Varetta Dillard
| Varetta Dillard | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Varetta M. Dillard |
| Born |
February 3, 1933 Harlem, New York, United States |
| Died | October 4, 1993 (aged 60) Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1951 – early 1960s |
| Labels |
Savoy Groove RCA Triumph Club |
Varetta Dillard (3 February 1933 – 4 October 1993) was an American rhythm and blues singer in the 1950s whose biggest hit was "Mercy, Mr. Percy".
She was born in Harlem, New York, and spent much of her childhood in hospital due to a congenital bone condition. By her mid-teens her condition had stabilised, though she remained unable to walk without crutches or other assistance. She met Carl Feaster of doo-wop group The Chords, who encouraged her to enter talent contests as a singer, and in 1951 she won two consecutive competitions at the Apollo Theater. She was signed by Savoy Records, and had her first recording session with the company in September 1951. Although her early singles were commercially unsuccessful, she was invited by Alan Freed to perform at what later became recognised as the first major rock and roll concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball held in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1952. Because of concerns over crowd safety, the concert was shut down by the authorities after the first song, by Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams, and in the event Dillard did not perform. However, her next record, "Easy, Easy Baby", reached # 8 on the Billboard R&B chart in July 1952, being especially popular in the South.
She then toured with Oran "Hot Lips" Page and The Five Keys, before the record company paired her with singer H-Bomb Ferguson for a series of duets. After further tours with Larry Darnell and Wynonie Harris, she had her biggest hit in mid 1953 with "Mercy, Mr. Percy", which reached # 6 on the R&B chart. The track was recorded on 15 May 1953 with George Kelly (tenor sax), Haywood Henry (baritone sax), Lonnie Johnson (guitar), Lee Anderson (piano), Prince Babbs (bass), and Gene Brooks (drums), and was arranged by Leroy Kirkland. The song was nationally popular and became her theme song, but she had difficulty following it up and took time off to have a daughter with her husband, Ronald Mack. Her next major success, and final chart hit, came in early 1955 when she recorded "Johnny Has Gone", a tribute to singer Johnny Ace who had died as a result of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot. Dillard's recording was one of the most popular of several tributes to Ace and reached # 6 on the R&B chart. She continued to tour, and starred in the first rock and roll show in New Jersey in May 1955.
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