Mable John, the first female solo artist signed to Motown (then Tamla) Records, a Stax singer and longtime Ray Charles collaborator, has died at the age of 91.
What was Mable Joh cause of death? A cause of death was not revealed. However, considering her age, it is most likely she died of natural causes.
After leaving Motown, John spent several years as a Raelette, backing many Ray Charles hits. In 1966 she attempted a solo career again, signing with Stax Records.
Her first single with the label was “Your Good Thing (Is About to End).” The song peaked at #6 on the R&B chart, and even managed to cross over onto pop radio, peaking at #95 there.
She released six more singles for the label, none of which captured her first single’s success. After leaving Stax Records in 1968, John rejoined the Raelettes for several years.
She left secular music in 1973, and began managing Christian gospel acts, occasionally returning to the studio as a singer.
In recent years Mable appeared as blues singer Bertha Mae in “Honeydripper” (2007), as well as the documentary “20 Feet from Stardom” (2013), in which she discussed her years as Ray Charles’ head Raelette.
But for years, she was best known as the older sister of R&B legend Little Willie John, whose stardom predated hers.
Mable was born Nov. 3, 1930, in Bastrop, Louisiana, to Mertis and Lillie John.