Damita Jo DeBlanc

Damita Jo DeBlanc (August 5, 1930 – December 25, 1998),[1] known professionally as Damita Jo, was an American actress, comedian, and singer. Her second marriage was to her manager James "Biddy" Wood in 1961.[2]

Biography

DeBlanc was born in Austin, Texas, United States.[3] She was the featured vocalist on albums by Steve Gibson and the Red Caps during the 1950s.[4] She later married Gibson, but they parted ways professionally and personally in 1959. The couple had a daughter, Stephanie Latrelle Gibson born April 12, 1955,[5] who carried on the family's musical tradition as a singer and pianist. Her lessons began at the age of 4. She married Nathan Fred Shelton of West Virginia, and had twin boys, Bruce Thomas Shelton and Brian Stephen Shelton in Montclair, New Jersey.

Credited as Damita Jo, DeBlanc had some chart success in the early 1960s with two answer songs: 1960's "I'll Save the Last Dance for You" (an answer to "Save the Last Dance for Me") and 1961's "I'll Be There" (an answer to "Stand by Me"). Both songs were originally sung by Ben E. King (the former with the Drifters) and made the R&B top 20, and "I'll Be There" also reached number 12 on the pop chart. In 1962 she recorded "Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in her Stocking)", previously made famous by the Andrews Sisters and Bill Haley, for Mercury Records. In 1966 she had a minor hit with a cover of the Jacques Brel song "If You Go Away." She was successful in Sweden, where "I'll Save the Last Dance for You" peaked at number 2 (March 1961), "Do What You Want" at number 5 (July 1961) and "Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in her Stocking)" at number 3 (January 1962).

She worked with Ray Charles, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. In 1963, she released a recording for Mercury with Billy Eckstine and the Bobby Tucker Orchestra. She was involved in comedy and toured with Redd Foxx.

In 1998, she suffered a respiratory illness and died on December 25[3] in Baltimore, Maryland.

Discography

Albums

Year Title Label
1961The Big FifteenABC-Paramount 378 (M) / S-378 (S)
1961I'll Save the Last Dance for YouMercury 20642 (M) / 60642 (S)
1962Damita Jo at the DiplomatMercury 20703 (M) / 60703 (S)
1962Sing a Country SongMercury 20734 (M) / 60734 (S)
1965This Is Damita JoEpic LN 24131 (M) / BN 26131 (S)
1965Go Go with Damita JoRCA Camden CAL-900 (M) / CAS-900 (S)
1965Damita Jo SingsVee-Jay LP-1137(M) / LPS-1137 (S)
1966Midnight SessionEpic LN 24202(M) / BN 26202 (S)
1967If You Go AwayEpic LN 24244(M) / BN 26244 (S)
1968Miss Damita JoRanwood 8037

Singles

Year "A" Side "B" Side US
Pop
US
CB Pop
US
R&B
Label Release date
1952"I'd Do It Again""I Don't Care"------RCA Victor – 47-5022October 1952
1953"Missing (One Heart)""The Widow Walk"------RCA Victor 47-5253January 1953
1960"I'll Save The Last Dance For You""Forgive"221716Mercury 71690October 1960
1961"Keep Your Hands Off Of Him""Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name"7574--Mercury 71760January 1961
"Do What You Want""Sweet Georgia Brown"--114--Mercury 71793March 1961
"I'll Be There""Love Laid Its Hands On Me"123015Mercury 71840June 1961
"Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)""You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You"105123--Mercury 71871September 1961
1962"You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" (Part 1)(Part 2)------Mercury 71944September 1961
"Tennessee Waltz""The Window Up Above"--128--Mercury 72019July 1962
1963"Stop Foolin'" (with Brook Benton)10887--Mercury 72207October 1963
"Baby, You've Got It Made" (with Brook Benton)111133--October 1963
1965"Silver Dollar"--104--Epic 9766February 19, 1965
"Tomorrow Night"--88--February 19, 1965
1966"If You Go Away""When The Fog Rolls in To San Francisco"6277--Epic 10061August 19, 1966

Filmography

References

  1. "Women in Jazz Tribute to Damita Jo DeBlanc". Dmdukes.com. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  2. "TSHA | DeBlanc, Damita Jo".
  3. 1 2 "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1998 - 1999". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  4. "The Five Red Caps". Singers.com. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  5. "Ancestors of Damita Jo DeBlanc" (PDF). Alt.coxnewsweb.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  6. "Damita Jo: The Lady is a Tramp DVD". Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
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