The Ikettes

Ike Turner formed the Ikettes to replace the Artettes as the backing group for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their beginnings, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right; in fact, they actually had more significant hits in the early and mid-'60s than Ike & Tina, charting with "I'm Blue (The Gong, Gong Song)" in 1961, "The Camel Walk" in 1964, and "Peaches and Cream" and "I'm So Thankful" in 1965. Unheralded, they were arguably one of the ten top R&B female groups of all time. Ike never paid them much, which caused their lineup to change frequently, and they never received royalties. When "Peaches and Cream" exploded, Ike sent a different set of Ikettes on the road and kept the ones who recorded the song on tour with his revue. The Ikettes began recording in 1960 when lead Delores Johnson (aka Flora Williams), Eloise Hester, and Joshie Armstead accompanied Tina Turner on her first recording, "A Fool in Love." They cut "I'm Blue" the following year and Tina returned the favor by wailing behind the Ikettes on the song "Salt N' Pepa" (revived years later for the group of the same name as the mega hit "Shoop"). Ike produced the record and leased it to Atco Records who issued three more unsuccessful Ikette's singles in 1962. The following year, Ike switched them to his Teena label for two singles: "Crazy in Love" (credited as Robbie Montgomery & the Ikettes) and "Prisoner in Love." "Here's Your Heart" popped out on Innis in 1964 but failed to go national; nor did a Phi-Dan single in 1965. A six-record stint from 1964 through 1966 on Modern Records saw a new lineup of Robbie Montgomery (ex-Artette), Vanetta Fields, and Jessie Smith. Armstead, the first of the originals to leave, went solo and sang with groups before hooking up with a pre-Motown Nicholas...