. New York: Backbeat Books. p. 129. ISBN 9780879309176. Retrieved June 20, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "THE BALLAD OF MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN)/LET IT BE". onamrecords.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ "Claudia Lennear – Phew!" at Allmusic.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (March 6, 2014). "Bowie backing singer claims star has promised to write original songs for her". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ "The New Ash Grove Players with Claudia Lennear and SS Jones". ashgrovemusic.net. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Browne, David (July 14, 2015). "Inside Tedeschi Trucks Band's All-Star Joe Cocker Tribute". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ BurningShoreProphet3 (September 13, 2015). "Tedeschi Trucks Band and Friends- Mad Dogs & Englishmen- 9/11/2015 Arrington, VA". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Warmbrunn, Susan (March 3, 2014). "Documentary Featuring Pitzer Alumna Claudia Lennear '06 Wins 2014 Academy Award". Pitzer College. Claremont, California.
- ^ Tigerino, Adolfo (June 4, 2013). "Former professional singer rocks LAC". Mountiewire.com.
- ^ "Inductees - 2019 - Claudia Lennear". Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ "Claudia Lennear". Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame Historical Archive. Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Marsh, Stefanie (February 25, 1969). "Me, Mick Jagger and the truth about Brown Sugar". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p. 56
- ^ "The Ziggy Stardust Companion – Encyclopedia L". 5years.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "The lyrics were partially inspired by a black backing singer we knew in L.A. called Claudia Linnear" – Bill Wyman quoted from Rolling With The Stones (2002) at Time Is On Our Side.
- ^ Fong-Torres, Ben, "Keeping Great Company: An Interview with Claudia Lennear", Rolling Stone, April 12, 1973.
- ^ "Claudia Lennear – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
External links
edit- Official Website
- Claudia Lennear on AllMusic
- Singer Claudia Lennear aka the Rolling Stones' famous Brown Sugar; audio clip from Robert Elms, With Jason Solomons, Claudia Lennear, Louisa Pestell and Dr. Robert, BBC London, February 20, 2014