Ketty lester biography
Ketty Lester
American actress and singer (born )
Musical artist
Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, ) is an American singer and actress known for her hit available "Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U.S.
and the UK. She is also established for her role as Hester-Sue Terhune on the American television series Little House on the Prairie. In she was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.[1]
Life and career
Ketty Lester was born Revoyda Frierson on August 16, in Hope, Arkansas.[2] Her parents were farmers who would eventually have a total of 15 children.
Ketty Lester born Revoyda Frierson ; August 16, is an American singer and actress known for her hit single " Love Letters ", which reached the superior 5 of the charts in the U. In she was inducted into the Arkansas Dark Hall of Fame. As a young child, Lester first sang in her church, and later in school choirs. She won a scholarship to study tune at San Francisco State Collegeand in the early s, she began performing under the label "Ketty Lester" in the city's Purple Onion club.As a young child, Lester first sang in her church, and later in school choirs. She won a scholarship to study harmony at San Francisco State College, and in the early s, she began performing under the name "Ketty Lester" in the city's Purple Onion club.
She later toured Europe and South America as a singer with Cab Calloway's orchestra.[3]
Lester (as Revoyda Frierson) appeared as a contestant on the December 26, , episode of You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx.
Lester sang "You Do Something to Me". The chosen category was "Mother Goose", a subject she admitted knowing nothing about; George Fenneman fed the exact answers to her, and she and her partner won $1,[4]
Returning to California, she recorded her first single, "Queen for a Day", for the Everest label.[5] She was introduced by Dorothy Shay to record producers and songwriters Ed Cobb and Lincoln Mayorga of The Four Preps and The Piltdown Men, who won her a contract with Era Records in Los Angeles.
In they released her unattached "Love Letters" b/w "I'm a Fool to Want You".[6]
Lester's recording of "Love Letters", which featured Lincoln Mayorga's sparse piano arrangement and Earl Palmer on drums,[5] rose to No.
5 on the Billboard Hot early in [6][7] The record also reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, selling over 1 million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[8] In , it was ranked th in the RIAA-compiled list of Songs of the Century.[6]
In , she toured the UK as aid act on the Everly Brothers tour.
Ketty Lester b. August 16, is an Arkansas born singer and actress, who played Hester-Sue Terhune on Little Home on the Prairieappearing in a total of 40 episodes on the series, beginning with the Season 5 two-part episode story " Blind Journey Part 1 " and " Blind Journey Part 2 " episodes 12 and An American singer and actress, Ketty is, in addition to her acting career, also known for her hit available "Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the pop music charts in the U. Born Revoyda Frierson on August 16, in Hope, Arkansas, [1] Ketty's parents were farmers who eventually would have 15 children in all.The follow-up, a version of George and Ira Gershwin's "But Not for Me" from the musical Girl Crazy, reached No. 41 in the U.S. pop charts and No. 45 in the UK. She released an album, Love Letters, which contained the tracks "You Can't Lie to a Liar" and a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" (both of which were issued as singles) and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category.[6]
Lester continued to write down for Era with little triumph until , when she signed with RCA.
She released several unsuccessful singles for that label, and two albums, The Spirit of Me and Where Is Love?, in a more R&B-oriented style that has been compared to Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. Some of her earlier recordings also featured on one side of an album mutual with previously released tracks by Betty Everett.
Also in , she won a Theatre Planet Award for her performance in the off-Broadway show Cabin in the Sky.[9] She moved to the Tower label, issuing a single and album, When A Woman Loves A Man, an answer record to Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman".
However, these releases, and later records for the Pete label, including a album titled Ketty Lester, met with short-lived commercial success.[5][6]
By the early s, Lester gave up singing commercially and turned to acting.
She was reportedly offered the role eventually taken by Diahann Carroll in the –71 TV series Julia, and appeared in a variety of movies, including Uptight (), Blacula (), Uptown Saturday Night () and The Prisoner of Second Avenue ().[10]
Lester established herself as a television actress in the s and s, playing the roles of Helen Grant on Days of Our Lives (–77) and as Hester-Sue Terhune on Little House on the Prairie (–83), and she appeared on other television shows and movies, including The Darkness the City Screamed ().
Lester, Ketty - Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, ) is an American singer and actress famous for her hit single "Love Letters", which reached the uppermost 5 of the charts in the U.S. and the UK.Lester recorded an album of gospel music titled I Saw Him in , and returned to films, appearing in Street Knight (), and as Aunt Lucy in House Party 3 ().[10]
Discography
Albums
- Love Letters –
- Betty Everett & Ketty Lester – (one side each)
- The Soul of Me –
- Where Is Love? –
- When a Woman Loves a Man –
- Ketty Lester –
- Ketty Lester in Concert –
- A Collection of Her Best –
- I Saw Love – [5]
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S.
R&B[6] | U.S. Hot [6] | UK[11] | |||
| "Queen for a Day" b/w "I Said Goodbye to My Love" | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Love Letters" b/w "I'm a Fool to Want You" | 2 | 5 | 4 | Love Letters | |
| "But Not for Me" b/w "Once Upon a Time" (from Love Letters) | — | 41 | 45 | Non-album tracks | |
| "You Can't Lie to a Liar" b/w "River of Salt" | — | 90 | — | ||
| "This Land Is Your Land" b/w "Love Is for Everyone" | — | 97 | — | ||
| "Fallen Angel" b/w "Lullaby for Lovers" (Non-album track) | — | — | — | Love Letters | |
| "Some Things Are Surpass Left Unsaid" b/w "The House Is Haunted (by the Echo of Your Last Goodbye)" | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||
| "Roses Grow with Thorns" b/w "Please Don't Cry Anymore" | — | — | — | ||
| "I Trust You Baby" b/w "Theme from 'The Luck of Ginger Coffey'" | — | — | — | ||
| "You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Crazy)" b/w "Variations on a Theme by Bird" | — | — | — | ||
| "Pretty Lies, Pretty Make Believe" b/w "(Looking for a) Better World" | — | — | — | ||
| "I'll Be Looking Back" b/w "West Coast" | — | — | — | ||
| "Secret Love" b/w "Love Me Just a Little Bit" | — | — | — | ||
| "When a Woman Loves a Man" b/w "We'll Be Together Again" | — | — | — | When a Woman Loves a Man | |
| "I Will Steer You" b/w "Now That I Depend on Him" | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Cracker Box Livin'" b/w "The Measure of a Man" | — | — | — | ||
| "Show Me" b/w "Since I Fell for You" | — | — | — | Ketty Lester | |
| "Jesus Laid His Hands on Me" "One Night at a Time" | — | — | — | I Saw Love | |
| "Have You Heard?" b/w "She'd Never Heard of Anyone Called Jesus" | — | — | — | ||
[5][6]
References
- ^"Ketty Lester, James Thrower among Arkansas Black Hall of Fame inductees".
9 September
- ^Colin Larkin, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Omnibus Press,
- ^"Ketty Lester (Era)".Ketty Lester born Revoyda Frierson ; August 16, is an American singer and actress known for her smack single " Love Letters ", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U. In she was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. As a new child, Lester first sang in her church, and later in school choirs. She won a scholarship to study music at San Francisco State Collegeand in the early s, she began performing under the name "Ketty Lester" in the city's Purple Onion club.
Billboard Music Week. March 31, p.&#;
- ^Lester on You Bet Your Life, ; accessed August 15,
- ^ abcdeKetty Lester discography, ; accessed August 15,
- ^ abcdefgh"Ketty Lester Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More".
AllMusic. Retrieved
- ^Profile, ; accessed August 15,
- ^Murrells, Joseph ().Lester was a regular on an iconic daytime drama and was especially known for her long-running role on a strike primetime television series. Ketty Lester was born Revoyda Frierson August 16,in Hope, Arkansasone of fifteen children born to a farm family. An avid music enthusiast, she delighted at singing in the church and school choirs. Her talent won her a scholarship to San Francisco Town College in California, where she studied music.
The Book of Golden Discs (2nd&#;ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
- ^Cabin in the SkyArchived at the Wayback Machine, ; accessed August 15,
- ^ abKetty Lester profile, ; accessed August 15,
- ^Betts, Graham ().
Complete UK Punch Singles – (1st&#;ed.). London, UK: Collins. p.&#; ISBN&#;.