The five-octave voice of Linda Lewis drew comparisons to the likes of young Michael Jackson and Minnie Riperton, but it was in a class of its own, particularly when the singer wrote her own material and naturally combined soul and folk with light funk accents. Lewis released her first single as a teenager in 1967 and was featured on the self-titled 1970 album by the Ferris Wheel before she issued her first album, Say No More... (1971). Although the exquisite Lark (1972) is generally considered her artistic peak, Lewis didn't chart in her native U.K. until she released the non-album single "Rock a Doodle Doo" (1973). That Top 20 hit was soon eclipsed by a Top Ten showing for "It's in His Kiss" (1975), a discofied update of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" that sent Not a Little Girl Anymore, its parent release, to number 40 on the U.K. album chart. At the same time, Lewis -- who was also a guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist, and producer -- was highly sought as a background vocalist. She worked with artists such as Cat Stevens, David Bowie, and Marc Bolan in the '70s, and after her solo activity slowed the next decade, she figured prominently on recordings by Joan Armatrading, the Beloved, and Jamiroquai. Starting with Second Nature (1995), Lewis updated her early-'70s sound for a handful of albums during the latter half of the '90s. Revered by younger generations across genres, Lewis subsequently collaborated with Midfield General, Basement Jaxx, and Paul Weller. "Earthling," her final recording, matched her with the Paracosmos and Nuovi Fratelli, and was released weeks before her death in 2023.
Born Linda Ann Fredericks in East London, Linda Lewis attended stage school and performed in local clubs as a youngster. In 1961, she landed a bit part in the British New Wave film A Taste of Honey, and three years later played a starstruck fan in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. Acting, however, wasn't Lewis' primary ambition. She soon sang bluebeat and ska with the Q Set, was pushed by her mother to join John Lee Hooker on-stage, and also performed with R&B band Herbie Goins & the Night-Timers. Signed to Polydor in 1967, the still-teenaged Lewis cut her first single, "You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet," a cult Northern Soul favorite produced by Ian Samwell. Soon after, she formed the short-lived White Rabbit with fellow ex-Night-Timer Junior Marvin, then replaced Marsha Hunt in the Ferris Wheel in time to record the psychedelic soul-rock band's self-titled second (and last) album. Lewis fronted the lone single from the LP, "Can't Stop Now."
Lewis truly launched her solo career in 1971, the year she performed at the first Glastonbury Festival (with Terry Reid) and signed a contract with Reprise. Still connected with Ian Samwell -- who had produced The Ferris Wheel -- she made her full-length debut in 1971 with Say No More..., all of which she either wrote or co-wrote with Samwell. Lewis refined her mix of soul and folk for the 1972 follow-up Lark, which she co-produced with Family's Jim Cregan (formerly of the Ferris Wheel, among other bands). Lewis moved to Raft, Family's Reprise-affiliated boutique label, which first released the single "Rock a Doodle Doo." A striking showcase of her lower and upper registers, "Rock a Doodle Doo" became a hit, entering the U.K. pop chart in June 1973 and peaking at number 15, prompting its inclusion on a re-release of Lark. Fathoms Deep, Lewis' lone Raft album, was also out that year, and featured contributions from an impressive group of musicians that included Danny Thompson, Bobby Tench, and Lowell George. Lewis concurrently became in-demand with session work of her own, appearing on albums such as Al Kooper's Possible Projection of the Future, touring partner Cat Stevens' Catch Bull at Four, and David Bowie's Aladdin Sane. Lewis also established links with Marc Bolan and Elton John.
Raft sank, but Lewis attracted a new deal with Bell, which became Arista after the release of her 1974 single "(Remember the Days Of) The Old Schoolyard," a song Cat Stevens had granted to her. Lewis' fourth and most commercially successful album, Not a Little Girl Anymore, followed, with production from Cregan, Bert DeCoteaux, and Tony Silvester. In addition to the Stevens song, the material mixed Lewis' originals with versions of John Martyn's "May You Never," Gwen Guthrie and Pat Grant's "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," and Rudy Clark's "It's in His Kiss" (aka "The Shoop Shoop Song [It's in His Kiss])." The latter entered the U.K. pop chart in July 1975 and provided Lewis with her first and only U.K. Top Ten hit (reaching number six), as well as her only charting single in the U.S. (number 96 pop). As a consequence, Not a Little Girl Anymore reached number 40 on the album chart. Lewis' Woman Overboard, which followed the non-album 1976 singles "Baby I'm Yours" and "Winter Wonderland" in 1977, was similarly pieced together. It combined the production efforts of Cregan, Stevens, DeCoteaux, and most prominently, Allen Toussaint, who also played keyboards on the four songs he cut in his native New Orleans (with fellow Crescent City heavyweight James Booker on organ).
Unhappy with her lack of creative control and pressure to make music that appealed to dancefloors, Lewis left Arista. After she appeared on Rod Stewart's Blondes Have More Fun, she signed with Ariola, though that association yielded only the Mike Batt-produced Hacienda View. The 1979 album contained just one song she wrote (with Jim Cregan), and a timely rendition of the Evita song "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You," her last Top 40 single. Lewis and Cregan had married a couple years earlier and divorced in 1980. In 1983, Lewis returned with A Tear and a Smile, a set of pop-R&B and adult contemporary material released on Epic. She either wrote or co-wrote roughly half of the songs, and reunited with Bert DeCoteaux, while most of the first side was produced by Epic labelmates the Quick. The next year, Lewis issued a one-off single for hi-NRG specialist label Electricity, featuring the boogie-flavored "Class/Style (I've Got It)" and a hi-NRG-tailored re-recording of her first single, "You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet." She then formed Lewis (alternately Lewis Sisters), a vocal trio with siblings Dee and Shirley (both of whom had taken Linda's stage surname). During 1986 and 1987, they released a handful of club-oriented singles produced by Philly soul veteran Bobby Eli, signing off with a cover of Brenda Russell's "So Good, So Right."
Lewis worked mostly as a supporting vocalist over the next several years, and then got a second wind as a headlining artist. She and sister Shirley sang throughout Joan Armatrading's 1992 album Square the Circle. In 1993, she collaborated with keyboardist Ludmilla for the album Have You Noticed?, was heard on much of the Beloved's number two album Conscience, and was featured in the background of Jamiroquai's first Top Ten hit, "Too Young to Die." Second Nature, Lewis' first album in 12 years, followed in 1995 on the independent Turpin label. Composed almost exclusively by Lewis, it was an organic continuation of her early-'70s mode. Before the end of the decade, Lewis also released On the Stage: Live in Japan, Whatever, and finally Kiss of Life, her last studio album. Her final chart entry occurred in 2000 with the Midfield General collaboration "Reach Out." Live in Old Smokey, actually recorded at Ronnie Scott's in London, followed in 2005. Over the next years, Lewis continued to tour and collaborate, most notably teaming with Basement Jaxx ("Close Your Eyes," 2006) and Paul Weller ("Aim High [Aim Higher]," 2010), and performing at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. In 2023, she partnered with the Paracosmos and Nuovi Fratelli for "Earthling." The lively folk-soul single was released just before Lewis' death on May 3, 2023.~Andy Kellman
