Frances Nero
| Frances Nero | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Willie Frances Peak |
| Born |
March 13, 1943 Asheville, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | November 28, 2014 (aged 71) |
| Genres | R&B, dance music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1960–1970, 1991-2014 |
| Labels | Soul (Motown), Shrine, Motorcity, AJA |
| Associated acts | Gino Parks |
Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul and jazz singer. She recorded for Motown after winning their 1965 talent contest and had a UK hit single in 1991 with "Footsteps Following Me".
Peak was born in 1943 in Asheville, North Carolina, and attended Stephens-Lee High School. She performed on local radio, and sang lead vocals with two local groups, the Tams (not The Tams) featuring William "PO Bill" Mills, and the Untils, a group of classmates who included Stanley Baird, Bynum Griffin and Clifford Cotton, some of whom went on to play with such stars as Chuck Jackson and James Brown.
In 1960, she married Detroit, Michigan native Johnny Nero and moved to the city. She almost joined The Marvelettes, but returned to Asheville for a time before going back to Detroit and settling into married life. She had two children, and sang jazz in nightclubs, before entering a talent contest on WCHB, the soul radio station in Detroit, sponsored by Motown. She became the first live performance winner in Motown Records's history, emerging the winner out of 5,000 contestants in June 1965. She was awarded $500, a dozen long stemmed red roses, a recording contract for one year and the honor of being the first female artist signed to Motown's subsidiary Soul label. Her first record release was "Keep On Lovin' Me", written by William Weatherspoon and James Dean, and originally intended for The Marvelettes. It was produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson, and released by Soul in early 1966. However, it was not a major hit. She made no further recordings with Motown, and left the company after three years.
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